6 years

Has it been 6 years already?  Yes, I actually know it has been.  The time goes by so fast, but then that is a lie.  The minutes, the hours that I've had with you, my darling daughter, have ticked by in my heart.  I count every heart beat, yours and mine.  I know what they mean, each second, each heart beat- it's here now, but in a moment it will be a memory, and then it's gone.  When I look back in my heart to that first year the minutes still seem to last an eternity.  I learned so much, that first year, and little did I know, but you would not change nearly as much as I have.  I mean, yes, you are bigger, you are stronger, you are more capable.  You've gone from a tiny creature that could not eat by herself, to a kid who can get herself together in the mornings with such little help from me.  But so many things that I learned about you in that first year still hold true.  You love snuggles, you are serious about eating, you don't liked to be constrained, you WILL figure this out, and you're so happy most of the time.  I, however, am nothing like the girl I was before you came to me.  I have become a snuggler, I am more serious about all things, I think less about myself but always about you, I no longer want a career or even a job other than to watch you grow, I cry more, I can't read suspenseful novels or watch movies where kids are in danger, and I love pink and frills and flowers just because you love them.
I have loved watching you grow.  It is a hard thing, being a mom, I know that you have to do all these things.  That I must give you space in order for you to grow, but I want nothing more than to hold you all the tighter as you move away from me.  I'm sorry if you think I never let you do things, but I want to spare you all the mistakes that I made, even though I know that those mistakes, those tears, paved the way for me to become who I am. 
Know that I am here for you, little one, know that I love you, and that we'll continue to grow together.  I look forward to not only who you are going to become, but to who you are going to make me into.  Happy 6th birthday, Babes, may you have 200 more!