Paige turns 8!!

I realized as I started going back through my pictures and my posts that I really haven't done much all year! So, I am going clear back to January and going to try to play a little bit (or a lotta bit) of catchup!

January 19th, 2009


Holy moly! Paige is already 8! Wasn't it just yesterday that you were a skinny, tiny little baby that my little brother and sister were too scared to hold because you looked so fragile? Wasn't it just yesterday that you were doing the army crawl across our studio apartment floor? Wasn't it just yesterday that you knew all of the names of Snow White's dwarfs? We had little plastic figurines and you knew each one so well that you could name them just by seeing the bottom of their feet! Wasn't it just yesterday that you learned how to ride a bike and started your very first dance class? Wasn't it just yesterday that I got a phone call from your kindergarten teacher requesting that I talk to you about not kissing boys at recess? Sheesh! Where has all the time gone? I know you still have so much more growing up left, but these past eight years have gone by so quickly and have probably been the best eight years of my life! I have thoroughly enjoyed being your mom and am so sorry that you have to be my parenting guinea pig. I remember my dad having many talks with us, mainly as teenagers, about how he and my mom had never been parents before. They didn't have any prior experience raising children and they were learning just as we were. Well, now I know exactly how he felt. I try my best and I am often aware that sometimes my best isn't very good. I am trying and I pray daily for guidance and patience so that I can be the best mom to you. I want nothing but the best for you and want to provide you with opportunities that will allow you to fulfill all of your dreams! Your potential is limitless and I just hope you know how truly loved you are. You are such a special child with such a ginormous spirit! You have been bearing your testimony to us and to your friends since you could talk. Your recollection of scripture stories far surpasses mine. You are so smart and are so eager to learn. You love science and animals and random trivia facts. Reading came very easy for you and you love to do it. Your favorite books are children's encyclopedias. You are loving your dance classes and have greatly improved over the past year. You are such a joy to watch perform and you have your own cute distinctive style. You like to hang out in the back corner or at the end of the line...whether it be in school or at dance. I remember asking you why and your calculated response caught me by surprise. You said, "I like to be towards the end because usually the people that go first don't really know what they are supposed to do yet. If I'm towards the end, I can watch everybody else and then I know what I'm supposed to do." One smart cookie! I have so much to learn from you and love being your mom and friend. You have no idea how excited I am about the upcoming years ahead. I can only hope that we stay close and continue our great relationship! Just be patient with me because it's you that's teaching me how to be a mom. I love you, Paige!

We started off her birthday celebration with her birthday dinner at my parents' house. She had spaghetti and french bread that absolutely has to be accompanied with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip the bread in. She had recently fallen in love with Olive Garden's salad...so much so, in fact, that Santa brought her her very own bottle of Olive Garden's salad dressing. So, we had our re-creation of Olive Garden's salad, olives and all. And, of course, she had to have pickles! For dessert, she requested a chocolate heart birthday cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. I think she had been playing a little too much Cake Mania at the time!


More to follow: Paige's big 8th birthday bash and her baptism!