Bella turns 8!

My first born and only girl has a birthday today. She is 8. How come every birthday with every child seems so shocking? When do we stop being baffled at how fast these kids are growing up?

Bella, Bella, Bella.

This girl, as always, is something else. Here are some words that really fit her right now.

//mature//

Bella is blossoming into a very mature girl. One thing I've always had to be aware of in myself is the very high expectations I place on my girl. She looks and acts so much older than she is. She has a heightened awareness of her surroundings and the people in it. She is incredibly insightful. She sees and hears you when you don't think she does. She remembers every word you've ever spoken in regards to something promised to her. :) She also prefers adult conversation over playing with kids. I regularly have to remind her to play with her friends and let me talk to mine. :)

//brave//

Her heart is brave. She tries new things, doesn't need help with much, and has big ideas. She has a very tender spot for those less privileged than her... she currently has posters hanging in her room that ask for money to feed the poor. She has had long discussions with me about us fostering children in our home. She is a fixer. And she has genuine compassion. I see true evidence of the Holy Spirit living inside of this girl and beckoning her down His path. That is what I'm most grateful for when I look at her life.

//motherly//

I'm certain I could walk out of the house with my 3 boys under Bella's care, and when I returned, all would be well. She is very bossy with her brothers, and through her strong persuasive skills, can almost always get them to do what she wants. She puts them under a big sister spell or something... I've found the boys cleaning her room many times. Haha! She adores baby Finn and is so caring with him. Her name is the only sibling name he can say right now. She carries him, reads to him, gets him snacks, swims with him, rocks him... they both eat it up. She was born with those mothering skills!

I love this picture... she dressed up her brother and cousin in her clothes.

//strong-willed//

This one will always describe Bella. Once strong-willed, always strong-willed. Because she is older, we have lots of conversations trying to work out frustrating situations. Mark is very good at this. His reasoning skills are outstanding, and she listens to him. Her and I though... the mother/daughter relationship is very unique. Especially if the both of you are very much alike. I understand her very well, and I become incredibly proud of her and the decisions I see her making. But as stated above, I have high expectations for her, so I equally get very frustrated with poor choices or lately, poor attitudes and sassiness, and this is where it gets tough. I consistenly pray for our relationship... that the struggles won't beat us but grow us.

//diva//

This girl is 100% pop-star diva obsessed right now. She loves fashion, music, dancing, stars... oh, and mirrors. She loves to sing and dance in front of mirrors. It. Is. Hilarious. She loves high heels, sparkles, hair colors, make-up, purses... I'm pretty sure she envisions herself as Taylor Swift. She wants music blaring and the floor cleared for her *performances*. We are keeping a close eye on all of this... because it's bad news bears out there ya'll... too many public figures that I would be happy with Bella never ever ever knowing about.

Her double sister a.k.a. cousin Macy

//self-motivated//

Bella has recently gotten into some athletic hobbies... she was watching closely as I trained for my triathlon. :) She joined a swim team this summer, and I was most surprised by her self-motivation. She found a clock, learned how to set the alarm, and was up and waiting every morning on us to drive her to practice. She practiced hard and was very competitive. Bottom line is she wanted to win. And she swam as fast as she could. This is all without Mark or I ever saying a word to her. One day when I picked her up from practice, we proceeded to have this conversation...

"How was practice?"

"It was great... I won several times."

"Oh, you were racing today?"

"Well, not exactly. I was racing kids on my own during our laps. I looked over at this boy, and he was looking right into my eyes, and I knew it was on. I knew I had to win."


Ummm... I didn't even know what to say. I was laughing inside and trying not to smile. And also wondering what in the world we were going to do with her. Maybe give her a humility medal.

She wants a road bike for her birthday, she is running a 5k with me in a couple of weeks, and she wants to give volleyball and basketball a try this year. And so it begins...

She was the first to make me a mother. The first I nursed. The first I rocked. The first I fretted over. Being her mother is a beautiful challenge... an incredible journey. And there's still so much to come. So instead of being sad that my girl is growing up, I choose to be grateful and joyful today that my girl is GROWING UP... that is is gift!

I heard Bella using photo booth on the computer this morning. When I went back to look at her pictures, these were a couple that I found.

Beautiful and looking too grown up.

Also, photo booth provides an unlimited amount of selfies... she took 54... with all the effects. And so year 8 begins...

Happy Birthday Bella Kathryn!