Momma Much

Gabrielle Elise Grace! You are nine!

You are a sight to behold. Literally. You are the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen and it doesn’t stop at skin deep. Brielle, the quality of your spirit and heart are a thing I aspire to. You have a kind word for everyone. You love others around you in a way that is a gift to them and me. Your constant support “Mommy, I’m proud of you.” on a regular basis is life-changing. How did I get a nine year old who tells me she’s proud of me??

Your brother benefits from your kind, helping spirit so much. Your are so patient with him (most days) and explain things in such a detailed and calm way. It challenges me to do the same. Sometimes you grab him and can barely contain your emotions: “You’re sooooooo CUTE!!!!” as you sqeeeeeze him. What a lucky brother Michael is!

You love your Daddy to the moon. Your care and attention for him is so heart warming. You ask about his day, about his knee pain, about his childhood. You bury your face into his chest and say “Poppa” in the sweetest most affectionate voice. Last night you and Michael and Daddy were in a pile on our bed wrestling and tickling (which ended in my bedside lamp lightbulb breaking, but I digress) and you said “Daddy, tickle me until I say stop!” Two seconds later: “STOP!” You’ve inherited your mother’s inability to handle tickles.

I was just reading your “turning eight” blog post from March 2020, and we were right in the very beginning stages of a pandemic. I remember telling you and Michael, (and myself!) over and over that the entire world (and our little world) would return to normal over time… And when you turned nine we were back in soccer, we were seeing friends, you were taking ballet.

The world was not back to “normal” by any means, but we were a long way from where we were when you turned eight!

YAY!

Now let’s talk about your eighth year of life!

You started writing me notes. If I went to run an errand when I get back I would sometimes find a note waiting for me that said something like: “We need to talk. I don’t want to go to ballay” (Your spelling.) And when I got home one afternoon: “Mommy!!! You’re home!! *hugs* Do you want to be pen pals??” I mean, what?? No one told me having a little girl would be so dreamy!

Your baby words and phrases are long gone but the other day I actually heard you say “since that” instead of “because!” You and Michael have always used “since that” instead of “because” and it brought a rush of nostalgia! “Mommy, since that we did this, can we do that?”

I picked you up the other day, your long strong body fully in my arms. I held you and breathed in your Brielle smell. The smell of your hair and the smell of your soft cheek against mine. I let the emotions wash over me. You are nine. My growing, strong, healthy, beautiful little girl. I am so proud of you!

You express your thanks so beautifully and freely. The other day I was brushing your hair after a bath (oh, that hair! You used to be a baldie and you now have all that amazing hair Aunt Rebekah said you would have!) and you said “Thank you for taking care of me, Mommy.” Oh… Sweet sweet Brielle!

Eight is the year you started to sit and read for hours! Chapter books by the ton! Ramona and anything Beverly Clearly was your favorite. Your friend Lyla got a pizza delivery on Fridays if she read a chapter book in a week and that spurred us to try the same! You don’t even like pizza but the thought of delivery still excited you enough to make you read for hours. It turns out you didn’t need any motivating factor. Once you realized reading chapter books wasn’t scary (but fun!!) you never looked back!

Eight is when you became a lake girl! You love swimming in the lake with your brother and building forts behind the house and under the deck. You love playing with our little lakehouse neighbor Maggie, and pulling beautiful blue stones out of the fire-pit to bring home to your friends. It was such an amazing family adventure to add this house to our lives in the middle of a pandemic. It was a gift to have a different place to go and explore during the long months of quarantine and it will be the source of so many memories for the rest of your life!

Eight is when we found Dr. Lois! Your math teacher who is helping you make leaps and bounds in an area that I never could! You told me the other day, “My favorite subject is math” and I almost dropped what I was holding. What a dream for this momma who hates math and wants desperately for her children to love it! All credit is due to your amazing teacher who knows exactly what you need to succeed with it and also what you need to love it! What a gift!

You learned how to tie your shoes in twenty seconds flat. This speaks to the fact that kids will do whatever “it” is when they are developmentally ready! I got you some adorable new sneakers with laces, showed you once, and voila! You were on your way!

Your eighth year was full of fun, adventure and wonder!

Now you are nine!!

Sweet Isabelle and Holly Ann were the first to wish you a “Happy Birthday!”

Dinner out with our boys! And then a family party.

It was rainy and cold on your actual birthday so we had your party on the day after! It was a blast! Sadly we couldn’t have ALL your favorite people come because some of our friends weren’t attending group things quite yet (understandably!) but we still had a sweet outdoor party!

Brielle, you are just full to overflowing with amazingly sweet, rich joy. laughter, beauty and love!

Every day we shake our heads that you are ours and that God chose us to care for you and love you.. and for you to care for us and love us! I feel like the luckiest Mommy in the world. I love you with all my heart, sweet girl.

Happy happy happy Birthday, my beautiful. I pray your ninth year is a year of peace and joy like you have never known, which says a lot!

HUGS AND KISSES!

“Why are children so important to adults?” – Brielle age 5