And now she’s five.

I think of her birth mother at this time of year, the one who lost her life on this day, while giving her daughter life.  

It makes me sad.  

I rejoice that now she is mine, that I get the privilege of watching her grow.  But there is loss, too.

Isn’t she beautiful?

(showing off her newly pierced ears)

She has a very high-energy older sister.

She has a super-turbo-psycho energy older brother.

And she is not high energy.  

But she is fiercely determined and fiercely competitive, and she works hard to keep up with them, often exhausting herself in the process.  

I think her favorite days are Fridays, when Grace and Josiah are at on-site classes and it’s just her and me.  Unless I give her puzzles and books, she plays with her dolls, by herself all day, usually quietly singing out her stories.  

celebrating at Bibi and Babu’s house

celebrating at Grandma and Grandpa’s house