Charlotte Annie is seven!

On this day seven years ago, Charlotte was born! As Fr. Nathan asked me this morning, where did the time go?! While we honor and celebrate our biological daughter on this seventh day of March, I also got to spend time with some of my spiritual daughters this week so far. Yesterday, this took the form of a two-hour office hour visit with coordinators of the household I advise and this morning, I was able to delight in a yummy scone and coffee with a treasured student leader who has been such a blessing for the peer mentoring, professional development workshops, and now grant/research work. I'm so grateful for this gift of mothering - in all its various forms and hope I never take it for granted. 

After everyone went to bed last night, I strung up the Happy Birthday sign as a surprise for our newly turned seven year old this morning when she went to the dining room table for her breakfast. Adam reported back to me that she was "very happy and excited" when he brought her out to the dining room. 

She picked a mermaid theme for this upcoming weekend's birthday party so we'll be Swimming into Seven - Mermaid Style come Saturday!

Like mermaids, Charlotte loves the water and will be taking swimming lessons this summer as part of her summer camp activities. She still enjoys bubble baths and has recently discovered a love for bath bombs and fizzy water (to drink). ;)

She has transitioned well to more traditional and structured schooling with beginning 1st grade in the local Catholic elementary school. She reports that recess and lunchtime are her favorite parts of the day and she enjoys her art class as well as gym. 

Lately, she has been using the word, delicate, and likes to describe herself with that word. Yes, she is a dainty delicate girl but can also hold her ground and be stubborn when trying to get Mommy and Daddy to play "her way". She continues to love her friend time and would have playdates every day if she could. 

One of her favorite things to do is to play music while playing and to sing along as she invents stories about her dolls and toys. She also loves to doodle and draw with Mommy and Daddy in a shared family journal. She and Hershey, her puppy, have grown much closer in the last year with having lost Dusty three days after she turned six last year. 

She is equally content engaging in surprise days with Mama or staying in and relaxing in jammies all day.

She can be shy or she can be the life of the party. We never know what we're going to get with our girl! 

She has been enjoying musicals, going to shows, and might, one day, be on stage, too! She said the other night that she missed being a cheerleader and was excited to think about cheer camp in this upcoming summer again.

Charlotte is still a girly-girl in that she loves to paint her nails, then peel the polish off within hours, always asks to put on Mommy's lipstick, enjoys rotating through putting on sticker press on earrings, and likes to pick out outfits and wear her fancy dress up shoes in the house. 

Thinking of some of her favorites, she still enjoys spending time with her college friends, Girls GIFT (Growing in Faith/Fellowship/Friendship Together) teachers and peers, puppies, babies, her friends, and her favorite song is Alicia Keys' This Girl is on Fire at the moment. She is still very much a family-loving gal soaking up every minute with her cousins she can and enjoys seeing Grammy, Grandma, Pa, Dan, & Sue any chance she gets. 

She is still very much a planner (hmm, where does she get that?!) and continues to love counting down to the next thing, says she wants to be a mommy, a vet, and/or a teacher when she is a grown up...Nutella is still a beloved snack especially on a spoon.

She made the connection the other day that this past year, while I was 42 - she was six and with having turned 43 one week ago, she is now seven. How amazing that our ages line up in this way!? Also, in regards to these Godicidences, I received an invitation to speak on a Catholic infertility podcast and to write for them on today of all days. God is in all the details. From sharing in a birthday week with the most precious gift of all to breaking open my heart bit by bit, over time, to share our story with a wider audience He is there. He was there as Charlotte was created, was with her keeping her safe in an environment that was not, and seeing her through to her safe arrival. Thank you, Lord, for this golden gift on her golden birthday!

Happy 7th Birthday, Charlotte Annie, on the 7th of March!  You swam into our hearts seven short years ago and haven't left that spot! Continue to make a splash and impact in ways only you can!

Sts. Felicity & Perpetua, pray for us!