Happy Birthday Lou Lou Belle!!!

Today, my oldest turns 8 years old. At this time, 8 years ago I was already in the hospital. I went in the night before (following my babyshower) to be induced. The had started the cervidil but it wasn't really doing much so they had decided at 9am they would start the pitocin. It had really started to kick in around lunch time and the doctor decided to move things along by breaking my water at 1pm. A couple hours later he said he would be back because he was going home to get something to eat, that he didn't expect me to deliver until at least 8. My aunt and I both looked at each other like he was freakin' nuts. He never made it back to deliver that sweet little baby girl.

I started pushing around 4pm and she made her silent arrival into this world at 410pm. I hadn't wanted John to touch me and I don't think he could have stood long enough anyways. He was pale as a ghost. The first picture as a new dad proves my point. He didn't cut the cord either and the on call doctor wouldn't let my sister videotape like I had wanted. Oh well, it didn't matter. Our daughter was here and that was the main thing.

I found out later that she wasn't breathing when she was born. Her first set of apgar's averaged really low, the second set (at 5 minutes) was a 9. We watched her get her first bath and she screamed her little head off. To this day, she still puts up a fight at bath time.

This girl has been the light of my life, the pain in my ass, and the spitting image of me her whole life (with the exception of her daddy's nose). She has always been smart. Her favorite show was Barney and she learned how to recognize and spell STOP from that. One day as we were leaving our apartment we came to the stop sign and she says, "S-T-O-P. STOP!" John and I just both looked at each other in shock. She wasn't even 2 yet. Her brothers and sisters were no where near as good of talkers, readers or spellers as she was at the same age. She loved her brother so much when he came along. She was only 19mths and I could sit him on the recliner next to her and she wouldn't bother him. She didn't push him off and she didn't try to pick him up but she always gave him kisses. She still loves him just as much (I can see it when they are getting along). My favorite memory of her is when my brother was staying at our apartment and he was spinning her in circles. Her sentences were not clear, she repeated sounds for words but it was the cutest thing when she said, "Jin Jin, circ circ." meaning "Uncle Jayson, more circles." She would say it over and over and he would spin her and she would get dizzy and fall on the floor. We laughed so hard, as did she.

She has grown up so much and her attitude is beyond words. She is loving and sweet and caring and mean and I swear she is the devils daughter. This girl makes me so proud. And I know she will accomplish great things She plays soccer, she gets straight A's, she does tumbling, she reads at a 5th grade level, she wants to be a professional soccer player, she likes to look up words in her dictionary, she is smart beyond words (no genius by any means, but damn that girl learns fast), she is ALL girl with a little bit of her daddy thrown in (the soccer thing).

I love you, Sexy Lexi. You are going to break hearts some day (girls and boys)... you are going to make the other girls jealous (of your looks and your brains)... you are going to make me and your daddy very proud. Happy 8th Birthday Baby Girl!!!

*I will be back with more pictures later*