Flashback Friday--Happy Birthday Billie!

Billie 7 years old

Billie 7 months old--her first "finger food"- crackers. Nalla LOVED it!

Billie and Nalla, almost 5 years old.

Billie Easter - 5 Years old

Billie and her Daddy, 9 months old.

Billie is 9 years old! I can not believe it! Sorry I do not have any newborn pics of her on my computer, that was before I had a digital camera! We had a great birthday party Wednesday night at our house with her grandparents. I told her to pic her favorite meal and she chose Vegetable soup and corn bread! Now let me paint the picture for you from four years ago: Billie was 5 and we had Greg and Kellee and the girls over for dinner at our new condo. I had made a huge pot of vegetable soup and we all sat down at the dinner table to eat. Billie got big tears in her eyes as she looked at her bowl in front of her. She refused to even taste it. "It has tomatoes in it!" she screamed, as big huge tears streamed down her face. I told her to just try it and if she didn't like it she didn't have to eat it. She still refused and I sent her to bed, screaming the entire way. About ten minutes later, she could still be heard in hysterics from her room, so I went in there to try to calm her down. Nothing doing. She had set her mind that she was not going to eat the soup. I left her in there to calm down. Greg and Kellee and the girls finished and we visited a little while and then they left to go home. I brought Billie back out to the table, heated her bowl of soup up and we tried again. She was still absolutely beside herself upset. I told her it was good with cheese and crackers in it, and asked if she wanted to try it that way. She did not. We fought about it back and forth for another hour probably and I finally told her I had had enough and she would eat the soup and say "Yum! Yum!" after every bite. So she finally dug in, and with her face soaked with tears and red from the trauma of the night, she began to giggle. She cried and giggled and kept taking bites of the soup. She said she was giggling because it tasted good. She was so surprised that it tasted good, and she had been so afraid to try it. She was sad because she had wasted a night of playing with Courtney and Mackenzie, but she was so happy that the soup didn't kill her. Bless her heart. She is so strong willed. But I knew if she would only try it, that she would like it. I usually know exactly what she will and won't like, and I am usually right. She now trusts me most of the time and tries stuff when I tell her she will like it. She did finish that bowl of soup and after each bite she said "Yum! Yum!" and we both cried and giggled as she did it. We laugh about that story now. It was a very traumatic night for both of us. I probably was too hard on her and should have just let her go hungry, but I guess I am strong willed, too! I was so surprised when she chose vegetable soup for her birthday dinner. I offered to make absolutely anything she wanted, but that is what she wanted! So amazing, my little girl. I am so glad that traumatic night turned into something so positive. I definitely had guilt over that one for a while, bless her heart.

Tonight she is celebrating with her friends. We are having our first slumber party. Nine 9-yr-old girls in our tiny little condo! It should be interesting. I am a little nervous. I really didn't plan on having that many girls. Yes, we did invite 8 girls. But I asked all of my friends who have done this sort of thing before and they all said only about half come! Imagine my surprise when all 8 we invited RSVP'd! But Billie is so excited and it should be a wonderful experience for us all. Matt thinks I was nuts for inviting that many, but we are just going to pile them up in sleeping bags on the floor and everyone will be cozy and comfy! Besides, I learned a valuable lesson: Only invite the number your house can hold! Live and learn, right? I will let you know how it goes! Happy Birthday Billie, my sweet precious little girl!