Birthday Girl

Miss E was five today.
It snowed on the day she was born - Easter Sunday 2008 - and it was snowing today.
She took her sweet time arrriving into our lives (28 hours!) but she changed them in an instant.
How can that have been five years ago?!
She and I often have sweet conversations about how much we love each other:
I love you
I love you too Baby Girl; more than all the stars in the sky.
Well I love you more than all the stars and all the way to the moon and back and all the planets and all the trees and all the leaves on the trees on all the planets.
Goodness, that is a lot
I love you more than all the sand and all the way to the moon and all the beaches on all the planets and all the way back again and all the houses and all the people and all the toys and all the way to the planets and all the sand and all the leaves and round the moon and more than all the tea
It can go on for quite a while as Miss E tries to think of the biggest, longest, furthest things that will trump me.
She will never even get close.
Today was lovely: a 6.30am shriek of pure joy from her room "It's my Birthday!!!!!", present chaos, adventures outside in the snow, Skype with Auntie T in Sydney (whose apartment overlooks the harbour and who managed - in honour of Miss E's birthday - to arrange for a fireworks display by the Opera House as we spoke!! Wow!) Build-a Bear with Nana and Papa, her party at the same gymnastics centre as last year. With 26 fellow two, three, four and five year olds. It was fab - if a little stressful when the McDonalds Happy Meals failed to materialise at the promised time. But all was well (give or take a couple of mix ups with the food) and I think they all enjoyed themselves. Then it was home to another mountain of presents from the party, a half hearted meltdown and sleep.
Happy Birthday to my beautiful girl.