My heart

My darling daughter.

The light of my life.

My child.

My first born.

My sun and my moon and my stars.

My mini me.

My inspiration.

My little princess.

My angel.

My little girl.

If I could bottle your giggles, I would. If I could package your smile, I would. If I could freeze your sense of humour, your unabashed joie de vive, and ability to find glee in the simplest things, I would.

You are vocal. You were born with a voice. 

You are passionate. You were born with passion. 

You wear your heart on your sleeve.

You voice your frustration and your love, your happiness and anger, your joy and your sadness, so that everyone around you knows exactly how you feel and what you think. It makes it hard not to feel your pains and revel in your joys. It makes it hard not to want to.

Your ear to ear smile has become a bit less pudgy than when you were just a wee baby, but the twinkle in your eyes and the joy behind it has only grown as you have. Watching you fall in love with the world around you makes me fall in love with you more and more each day. 

Just when I think my heart can't possibly become more full, you run across the room and into my arms screaming mommy, or stroke my hair and say pretty, or ask for one more hug and a kiss before bed, or thank me for a simple favour, or smile when you've gone down a new slide or climbed a new jungle gym, or say something silly or make a funny face, or shove your face into a soft serve ice cream cone. You make it impossible not to smile each and every day. 

You are on the only person on this planet who can make me laugh through anger. 

You are growing up right before my very eyes. Your baby face has faded away into the face of a beautiful and confident little girl. Time has sped up. I want it to slow down. I love watching you grow but want you to say little, just for a little while longer. I refuse to say you're no longer my baby and are now my little girl. You are both. You always will be. 

You will grow, and you will change. You will become more of who you already are and yet, also someone who you aren't yet. But you are always going to be Abigail.

You are my heart. You are my Abby.