When did this happen?

When did this sweet bundle of joy:

Suddenly look so grown up?

It seems like it happened overnight even if it really has been SIX years. SIX years! When did our youngest, our baby girl get to be SIX years old?

Over the last few weeks as the weather has gotten warmer and we have needed to break out the spring/summer dresses, skirts and shorts from last summer I suddenly realized that Jadyn has gotten so tall and leggy. And that face? No longer baby cute, she has become little girl cute - and little girl cute with some flair judging by the new poses she has been offering me before I take her picture.

So what is this cute little girl like at 6 years old? She is imaginative, inquisitive and quick as a whip - nothing and  I mean nothing, gets by her. You really have to watch what you say in front of her. She challenges me almost every day with her thought-provoking questions about the world and her surroundings (thank goodness I can look up the answers to her questions on the Internet!).

Jadyn is full of life - she loves to sing, dance and create, whether she is making up a story in her head, drawing and coloring pictures, writing a card to give to mom, dad or a friend at school or using scissors and glue to make various crafts. She loves to give. She loves to share. She loves to help, especially with chores and preparing meals.

She cares deeply about everyone and everything around her. She has warned me not to squish an ant because it had a crumb of food it needed to take back to his family. She worries about children who have no toys and animals from the shelter that need food and a forever home. I think it is precisely because she feels so vehemently that she sometimes tends to get overly emotional when the situation does not call for it. This of course is the polite way of saying that she can be slightly dramatic at times.

Jadyn always wants to try new things, well maybe not new food but even in that department she is more adventurous than most in the family. Yes, Jadyn has her moments where she is shy in new situations and needs time to warm up but she loves thrill rides at amusement parks and added t-ball to her list of activities this spring. She is not easily frightened and as such, went through her first haunted house this last fall and has watched all the Harry Potter movies (and loved them). And with her new found love of reading, I don't think it will be too long before she is reading the books the movies are based on either. She is just dying to start reading "chapter books" like her big brother.

Jadyn's favorite toys (stuffed animals), books (Marley and Biscuit) and movies (Air Buddies, Bolt) ALL have to do with animals, mainly dogs and cats. However, she has also surprised me with how quickly she can put together one of the new Lego Friend sets that are geared toward girls (her second favorite toy). She loves to dress up. She loves to snuggle close and watch a movie. She loves to be in the water, whether it is in a mud puddle, a pool or the river. She loves anything fruity and/or sweet. She loves to show or tell you how much she loves you.

I feel incredibly blessed to have a daughter as bright and sweet as Jadyn. I am extremely proud of the the girl  she is and love her with all my heart. I can't wait to see where this journey of life will take her and as her birthday ends and we look forward to celebrating it at her party this weekend, I just have one request from her. Can you please stop growing up so fast?