Thirteen

Billie will be thirteen years old on Monday.  I will officially be the mom of a teenager! How the heck did that happen so quickly?! I know everyone says it, but they truly do grow up in the blink of an eye. I am trying to savor every last second of her childhood. I am so blessed by this kid! We have some celebrations planned (and some BIG SURPRISES for her-I'll update when I can share the secret), but I thought everyone would enjoy a snap shot into her 13 years.  She is the best kid a mom could ever ask for.  I really hit the jack pot when it comes to daughters! Enjoy!

7 lbs 11 oz-Born on Inauguration Day 2001 (We watched George W. inaugurated as I labored, and it snowed, too.)

She had such chubby cheeks! She was a great baby; very easy, and a sleeper-oh how that baby slept!

Did I mention how much hair she had? She has more hair here at 5 months than Harper has now at almost 3!

3.5 years old. 

5 Years old-Beach trip to Outer Banks, NC

Look how proud she is!

First Day of Kindergarten.  She looks happy here, but when I dropped her off she screamed and had to be peeled off of me by Mrs. Bounds.  Mrs. Bounds called me about an hour later to let me know she was doing fine and had settled down not long after I left.  I am totally getting all verklempt thinking about that morning, one of my hardest as a mom.

Proud Big Sister. I would not have planned them 10 years apart, but God had a great plan.  Those two have the most precious sibling relationship.  I feel in my heart God gave Harper as a gift not only to grieving parents, but to grieving Billie, too.  She has gone through so much loss in her 13 years and it has given her such compassion and gratefulness. She would have been a great sister anyway, but I know losing her brothers made an impact on the kind of sister she is today.

My beautiful ballerina.  She loves to dance. She loves to sing. She loves music, books, and movies.

So Grown up! Funny fact: Billie had blue eyes until she was almost 5, when they changed from blue to green. I love her green eyes, they are beautiful and I can always tell if she is sick because they turn gray.  I have no idea where she got them from, because my eyes are brown and Michael's were blue! It bothered me when they changed at first,  I felt sad that her daddy didn't get to see them change, but I think he knows.

Look at those eyelashes! Sarah Mcaffry took this in the spring

Her ballet recital will be Peter Pan this spring.  She was so excited when her costume came in this week, she danced around the house in it most of the evening saying "Aye Matey."