Six Years Old and So Grown Up

Rachel turned six years old yesterday.  Seriously, it takes two hands to tell you how old she is!!  She took her own phone calls when people would call to wish her a happy birthday and she could carry on a conversation like a teenager (probably even better than some...)
She wants to be more grown up and asked for fancy clothes and wanted lots of lip gloss and nail polish.  Boy, did she get it, too!  I realized last night that none of our closest friends have daughters.  We are surrounded by boys everywhere we go, so these other Moms love buying girls stuff for Rachel and Ruby.  (and they love getting it!)
Rachel is a true introvert and loves one-on-one attention from anybody.  She chose this year to go to the mountains for her birthday and Dr. Ed and Ms. Lisa have been kind enough to let us come to their mountain house this weekend.  They are coming, too, because Rachel didn't want to go if they coudn't!  She loves getting Ms. Lisa all to herself, so while the boys go watch basketball on Saturday, hopefully Ruby, Baxter, and I can nap so she can get her "Ms. Lisa time"!
On her actual birthday, she wanted to go find a mermaid costume.  She got the special surprise of a snowfall big enough to keep Allen home from work.  The night before, she and Papa got some great time together sledding in the backyard.   Then yesterday morning we went to Baba's early to get her birthday present which was a sled.  Allen took the kids sledding one at a time down Mom's driveway.  Rachel definitely prefers the backyard, but I think Ruby and Ford liked the gigantic hill!  We then went home and they did a little more sledding in the backyard.  We all got changed and headed out to find a mermaid costume.  Baba came along to get Rachel a new raincoat and buy something from GG. By the time we got home, Rachel had an Ariel costume and a cute new raincoat from the Disney store, plus a Hello Kitty purse with lipgloss.  She also got to ride the train and carousel and eat frozen yogurt with about 15 different toppings!
For dinner she just wanted to go somewhere fancy.  We took her to Macaroni Grill and it was so nice.  We all got a little bit more dressed up and everyone was on their best behavior.  Rachel was exhausted by this point, so she got a slice of lemon cake and then we headed home.  It was a great day and when she got in the bed she was sad because she didn't want the day to end.  She did, however, go right to sleep!
Today we went and ordered a birthday cake to take to the mountains.  Rachel stood at the counter and told the lady exactly what she wanted it to say and look like.  The girl taking the order thought she was so cute.  I was so proud of her!!  Rachel knows what she wants and usually isn't afraid to say it or ask for it.  Sometimes that can be annoying or embarrassing, but I am mostly proud of her confidence in herself and I don't want her to lose that.
This has been an awesome six years.  I love this girl so much.  She is the reason we are parents and why we continued to have  children.  She has such a kind soul and is so loving.  I try to remember that when she's being bossy or breaking the rules!  She is my best helper and even though she can drive me up the wall, I don't know how I'd make it through the day without her.
Happy Birthday, Rachel!  I love you!!!