celebrating elsa mae

Yesterday Mae and I took a little adventure all our own in celebration of her half birthday and the new tradition we started last spring.  It's not often that this youngest one and I get a bit of time just to ourselves.  This adventure wasn't long, it wasn't far, it wasn't extravagant in any way, but it was perfect.

She requested a bike ride ("Mama you can walk") and hot chocolate.  So off we went to the Kickapoo Reserve with a bike and a backpack filled with lunch and a thermos of hot chocolate.  Mae sang (as usual) the entire time she biked, looking back occasionally to make sure I was coming along. 

  We landed at the bird blind where we counted a few ducks on the water and soaked up the sparkles.  I'm pretty sure her favorite part was the hot chocolate.

 

I sat in awe of her happy babble about sparkles and cocoa and sunshine and bikes.  She purely radiated content, so completely here in the moment.  So five and a half. 

This girl who hums or sings happiness to this world everywhere she goes, who lets her fiery frustration roll of her back like water and turns us all toward laughter.  This girl who is filled with compassion, spunk and sweetness. This girl:  I am so, so lucky to be her mama.