Dear Tilly,
Every day, Daddy and I marvel at how much you have grown. And it constantly amazes me how quickly you outgrow your clothes! ‘I can’t believe it’s another growth spurt’, I frequently mutter.
6 years ago, we could not believe our luck - a beautiful baby girl, refusing to turn in Mummy’s tummy so born by caesarean section at 10.07am on 10th September 2007 in Exeter, Devon. What an absolute delight. What an absolute life changing experience! I’m sure, if I remember rightly, that I stayed under the duvet for weeks from a mixture of pure shock, delight and fear!
And now, I look at you, with your beautiful curls (which you are still convinced occur from eating your crusts!), your boundless energy, smiles and love of all things outdoors and fun. My, how your little life has flown by. Every day you surprise us with new things you have learnt, new talents you have acquired and new words that enter your vocabulary… all in just 6 years.
Your little life has been full of adventures from the beginning, giving us a scare at 3 months with whooping cough - what a fright but what a fight you put up. Then, off to Qatar at the age of 18 months. What a life experience for you - you learnt to swim at 2 years old and kept the Arabs entertained with regular displays of bottom shuffling! Nippy bottom shuffling at that. I don’t think they’d seen anything like it when we put you down in the malls and you scuttled off at the speed of lightening! Then, at 3 years old, back to your Mummy’s and Daddy’s home county of Wiltshire, setting up home in the village of Oaksey ready for the start of your new school last year. And now, you are a big Class 1 girl – I just can’t quite believe it. Fortunately, you’re surrounded by beautiful countryside, adorable friends and family and a Mummy and Daddy that love you dearly. We couldn’t be happier for you and I pray every day that these tough days of late do not tarnish your childhood memories.
As always, we countdown to your birthday with you…..‘how many sleeps Mummy, how many sleeps?’ The excitement for you is immense and, at times, overwhelming. On the eve of your birthday, we kiss goodbye to being 5 years old together and talk about waking up……and being 6 years old. That night, Mummy & Daddy stay up late wrapping, decorating and cooking and come and check on you for the last time as a 5 year old. You stir a little as we hang balloons over your bed. A warm kiss and stroke on the head and back to sleep.
The next day, YOUR birthday, you bound out of bed…..choose your birthday breakfast of chocolate croissants, play with the balloons and we manage a few presents before school. A watch, a pillow pet and, of course, some Moshi Monsters. Not forgetting a birthday lunch box and fairy cakes for all of your class.
Finally, a birthday tea after school with Granny and your friends Eleanor, Eliza and Eddy. You love your cake, presents and all the excitement, but collapse into bed that night happily exhausted. Though not forgetting to ask……‘how many sleeps until my party, Mummy, how many sleeps?’ And so the countdown begins again……..
Whilst growing up, you have always loved Winnie the Pooh, carrying around your enormous, cuddly Pooh Bear since the age of 2 and then snuggling up with it to watch the film – the first one you sat still for.
A.A. Milne's 'Now We Are Six’ is one of my favourite books from my childhood and I hope you will love this poem too……
When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five, I was just alive.
But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever,
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.
Beautiful xxxx
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