13 Things For A 13 Year Old

Look at those eyes! Those cheeks! I love this girl!

Emily turned 13 on Sunday so in honor of her cross over into teenagerhood I give you 13 things about Emily.

1. She is the only one of my children to have stitches...twice. When she was almost 4, she was jumping between beds in her room and missed the mattress. She hit her leg on the metal frame and split her shin wide open. I was 20 months pregnant (or maybe it just seemed like that) with Carson at the time and had to carry her into the hospital on top of my bulging belly. When they numbed her leg, she screamed louder than I've ever heard anyone scream . It was traumatic for both of us. Right after they finished she was up running around. It took me hours to recuperate. The second time she slipped on the ladder of a water slide and her tooth went through her mouth just below her bottom lip as she slid down past the kids climbing up the ladder. Every time she smiled their was a gaping hole where there shouldn't be. This time I spent the whole time in the hospital with my head between my knees and the nurse asking ME if I was okay. She was happy as a clam!

2. Sometimes she can be a little too chatty.

3. I have been introduced to a lot of people by her. Over the years she has asked to go to her friend's house and if I didn't know them I would tell her that I had to meet the parents first. Many a time have I gone to the front door to be met by a stranger that had been dragged to the door by two little girls that just wanted to play together. She would look at me with those big hazel eyes and say "this is my friend's mom...now that you have met her can I go play?" No...not awkward...at all. :)

4. She loves to sing. She was asked to sing a duet with her friend at a talent show when she was very little. At the last minute her friend decided there were too many people there. She got up and sang it anyway. So brave!

5. She has a soft spot in her heart for people with special needs. They are some of her favorites at school and church. She changed elementary schools so she could go to school with Carson because she wanted to be able to keep an eye on him and keep him safe. She would get off the bus in the morning and go straight to the special needs classroom. She just loves them and looks past their disability. She is in Partners In PE at school and loves it!

6. She is the only person in our family that likes to be the center of attention. She's also the only person in our family brave enough to act in a play...in front of tons of people!

7. She was the cause of the entire Oviedo, FL police department being dispatched to our house when she went missing one day. She had slipped out the gate, gone and chatted with all the neighbors and then knocked on the door of her friend's house to play. When the mom asked if I knew where she was she said "yes" and went inside to watch a movie. It took us an hour to find her. It was the longest hour of my life. I still have the image of her being carried by my kind neighbor who searched and searched until he found his little friend. She had a look on her face like "is all this fuss for me?"

8. She is a very gifted artist. She loves drawing and painting.

9. When she was little, I would look outside and see her sitting on the swing eating something. When I asked where she got it from she would say "Mr. Wayne and Miss Danielle." She would sneak out, go next door, and ask them for a snack. They always gave her one and then she would come back home and happily eat while swinging.

10. She cannot keep her room clean to save her life but then neither can I.

11. She loves to read.

12. She plays the viola in the orchestra.

13. She loves to tell very detailed stories about her day. If we are busy and try to stop her, she asks us to let her finish first. She is very persistent.

So, there you go...13 things about our Emily. We love you very much Miss Emily and are thankful you joined our family 13 years ago.

Happy Birthday!