Happy 6th Birthday, Aubrey!

Dear Aubrey,
Where do I begin?  My sweet, smart, spunky, sassy little girl...  You have kept me on my toes each and every day this past year, living and breathing these four little words.  Sweet.  Smart.  Spunky.  Sassy.

Anyone who truly knows you can see it in your very eyes.  They dance a bit with a light that says, "Watch me.  Watch what I can do.  And watch me get away with it."  Sometimes, I swear I even see a wink...

You are so sweet.  Wow, this is an understatement.  You are fun loving, and a joy to be around.  You give the best monkey hugs, and you share freely.  Special belongings, treats, and love...you share it all!  You have a way about you that makes others gravitate to you.  Your teacher adores you.  You have more "best friends" than you can count on two hands.  Your principal, bus driver, older kids...they all know and love you.  Just as we do. 

You are so smart.   We've known this for a long time, but WOW.  You have blown us away!  You have learned so much in the first half of your kindergarten year, I sometimes can't believe it. Not only are you reading, but you are writing stories, and are on to second grade level Math.  You never tire of school"work" and just simply love to learn.  Your daddy and I couldn't be more proud!

You are spunky.  You love to be the life of the party.  You love to dance, sing, make people laugh, and simply have fun.  You loved your first ever concert this year (Taylor Swift), and could have danced ALL night at Chris and Christy's wedding.  You live for fun! 

You are sassy too.  Simply put:  You like to do everything your own way.  You live life at an entirely different pace than everyone else around you.  Sometimes we get frustrated because you are "slow" at eating, walking, or pretty much any mundane task, but when we take the time to watch you instead of hurrying you along, it is obvious that you are taking everything in, completing tasks to meet your own standard of perfection, and enjoying the process as you go along.  There is no use in rushing you.  You simply won't let us.  Occasionally, this causes problems, but more often than not, I wish I could slow my pace to match yours, and see the world from your perspective. 

There are so many other words that describe you too, but these four seem to sum you up perfectly.  :)  So happy 6th birthday, my sweet, smart, spunky, sassy little girl.  I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next!

Love, Mommy