Dear Ava,
Today on your fifth birthday, I reflect back lovingly over
the past year and even though you grow more independent and taller by the day, I
will remember this past year as a glorious time full of the sweetest kisses and
cuddles. Every day when I arrive home from school, I am greeted with your squeals
of laughter as you sing my name and squeeze me tight, while you shower me with
petal soft kisses that help to melt the stress of the day.
Over the past year, all of your play and discoveries were
often punctuated with “That is science!” your motto for the year. Your dad and I would smile proudly as you
explained to complete strangers your love for science, especially bacteria. Yes, that is right you have a passion for
bacteria. Some mornings, your daddy
would take you to work early so you could spend some time observing them under
the microscope, solidifying your love for the subject. You also confidently walked into bookstores
and libraries to check out books on the subject and you once told a curious
couple that when you grow up you were going to study bacteria (the looks on
their faces were priceless).
This past year you also officially learned how to swim. You have always been a water baby, but you
have a new found freedom in the water and you have become an expert with your
little pink mask and fins. The underwater world has quickly become a
place of wonder and discovery. You are still
a little afraid of crabs (blame it on the cheeky Sri Lankan hermit crab that gave
you a little pinch) but you love to dive to intrepid depths to spy on the reef
creatures. In the pool, backstroke has quickly become your best and this mamma
can’t help but smile as you leave the older boys eating your wake as you propel
past them during swim lessons.
You are a maker! Every
day, you are inspired to create. Some
days you make paper houses and you fill them with intricately designed and hand
cut furnishings. These fragile houses
serve as a home to the paper doll families that you also create. On other days, you design bags and you fill
them with everything a prepared girl would need, again all drawn and cut from
your imaginative designs. On any given
day your little table is piled high with your creations. You have also
discovered the bliss of engineering with Lego’s, as your little fingers keenly piece
together little communities for your Lego animals to explore.
Inspired by the book “Violet the Pilot” you have begun a
collection of found items, finding a special use for each uniquely designed
piece… of toilet paper roll, takeout boxes, bits of string, etc. We have had to
make room for your growing pile of “airplane parts” that are now scattered
around your workplace, all a part of your magnificent plan to build an airplane
that will one day fly you across the seas to Los Angeles to visit your
grandparents.
Some of our most special moments together are spent in our
kitchen. Whenever it is time to cook, you
and your dutiful green stool are always by my side. One of your favorites to
make is “Happy Chicken.”
I love the way your little hands expertly measure out the spices and you talk
about balsamic vinegar like a seasoned chef. Your adventurous spirit extends to
your favorite foods as well. You have an
eclectic palate; however your go to meal usually includes seaweed, sushi,
dumplings and fried rice.
You continue to enjoy the splendor of travel, with trips to the
tropical islands of the Perhentians
in Malaysia and Palawan in the Philippians.
Your travel highlight of the year was a visit to Chiang Mai, in amazing Thailand. While there, you found awe in the gilded
temples and you were fascinated by the Buddhist monks in their saffron robes. You threw your arms wide and laughed out loud
as we zipped down the rain forest covered mountains on our family moped. Your love for animals was compounded after a
day spent taking care of the elephants in a local conservation reserve, where
you bathed and fed these gentle giants.
You delighted in Thai cuisine, especially the mangoes and sticky rice.
Upon return home, you were already making plans to go back.
This year you requested a “Rock and Roll Minnie Mouse”
birthday party. For the first time, you
helped to suggest and pick out the decorations.
I had a little giggle when you thought you needed flashy lights and a
disco ball to accomplish the theme. Your love for music continues to grow and
this year it was all about “Rock and Roll.”
Sometimes we would be sitting around the coffee table and your shoulders
would begin to subtly move, then the head would start bobbing and before long your
hum would soon crescendo into a belting out of your anthem “Firework.”
Writing these letters to you have now become a cherished time
for me to share my memories of you over the past year. I have visions of the
future you looking back at these letters as visions of your past begin to take
life each year on this special day. My lovely Ava, thank you for sharing your exuberant
smile, your quiet confidence, your silly humor and your love for animals with
the world. Have the happiest of fifth birthdays my love.
Your Mommy
