Today I’m sharing the 7th birthday letter to my daughter, Tess. Please enjoy and feel free to share!
Birthday letters are a super special way to give your child a meaningful gift that they can appreciate more and more as time goes on… as well as a sweet way to show how much you love them!
Not everybody is great at expressing themselves with words, but sometimes it’s easier to write things down versus trying to say them. Plus, your child may not remember what you said (even if they appreciated it!) but they can always reread a letter. That’s what makes them such valuable keepsakes!
My birthday letters to my children vary depending on the year, but more or less you’ll find these same elements in all of them:
- A recap of the year and their achievements, in and out of school
- My favorites things about them
- How their relationships with parents, siblings, and friends have grown
- Of course, lots of love and encouragement!
On each of my kids’ eighteenth birthdays, I plan on making a book of all the birthday letters their father and I have written to them over the years and giving it to them as a gift!
As they enter adulthood (and possibly go off to college… hopefully not too far away!) I hope those letters can serve as a keepsake of their childhood and a reminder of how much their family loves them!
Below is the letter to my daughter on her 7th birthday, written by her mama, me! You are more than welcome to use this as inspiration or as a template for your own 7th birthday letter to your daughter.
7th Birthday Letter to My Daughter
My sweet Tessie,
You have grown up SO much this year! It is crazy to see these photos and watch how you go from my cute little girl to my beautiful big girl so quickly.
You have always been such a joy in all of our lives. Things I often say to you: “You are my joy.” “I’m going to put you in my pocket and take you with me everywhere I do” and “I love you to the moon and back”
It’s impossible not to feel happiness when around you. Your vibe is just pure joy. Even when you get upset, it is always such sweet tears. It’s honestly super hard not to spoil you and even tougher to actually discipline you when it’s needed. You have us all pretty wrapped!
Even though you are easy going and have such a naturally kind and giving spirit, you are still very sure of who you are. You know what you want and don’t hesitate when making decisions. I really admire that quality in you! I’m so indecisive and love that you don’t struggle with that whatsoever. You like what you like and you want what you want and you don’t need anyone’s opinion about it.
It’s such an important quality to have – especially with your natural giving nature. You always think of others and always offer such genuine kindness to everyone you meet. You are that “they will give you the shirt of their back” kinda person. It’s authentic and you truly do just seek to help others in such a pure way. But it’s not a weakness either. You are strong and speak up when you do want something or feel passionately about something, you are kind but are not a pushover and do not get walked on or taken advantage of either. I love that you aren’t afraid to stand up for yourself and for what is right!
During this crazy pandemic time you have “suffered” the most. Your kindergarten school year was cut short, your first grade school year was anything but normal and as you begin second grade it too will not be what school should be for you. I’m eager for normalcy to return for many reasons but out of all the kids I want YOU to get to have that full school experience that you’ve not yet been able to enjoy!
You have really handled all of the disappointments and abnormalities beautifully though. Being my “big feelings” kid I worry a lot about how the stresses of the world may impact you. You feel things so strongly and that can be heavy on you. It sometimes literally seems like you carry the weight of the world on your tiny shoulders.
But I’m SO proud of how in touch you are with your emotions. You have such a high level of emotional intelligence. You feel deeply. You love deeply. But you also have your own ways of coping and finding that place of calm and peace when feeling overwhelmed. You are able to calm yourself and it’s an amazing skill! It’s so valuable to be so in tune with your body and your needs in the moment and I’m so proud of the ways you show up for YOU!
I really saw firsthand just the depth of your empathy and ability to feel deeply during Big Daddy’s funeral. You felt the sadness surrounding you and cried so hard during the service that you straight up fell HARD asleep. I have really been working to pay close attention to your bigger emotions since then to make sure I’m checking in and helping you navigate those big feeling kinda moments. It’s a beautiful quality to have and I know it will bless so many people in your path as you get older, but I also want to make sure you never feel emotionally responsible for others and always put self care as a top priority.
A big source of that self care for you is reading. You LOVE to read and soak up every book we can find for you. You especially love to read out loud to Spear (and to anyone else who will listen but he’s your easiest and most eager audience). I love that you find friendship in a good book and it’s been amazing to see your reading skills really develop throughout this year.
It is also so interesting to me as a parent to see the ways you are similar to your siblings and the ways in which you are different. The love for reading is SO much like Kye! I think the two of you are very similar in the way you think and your worldview and so many of those qualities remind me of myself. It’s such a gift that we all have each other to lean on and understand how the others think and feel.
It’s also such a gift though to have Daddy and Britt and Spear who are different than us in those ways as we can all learn so much from each other and help edify one another too.
You may look like me and think like me in many ways…but your humor is DADDY. You are probably the funniest kid in our crew and have such an adult sort of humor and the perfect delivery. You are low-key like I am but the jokes are exactly like ones Daddy would say. Quick witted and a bit silly. You always have us ALL laughing but YOUR laugh is the best! When you get yourself laughing it makes me laugh the hardest. It’s contagious!
You are such the ideal third child and get along beautifully with all of your siblings. They all fight over who gets to hang out with you! You are very easy going and truly enjoy connecting with them with whatever they want to do. You’re always down for whatever and always have a happy heart no matter what the agenda is!
You’ve had to learn time management skills because you are constantly needing to divide your time between all your siblings evenly. While you enjoy being with them, you equally love time to yourself. You’ve always played beautifully alone and continue to find joy in that alone time. I for sure think you lean more to being an introvert and need some time alone to be energized.
I am so thankful that the world opened back up a bit in time for your 6th birthday celebration at Disney. We have had several Disney trips this year and it’s such a time stamp on this post that SO MANY of the pictures of us together at Disney are with masks on. I pray this is just a weird distant memory soon!
I’m thankful we were still able to go and do and make so many memories together even during such a crazy state in our world. While the Disney Cruise in 2020 couldn’t happen we made it magical with a trip to Universal that ended up in us getting annual passes. I felt so bad for so much of the year because you were too little to ride a lot of the thrills and I’m SO excited for you that you’re now that exciting 48 inches! PLUS being 7 means…you can ride solo at Disney World and don’t have to sit with an adult either! I know Kye and Britt are super pumped for this milestone and I can only imagine the bickering that will ensue over who gets to sit with Tess on the rides!
Our trip to Key West was SO fun and some of my favorite memories on the trip were of you falling asleep at dinners or in the car. You’re still my can-sleep-anywhere kid! I also LOVE the memory on the sunset cruise as you were just in the groove with your dance skills. I LOVE your confidence and how you will break it down anywhere! You’ve got great rhythm and epic moves 😉
We had some awesome big moments this year but I especially love the little ones together with you. I love our little dates (CFA always!) and our tuck in routine. We sing “Love me Tender” and of all the kids you’re the one who ALWAYS sings along with me.
You have a beautiful singing voice and it’s been awesome to see (well hear!) you use that gift to glorify the Lord. You sing loud and proud during worship services and it is not only beautiful but is so encouraging to those around you. While you love having friends sit with you in the pew during worship you also take services very seriously.
I’m sure you have no idea what an awesome example you are setting for those around you – but I see the other little kids watching you and following your lead during services. It makes my mama heart swell with pride but it especially makes GOD proud! You have such a heart for the Lord!
Whenever you talk about the boys at school (ALL the boys want you to be their “girlfriend”) you always are quick to ask them if they love Jesus and if they plan to get “bathtized.” It’s precious and I love that you aren’t shy about sharing your relationship with Jesus. I know you will help lead so many to Him!
We made some big changes this year and found a new church home. You have jumped right in like it was where you’ve always been! You have made fast friends and love your Bible Class teachers and fellow students. With the pandemic and shut down it was tough for you as you missed out on so many foundational teachings that are learned at this age in Bible Class. Our new church has been such a great fit and you’ve soaked up all the knowledge!
As always, you continue to be an incredible “second mama” to Spear. You adore him just as much now as you did when he was born. You constantly point out how cute he is. You have THE most patience with him and are always quick to volunteer to sit with him, help him with a task, read him a book, and sing him a song. I truly think you feel like you ARE his mom more than his sister!
All this practice will make you an INCREDIBLE mama someday. I am SO excited to see you in that role. I feel like it’s one you’re meant to have. Parenting will just come naturally for you as you have that caregiver role DOWN. When I ask you what you want to be when you grow up you always say “a mommy!” You can do anything you put your mind to, but I do agree that it’ll be an awesome job for you!
One of my favorite memories from this year with you was when you chopped off your hair. We went in for a trim and you sat down with confidence and said “I want my hair like little girl Cruella” It SHOCKED us all but you ROCK it and you had a VISION and it WORKS!
You have such a natural gift with style and are my first kid to really be hardcore about wanting to choose your own outfits everyday. You love combining multiple shades of the same color and also like to match random color combinations together. I love your confidence and never want to break your spirit. But I do hope you don’t look back someday and be annoyed with me for letting you out of the house with some of the things you choose to wear 😉
Looking ahead at the age of 7 I fully anticipate it to be another joy-filled year with you. I know many say that the age of 7 is the golden age of childhood but I just can’t fathom it getting any better as it’s always an incredible journey being your mama!
You are a blessing in my life and in all those who know you. I strive to be the best mom I can be for you and to meet you where you need me, when you need me, in the ways you need me to show up, always!
I know we will face challenges and there will be times where we let each other down or disappoint each other. But Tess I am ALWAYS your biggest fan and ALWAYS have your back. There is nothing you could ever do or any choice you could ever make that would stop me from loving you and supporting you. I will always strive to parent you in love and through the lens of Christ. My top priority in my life is leading you to Heaven and showering you with my love through that journey!
You can count on me forever and ever and I know this coming year will only continue to be one with filled with your infectious laughter, sweet kisses, and funny joke books. I love watching you grow and am so proud of the girl you are and the one you will become.
I love you so much Tessley Capri!
Happy 7th Birthday,
Love: Mommy
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this 7th birthday letter to my daughter. If you’d like more birthday letter inspiration, you can read all of my Past Birthday Letter’s To Tess Here:
My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.
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