My sweet, sweet girl.

My girl, Maiki.... she is the sweetest thing on earth. I am convinced of that. I often refer to her as my "forgotten child". She used to drive me crazy when she was smaller. She was even worse than the Mad Man (although Mike will never admit this). She would disappear and I could guarantee she was doing something that I used to see as destructive - glueing, coloring on walls, cutting something - often hair.

Now, as she gets older, and I'm seeing the little baby fade away all too quickly, I am realizing that she isn't destructive, at least not on purpose. She is just extremely loveable, and caring, and creative. My little caterpillar is turning into a butterfly right before my eyes.

This note made me both happy, and sad. She wrote me this note the other day. Makena was invited to a sleepover at a friend's house. Maiki, as usual, had nowhere to go. So, we stayed home and had another Maiki night. We watched scary shows, did arts and crafts, ate lots of junk. She loved every minute of it. So did I. No one was competing for the attention I was giving her, and it was heaven for us both.

She was upset she didn't get to go to a friend's, but this note is the result of the time she had with us instead. It broke my heart. I forget sometimes how much those moments mean to each of them, but most of all to her. She is very appreciative - but never demanding - of any time she gets to herself. She is my sweet, sweet girl.