Happy Birthday my first baby girl…. how is 17 possible?

Dear amazing beautiful SEVENTEEN year old girl,

OH MY! OH MY! How can you be seventeen? I distinctly remember the very second you were born. I plainly remember the very minute you were placed into my waiting arms. I can see your little face as we waited for the Dr. to say "it's a girl". You were our one and only surprise! We wanted you to be a surprise, we didn't care if you were a boy or a girl and your dad knew all along you were a girl! The Dr. covered your privates and made us guess…. I was dying! I secretly hoped for a girl, I wanted to drown you in pink… I wanted to buy an ocean of everything pink and swim in it forever and I did.

You were born running. You were born successful. You were born an amazing going somewhere girl and you have been nothing less than perfect. I want you to remember to never change a thing. I want you to remember than when you feel like you should sway with the winds to stand tall my beauty. I want to remember that when you are asked to conform to the worlds standards to look deep into your own heart and soul and follow your rhythm, follow what your heart knows it wants. When the tide pulls you out to swim against it; your strong enough. Be yourself. I have always loved who you are.

Be genuine.

Happy Birthday dear first girl. Happy birthday to the girl who made me fall in love with pink. Happy birthday to the one who showed me how to be strong, to the one who showed me how to be independent. Happy birthday to the strongest girl I know. Happy birthday to the most amazing, most impressive, most independent girl in the world.

YOU are beautiful, YOU take my breath away. I can't believe your mine. Thank you for being my daughter, thank you for loving me everyday. Thank you for being YOU!

Happy seventeenth birthday my daughter.

I'll love you forever.

Momma