five.

dear bella,

today you are 5 months old. you can sit on your own and play by yourself. you army crawl so fast mommy can hardly keep up with you. you are very vocal and love to squeal at the top of your lungs. most of the time, at dinner. you love squishing mommy's face in between your hands while you give her "big kisses", aka try to eat my face. you are beautiful. perfect. sweet. and most of all, you have so much personality, i am surprised you can contain it in that little baby body.

mommy used to pray for you. that god would give me a healthy, beautiful baby. really that god would give me any baby. i don't know what i did right, but one day in march of 2009, god decided that i was his most favorite child. because he gave me the most perfect gift.

now, mommy prays for you. that god would protect you. that he would teach mommy how to be a mother that deserves a baby like you. that you would grow up to be a person who loves jesus, obeys her mommy and daddy, and is nice to puppies. that you would be someone who fights for those who can't, who loves the unlovable, and who hates injustice. that you would be happy and healthy and that you would make those around you happy, too.

i hope that you will know how much you are loved. you have blessed the lives of every one who knows you. i hope that you will feel the security that, no matter what happens in your life, will keep you solid and strong. i hope you have confidence, but that it doesn't get in the way of humility.

i don't however hope against hardship, loss and hurts. because those things make us who we are and build us stronger than all the love in the world. they are also inevitable. i just pray that you would be surrounded by so many people who care for you, and will have a faith so strong, that you can weather any storm that should pass.

for now, i enjoy watching you learn that when you fall, you aren't stuck, but can roll to your tummy and move on. that when your teeth hurt, you can nom on your raz or sophie and it feels better. that when something is just out of reach, if you wiggle to the side, you can pull it with the tips of your fingers, and then pick it up. the world is so new, and every day you discover new and amazing ways to enjoy it.

i love you little girl. with every fiber of my being. no one has EVER been as blessed as mommy and daddy. i truly believe that.

love your mommy.