Our beloved, feisty, too-smart-for-her-own-good middle child turns six today. She caused significantly more nausea and hormonal discontent during my pregnancy than her brother did. She came in to this world a week early yet still weighed a staggering 10lbs., 2 oz. She has thick, wild, glorious chestnut brown hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin with a smattering of freckles. As a baby, she was particular about the temperature in the room, the softness of her blankets, and the balance of the noise level. Our daughter likes everything to be a certain way. She likes the universe aligned precisely and gets pretty bent out of shape when plans change. When she’s happy, she’s enthusiastic, elated, and everything, EVERYTHING is bigger, brighter, and better. When she’s upset, she wants your life to feel ruined just as badly as she feels her life is ruined. But thankfully she has a very quick recovery time. A moment of quiet reflection or a reasonable negotiation can often turn her spirits around.

It was one of the last big milestones in our first year without Simon. The rest of our little family, as well as my side of the family, has celebrated their birthdays and wedding anniversaries. So this birthday felt extra emotional but now it feels like a weight has been lifted.Our first daughter had a unique bond with Simon. She is strong willed, creative, and determined – Simon understood her better than most. When she acted out, he knew how to reset her. When she was grumpy mid-day, he could convince her to take a nap and they would cuddle up for a few hours. And he always knew how to make her laugh. Always. Our daughter prefers to focus on the positive, like me. She’s actually more extreme; she hates talking about when Simon was sick or seeing pictures of him during his illness. She loves looking at pictures of them together in his healthy days. She is incredibly sentimental. She has hoarding tendencies and has most of her earthly possessions meticulously catalogued in her mind. I may throw out what looks like a piece of trash or broken toy but a few days later, she’ll probably ask where that “treasure” is.

With the holidays then slew of family birthdays the last two months, I hit a wall with this birthday. It came up on us fast and I hadn’t thought about how to celebrate. Our daughter hadn’t forgotten. She wanted a Super Mario Bros. party with costumes, games, and friends aplenty. My family stepped in fast and mighty. We pulled off a lovely afternoon party that did not look thrown together last minute even though it absolutely was. My folks hosted the event and Papa (my dad) organized fun games and relay races with prizes for all the children. The afternoon was memorable; for our daughter, I hope it was magical.

Happy birthday sweet girl. You are so loved.