ELEVEN!

I have an eleven year old. What? I don't look old enough to have an elven year old? Why, thank you!

By the way, this photo was NOT taken today. Today, there is no less that 8 inches of brand new snow on the ground. A present Ashton certainly did not ask for!

I can hardly believe that eleven years ago today, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my first tiny babe in my arms.

I remember waking Doug up at about 2:00 a.m. and having him take me to the hospital. I was having contractions that were very regular, though they didn't hurt. They told me I wasn't ready, that I should go home and rest. I did. I woke up a few hours later and told Doug to take me back. This time, they let me stay. The contractions hurt. My doctor came and told me to expect to deliver that night. He left and went to church. He walked in, sat down and his pager went off. I was ready. He rushed back to the hospital just in time to deliver Ashton at 1:04 p.m. (the very moment Doug was supposed to be giving a talk in church!).

We brought her home and she started growing. She hasn't stopped. She is 5'4 1/2". She has been a pleasure nearly every day of her life.

I will now list eleven things I love about that girl.

1. She is so helpful! She is my right-hand-man, er girl.

2. She has something like a photographic memory. It's amazing.

3. She is a piano-playing genius. I don't think I'm exaggerating, either.

4. She smiles 99% of the time.

5. She finds joy in everything, even the little things.

6. She is a super-reader. She reads at the speed of light (I might be exaggerating there, but just a bit) and remembers nearly everything.

7. She is a fantastic cook.

8. She plays with everyone. She plays with tiny kids, kids her own age, and can hold her own in adult conversation.

9. She is a self-motivated learner. She makes homeschooling a cinch!

10. She is beautiful. I would love her just as much if she wasn't, but she is.

11. She is a fruit bat. In fact, this is the first year in forever we aren't having fruit salad for her birthday. We're having fruit pizza!

Well, there you have it. Happy Birthday to my favorite ELEVEN year old! I love you, Ashton!

Gimme That!

My sister and her cutie girls came over yesterday. Her babe just turned one (happy birthday!). She is the same size as Sophie. Ok. Smaller. Anyway, I kept trying to get a cute picture of them together, smiling. It didn't happen. But I caught this sequence and it made me laugh! If a picture is worth a thousand words, these four pictures tell a whole story!

The end.

Sophie

I kinda feel like Sophie hasn't gotten enough face time on my blog. 

Maybe she has. I don't know. 

I just thought I needed to show her off a little. You know. 'Cause she's cute.

 I love the baby teeth.

 Captain Jack Sopho

 A little fuzzy, but I love the face. The cheeks. The eyelashes.

 Ignore the dog food and the filthy window. Only notice the cuteness.

 Same as above.

 Her daddy often calls her "Big Blues." Maybe this is why.

 The cheeks again. The ears. The chins. The eyes. Can you tell I like her?

Taking a nap with Wall-E and Dad-E.

There you have it. Cute baby. The end.

Caught Red-Handed

We have a very strict do not put anything in Sophie's mouth rule in our house. If someone wants to give her a paci, they have to hand it to her and let her put it in her own mouth (not that she sucks on them). Otherwise, things get a little out of hand. Seriously.

The other day, Ashton and I were sitting on the couch chatting, Roxie and Sophie were sitting on the floor and Christian was playing with my phone (which he is usually not allowed to do, but I was feeling generous, I guess). I looked up at Sophie and she had a paci in her mouth and looked like she was about to tip over backwards. As if someone had put her paci in her mouth and shoved it in so hard it threw her off balance. Hmmm.

Mom: "ROXIE, did you put that paci in her mouth?"

Roxie: (Incredulously) "NO!"

Christian: "Yes she did, Mom. And I have the picture to prove it!"

Wow. What are the chances? I laughed like I haven't laughed in a long time. I'm still laughing. Don't worry. Roxie still earned consequences for breaking the rule and for lying. I just laughed and had tears streaming down my cheeks while I enforced said consequences.

So, the moral? Either don't lie (the best moral) or at least make sure your brother doesn't have the camera when you feel like being naughty.

Monday Morning Giggle

There you go. If you aren't giggling, I don't know what to do for you. You may be hopeless.