A Look Back

I guess since tomorrow is the last day of the year I will have to do the annual look back through the year.  I thought that this year I would be good and get out a picture and a letter but yet again, that did not happen.   So, I hope that this can be my replacement.....yep, that works.  So, here it goes.

She has had a much better year than last year.  She has been a rock star of an older sister.  She has helped out with diaper changes and making sure the small things got put away so the little ones wouldn't put it in their mouths.  She turned 8 years old and had her very first sleepover.  I wont let you know how that went for me, but she had a blast.  She finished up her second grade year and couldn't wait to plan numerous things to do over the summer.  Third grade started and she has far exceeded our expectations.  She has also become an advocate for Epilepsy.  She participated in her very first Epilepsy Freedom Walk and is excited to do another one.  She started her third medication this year as well to help control seizures and it seems to be the best so far.  We have started to see some not so good signs but for the most part, 2010 has excelled.  We were also blessed for her to receive an Emfit monitor so we can all sleep a little better at night.  She continues to amaze me each year.  As my oldest I get to experience many new and exciting things and I know 2011 will be no different.

What can I say about our wild child?  She has fit perfectly into her middle child role and I think she likes being squished right into the middle.  She tries to fit in with all the big girls who come over yet she still loves to get on the floor and play dolls and blocks with her baby sister.  She was supposed to start preschool but after some prayers and discussions, we decided to home school her.  I think this has fit her perfectly, she loves school time at home.  To get her interaction with kids her age, she was enrolled in dance class here on base and can barely make it a whole week without asking when she gets to go back.  She turned 4 this year and on the day of her birthday she was reminding us of what she did the year before and all the gifts she got.  And she actually got it all correct and even remembered things I had completely forgotten about.  She has had her moments, we thought her "terrible three;s" were going to fade away but we are finding that the "freakin out fours" are just as lovely.  Yet, the girl knows how to get out of it all by making faces and cracking jokes, I think mom needs to learn how to not be so gullible or maybe ground her funny bone a bit because I cannot help but smile.  And this year she has fallen in love, yes her first crush, a boy by the name of Justin Beiber, has infiltrated my sweet middle girl and as Cass puts it, "she has the Beiber fever".  She actually got a poster of him for Christmas and will kiss him good morning and goodnight.  She is super excited to turn 5 and start kindergarten "just like Jackson" (one of her friends who is in kindergarten this year).  I am excited and yet slightly afraid to see what she will deliver this next year!

Uh, that face.  Can we take this age and just freeze her in time right now?  God knew I needed to have my sweet baby girl, a boy would not do no matter how much I thought I needed one.  She has melted my heart.  Sure, she did the whole walking thing and first word this year and I will cherish that forever but it is all of the in between that has made the memories all that sweeter.  She crinkles her nose like a bunny and has fallen in love with Elmo.  She learned to say that pretty quickly too.  She loves to copy her big sisters in all that they do, she even stands next to Cass when I quiz her on spelling words, she may not get them right but when you see her standing tall, hands folded in front of her saying "eee, aaaa, oooo", it takes you over the edge.  She also loves everybody.  I cannot tell you how many times she asks strangers to hold her or will hug a random leg that doesn't belong to someone she knows.  The girl just bleeds love and I am more than willing to take it.  I tell her each and every night how much I love her and when she says "I loweee loo" back, I don't want to put her to bed, I want to snuggle her.  But she has promised she will still talk like that and snuggle me when she is 30 so I am alright, who cares if she doesn't know what a promise is or even what the heck I said to her, she promised dang it.  I know she will grow and be a whole different girl this time next year but I am so excited to see what discoveries she will make!
This year has brought heartache as well.  My grandfather, my Papa, passed away.  I know that people can say that he was old and lived a good life and I should be happy to know he is in a better place, but that is still hard for me.  He wasn't just my Papa, he was the male role model in my life.  I didn't get to grow up with a dad in my life but I did have my Papa.  I lived with him and my Maemaw for years and got to see him on a daily basis.  He yelled at me and made sure I was doing well in school and he also gave me hugs goodnight and made sure I knew I was loved.  He gave me strong pride in my Norwegian heritage and I will forever be grateful to have had a man like him in my life.  And our middle girl loved him beyond words.  She was the only grandchild who ever really took to him.  He was a very stern man so small kids were a little wary but she would crawl in his lap and love on him whenever we saw him.  She had a hard time at the funeral and even this Christmas when we went to give him flowers, she asked for him to come back and that Santa could do anything.....my heart breaks.
I am super excited to start this new year with my girls!  I know that big changes will be coming our way but I know we will be able to take whatever is thrown our way.  May you all have a blessed New year, I hope you can look back on this one with fond memories!!!!!!!