Last year of single digits for Noelle

nine. can you really be nine?

you came ten days early. i didn't want you to come early. don't get me wrong, i was really excited to have you here. it's just that your due date was the day of my last final for nursing school and i didn't want to be distracted with studying for my final with a new baby. because i knew it was a possibility that you might come early, i had all of my homework and clinical hours done. i prepared myself as much as i could because i was so excited to meet you.

so 10 days after you were born i took my final. 5 days after my final we moved as a family to tucson, az. it seems like it was only like 3 years ago that we were packing up your 5 pound, petite body into your carseat.

your middle name, kate, is after 2 great women, your aunt kathy and aunt kathleen. these women are wonderful older sisters who have amazing strength, compassion and make people around them feel good and want to do better. your dad and i have so much love and respect for these women and you are living up to your namesake! you have big shoes to fill and you are not just doing it...you are doing it well.

now you're 9! before i was even old enough to have a reasonable desire to have children, i dreamt about you and you are even more beautiful and perfect than i imagined. you're smart, talented, organized, nice, unusual (in such a great way) and cute as a button. there was a boy in your class who happened to tell his grandmother (Fauna), "there are some girls who are pretty and some who are nice. ellie altop is both." you truly are a rarity on this planet.

for your birthday this year, you wanted lucky charms for breakfast, mc donalds for lunch, and macaroni and cheese with hotdogs in it and apples for dinner. we picked you and 3 of your friends, morgan, lydia and braquel up for your birthday lunch. you wanted a strawberry shortcake cake for your birthday.

here are some fun facts about you in your own words as you go into your 9th year of life:
favorite song: you belong with me
favorite food: macaroni & cheese
favorite book: read to your bunny
favorite movie: baby geniuses
what do you want to be when you grow up?: a teacher
best friend: andalyn, morgan & lydia
what are you good at?: i'm good at math
what are you not good at?: i'm not good at doing division
what do you want to accomplish while you're 9?: get better at division
is there anything funny about you?: i don't know

this family is so blessed to have you!!