Double Digit Day (Happy Birthday, Penelope!)

Well it was bound to happen and I could not stop time. In a bottle or elsewhere. I know because I have tried! I even attempted to convince my little girl that we had made a mistake somewhere along the line, and she was turning NINE this year. Nope, no go. She was having none of it. Her sister had already sold her on the idea of double digits, and sold her good. She was so excited!

So in the spirit of thinking back over the wonderful and precious ten years I have had her in my life, and since I have been thinking about these all day, here is a list of things and moments that I miss, things she has left behind. A series of "last times" that I did not even realize had happened until they were gone.

- Always wanting to wear socks to bed

- Needing her tears wiped away with a tissue before she could feel better about something

- Jumping on the bed but saying "just bumping, mama!"

- Saying "No hing my hong, dat my hong!" (Don't sing my song, that's my song!)

- Wanting to wear a tiara all the time, or her Alice in Wonderland dress

- Playing with the faucet drips while I braided her hair

- Always wanting to wear her light-up Snow White shoes

- Backwards baseball caps

- Wanting to help "thow away them mail" (help me sort out junk mail)

- Needing to smell EVERY flower she ever saw

- Asking for nap time

- Stuffing her pockets with anything she could find that was tiny enough

- Saying "I see pitcha? I see pitcha?" when I tried to video her

- Making me read Freddie Spaghetti every single day

- Afraid to talk on the phone

- Asking for tea parties all the time, and dressing up for them

- Bringing in "calipitters" she found on a leaf outside

- Saying her bedtime prayers in her fuzzy purple footie jammies, thanking Jesus for her "hamily"

- Saying "me ready for dance dance!" on the way to ballet class

(she is on the far left on ballet class photo)

And this is my beautiful TEN YEAR OLD girl today.

- Loves American Girl dolls

- Asks me for spelling bees in the car

- Hates wearing socks

- Holds my hand all the time

- Still wants flowers in her hair

- Likes to memorize bible verses

- Crazy about her dog, Pluto

- Loves to ride and train her horse

- Still a packrat for tiny things she can put in her pockets (ask the laundry lady)

- Saves up money...then spends it on her sister or friends

- Has a bed piled with stuffed animals but her favorite is Amigo, the goat.

- Beats everyone at most card games

- Brave but tender hearted too

- Can make a mean guacomole dip

- Hates raisins

- Is a Mommy's girl

MAKES ME HAPPY EVERY DAY JUST TO BE WITH HER!