Ariana Mae

Big, bright, blue-eyed baby girl

Missing tooth with soft blonde curl

So petite, no socks on toes

Stickers everywhere she goes

Born to water in the most natural way

Naturally, that’s where she loved to play

Bath time was always a welcomed event

Just mention the word and away she went

Getting her to eat, though, proved a chore

Sippy cup rolling past food on the floor

Bedtime rituals pushed patience to the brink

“Nummies! Babies! Bankets! Dink!”

Frustrated, exhausted, we’d vow not to bend

And we’d trade anything just to do it again

Our little chocolate monster, “montherth!” she’d say

If you let her would sit and eat candy all day

She would open the cupboards and start helping herself

To pretty much anything she’d find on the shelf

Cereal boxes were an oversized score

We can’t even count how many we lost to the floor

With that cute little sweet tooth inherited from her mother

She’d sift through Lucky Charms leaving no marshmallows for her brother

Chewed up fruit snacks that she stuck to her face

Would be found for weeks later all over the place

And with all of these messes that got cleaned up in the end

We’d trade anything just to do it again

Our sweet little angel, our bright sunshine girl

Your heart is much too big for this world

You have the kindest, sweetest, most gentle spirit

And try as I might, mine just can’t come near it

Your songs and your smiles we will hold in our hearts

And if ever you see that we’re falling apart

Show us the strength to greet the next day

With a smile and a song to continue our way

And as the days turn to weeks and to months and to years

When laughs and happy memories displace all the tears

We promise to sing to you every night before bed

Till our bodies grow tired and we lay down our heads

And we reach out our arms to feel your embrace

Your soft little kisses, your hand on our face

For now we will wait for our spirits to ascend

But we’d trade anything just to do it again

-Daddy