#1 is 10!!!

Yes folks 10 years ago today at about this time I was being checked out of the hospital so that I could go across the street to the other hospital in order to finally get a really good look at my first born who unfortunately had to stay a week and a day in the NICU before coming home. She was a cutie. Still is for that matter. But don't tell her I said that, she prefers being referred to as cool instead of cute. I have tried to find a way to combine the two words so that both of us are happy, but I just haven't hit on an acceptable combination yet.

#1 is something. She sure has come a long way after having such a rocky and absolutely terrifying beginning to her life.

Let me tell you a little bit about her....

She is S-M-A-R-T Smart! Straight A's since she has begun to receive letter grades. She loves to learn that one! Her intelligence is noticeable right away. People who don't know her usually comment about her intelligence after only a few minutes of conversation with her.

This is a child that is almost never without a book in hand to read. Even if it is a five minute trip to the grocery store, she's gotta have something to read for the drive. Her current reading obsession is Harry Potter. She began the series this summer and I honestly can not tell you how many times she has read them all. I would guess we have reached double digits. We gave her all four movies for her gift today, so now she can obsess over those. She is also following in the footsteps of her father and developing a love for those things geeky, like comic books. Current favorite is Spiderman. (Only appropriate ones of course!)

#1 is no girly girl. No pink. No Barbie. No Bratz. (Thank the dear baby Jesus!) Absolutely positively NO DRESSES!! My girl likes spy gear, anything to do with science, bugs, and most especially butterflies. She can tell you a LOT about butterflies.

This dear child loves animals more than anything. If I would allow it she would have even more pets than she already does. Her room currently houses a hamster, three fish, and two frogs. The dog and cat enjoy spending time in there as well. Soon she will be the proud parent of an undetermined number of Sea Monkeys. She plans to be a vet someday, and I can absolutely see it happening.

Oohhh the imagination. I can not even put it in to words. Thankfully she does and who knows...perhaps she will write novels in between taking care of sick animals.

She loves her younger sister and they can play happily for impressively long periods of time and develop long complicated pretend games that I don't even pretend to try and follow.

She is a Daddy's girl....but has her special things that only Mommy can do.

She is a kind and patient child, and has often befriended those that others will not.

#1 is a complex kid...we like her that way! It is hard sometimes to realize how quickly time is passing, but we look forward to discovering the person she will become.

Now I present the birthday girl!