Five

Five years ago today a brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty made us parents.  She had stretched my belly for 41+ weeks and stretched our patience for 12+ hours in labor but it was all worth it.  For some reason (my size, maybe?) we thought she was a boy. But the minute we pulled back her swaddling blankets and declared "GIRL!" to all of Allegheny General Hospital, we knew we had exactly what we wanted.

She entered the world happy, bold, and strong.  For the most part, those word still describe her.  We often comment on her fearlessness.  Her smiles are accompanied quite often with hands on her hips and a "determined" tone in her voice, but really, she just wants to be in charge of at least a few things in her life.  Namely, her choice of outfits. I can't imagine that will get any easier anytime soon, but at least she's content in most other areas.

This hasn't been the easiest year for Amalia.  Our move was a big change for her.  She missed her school and her Michigan friends and family.  This time, she was old enough to understand exactly what moving away meant.  But she coped well.  She's grown closer sisters in many ways (when she's not bossing them around) and we all learned a lot through reading and cuddling together.  She loves her Pittsburgh friends and being back at the church where she was baptized.   And Kindergarten is only a few months away!

The princess trend hit us hard here this spring and Mali can still be found most days in some form of a princess-fairy-ballerina costume.  After a long run with orange, pink is now the color of choice.  Nothing interferes with her afternoon "screen" time and she's also a big fan of baking, dancing, art, science, and just plain exploring. She'll probably always be a daddy's girl but she and her mama have enough in common in their personalities to keep us close.  

We love you, Amalia June Ward for the precious gift from God that you are to us.  Thanks for training us a parents!