The Mini-Me Turns 5!!!

Today marks another important milestone in our family.

My daughter is officially 5 years old...Whoo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes that is something like a BiG dEaL... in her little 5 year old mind, she has upgraded to BiG gIrL status. She wants to brush her own teeth without me following up with a super brush of my own. She wants to make her own bed without any assistance from dad. She wants to pick out her own clothes when we go shopping. Most significantly, she want to do everything I do... Hence the nickname...mini-me. She grabs her purse before heading out the door when I grab mine. She breaks out her lip conditioner when I grab mine. She likes a hot cup of herbal tea in the morning when I prepare to drink mine. If I do it...she wants to do it!

Now this was cute at first....after all she is an extension of me. But...that is where it went from cute to scary. She is an extension of me...The real me. She has picked up on the good qualities that I possess as well as the qualities that I spend some of my time re-developing. When I am happy she is happy. When I am sad she is sad. When I am confused she is just as confused.

As parents, we do our best to give our children everything they want. We spend tons of money on birthday parties and gifts each year. Most of my daughter's birthday presents from last year haven't seen the outside of her toy chest since last year. Ultimately, the greatest gift that we can give our children is healthy parents. Children do what we do and not just what we say. They will remember the kind of people we were and not the kind of material gifts we gave them. They will reflect our weaknesses and not just our strengths. They will model our failures and not just our success...IF...we don't take the time to develop who we are.

My daughter has seen me make goals and achieve them. In those moments...in her big girl voice...she tells me that she's proud of me. She has also seen me fail at some of those attempts...like when my now famous (among our family) lemonade recipe was in its developmental stages. She was my taste tester and when it didn't taste so good she would say...in her big girl voice...its ok mommy, you'll get it right next time.

Now that she is 5, I feel even more compelled to succeed. After all, she likes to do everything that I do. So, if I grab a hold of opportunity, she will grab a hold of opportunity. If I spend time developing my character, she will develop her character. If I show love to others, she will show love to others.

Along with all of the other birthday presents she gets this year, I am going to give her a mommy that is consistently intentional.

Happy birthday Kai Liee!!!!!

To Blog....Nakeia