Beauty and the Texan

To our rainbow baby, Camryn Jane…

Sometimes gifts do not come in boxes with wrapping paper and bows. I hope these lessons are the gifts that keep on giving. Happy Birthday sweet girl! Here are some lessons from your mommy that I hope you carry with you throughout your life. xoxox

Lesson #1 on your 1 month celebration: Be the friend a friend would like to have (some wisdom inspired from Mr. Tim McGraw). If you take that lessons to heart, (wo)man, you will be a lot wiser than your mom was while growing up.

It is true what they say, (spoiler alert!!!) as we grow up, we realize it becomes less important to have a ton of friends, and more important to have real ones. Real friends do not always equal the “coolest” girl or boy in your class btw!

When you get a bit older, make an effort to stay in touch with friends in other towns or states as your lives follow different paths. Sadly, your friends won’t always live in your school district, on your college campus, or even in the same state. You don’t need to talk or see a friend everyday to still have that close connection. 

Finally, Hopefully you will realize pretty early on in your life (like I did) that a sister is a built in best friend. You are welcome haha! Also, please know that I will want to be one of your best friends, but I need to be your Mommy first and foremost. Our time to be best friends will come down the road 🙂

Lesson #2 on your 2 month celebration: Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile – I thought it was appropriate to write about this lesson on the month that you first smiled that toothless grin at me – what an amazing and beautiful smile it is! 

Paraphrasing Rocky – this world is not all rainbows and sunshine. My dear daughter, I wish i could give you a life full of only rainbows and sunshine. I wish you could grow up in a world without hate, heartbreak, terrorism, school shootings, bullying, and the list goes on and on…Sadly, I cannot control all of this. I can only control myself, and I can try to teach you how to be far better than those that practice so much hate.

When the news of the day makes you sad, look for the small wins, pieces of joy, and acts of kindness to bring your smile back to life! They are all around you. Cami J, a warm and adorable smile like yours will instantly ignite compassion, hope, and love. Share that smile with the world on a daily basis. One person can make a change!

Lesson #3 on your 3 month celebration – Believe in God and never stop praying. You went to church this month for the first time, you will be baptized in just a couple of weeks, and you now take part in our nightly family prayers. I can tell you with 100% certainty – there is a God! I have seen and felt his work, and he gave me you! You will find him in your own time too. You will probably have many questions for God and may not always understand why he allows bad things to happen. During those time, please try to remember to “…walk by faith even when I cannot see”(2 Corinthians 5:7)

There will be times when you will not want to go to mass weekly, but please continue to go and give God that one(1) hour a week. Mommy keeps a nightly prayer list – it could be something you do too! Pray for your intentions, but don’t forget about the needs of others – pray for them! Praying is not just asking for God’s mercy, it is thanking him too!

Lesson #4 on your 4 month celebration: Be ready for adventure and travel. Be more adventurous like your dad and less of a scaredy cat like your mom (but please always be careful!) “What if i fall? Oh, but darling…what if you fly?”

Your dad is the family member with the passport full of stamps and stories from his European backpacking and sailing days. Embrace the adventure and travel enough to remind yourself how big the world is, how diverse the people are, and how exciting the journey can be!

Lesson #5 on your 5 month celebration: “The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence” – Blake lively 

This month, you got your helmet. Your head was a bit wonky(haha), so you were sporting a purple helmet with glowing stars to correct the shape. After 24 hours of having that helmet, you didn’t even notice it anymore. Other people noticed, but you just owned it and made it your adorable accessory. You didn’t realize you were different than the other kids in your daycare class. I hope that you can have that confidence throughout your life even after your innocence is replaced with experience and some tough lessons.

Always walk like you deserve to be right where you are, but please stay humble while doing so.

Lesson #6 on your 6 month celebration: You are six months old and “half way there… ohhhh living on a prayerrrrr”. Enjoy music, my girl! Your dad and I don’t go out too often these day, but when we do, we usually go to concerts around town. We love music and we play it for you girls all the time! You love to sway back and forth as soon as we put a song on and Heidi starts serenading you. Dad and I look forward to taking you to your first concert one day. 

Listen to all genres of music. I cannot even imagine the apps or technologies that will exist when you are a bit older that will allow you to enjoy all the music. “One good thing about music – when it hits you, it doesn’t hurt”- Bob Marley

Lesson #7 on your 7 month celebration: Wear that pretty dress! This lesson comes to you with help from your big sister Heidi and has become the family mantra (even Daddy says it)!

One day, Heidi wanted to wear her pretty dress hanging up in the closet to play around the house. I originally said, “no, we do not want to get that dress dirty.” Heidi was pretty upset, and as I walked away, it struck me…” You have to wear that pretty dress”. Life is too short, why are we saving the stuff we love the most for a day down the road that may or may not come. We only know for sure that we have today. Wear that pretty dress! Tell people that you care about them! Call friends to say hi! Send a letter to a friend to let them know you are thinking about them! Surprise your sister with a gift you made her! Call your mom and dad as often as possible! ( I had to throw that one in there )

Lesson #8 on your 8 month celebration:  “Comparison is the thief of joy” ~Teddy Roosevelt.
This is a lesson that I am still trying to learn in this Instagram perfect world. We only have this one short live, my girl. God has a plan for you, and I want you to embrace it with a focus on love, happiness, and service.

I know how girls and women can be towards each other sometimes. You step above that, and be the girl that fixes another girl’s crown without telling the world it was crooked.

Lesson #9 on your 9 month celebration: Continue to learn!! If you continue to learn, you continue to grow. “The expert in anything was once a beginner” ~H.H.

Lesson #10 on your 10 month celebration: You just crawled. You are on the move and our minds are already fast forwarding to you running, going to school, going on dates ahhh. Wish we could keep you little forever, but since we cannot, and we know that you will go on dates one day. I need to tell you that you will have your heart broken eventually, and we will be here to support you, and I promise that it will not break you 🙂 Your Dad and I are actually worried about how many hearts you will break!

Remember that the wrong relationships teach you how to recognize the right one when it arrives.

Lesson #11 on your 11 month celebration: Dance your heart out! Dance like no one is watching! Dance in the rain! Dance with your friends! Dance with your Dad! “When you get that chance to sit it or dance, I hope you dance!”

Lesson #12 on your 1st Birthday!! – Take time to reflect. In this busy world, take a couple minutes each day to reflect on your day – what went well, what did not go as expected, how you can be better person, and think about what you are thankful for. It is really good for your soul.

I have been reflecting on this past year with you, and it brings the happiest tears to my eyes. Holding you in my arms for the first time one year ago, you changed my world in a way that I did not expect. It is quite hard to explain, but I will try… Your big sister was our first baby, so we doted over her as first time parents do – giving her everything, hanging onto her every goo goo gaga, and praying we were doing this parenting thing right. When you came along, we had experience under our belt and some confidence. You tuned the tables on us an gave us everything we needed. You poured out your heart and love towards us, and I will never forget the way you looked at me over this past year. Happy Birthday!