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Monday, September 29, 2014

Turning 11

I may have talked about this before, but when Anne Marie was a baby, she was sooo easy and content.
I would usually know when nap time should be over, but she would never wake up crying. I would always have to go up to her room just to find her laying there, happily staring up at the ceiling.
I have since learned that her personality gives her an ability and a desire to be alone. She recharges by having time to herself.

At the time, I thought it was my good parenting and Babywise. Babywise helped with a schedule, but her content nature is all her. 
It's an enlightening day when you finally realize that your children are born exactly who they should be;)

Anne Marie was my smallest child and my earliest. I delivered her 3 weeks early and she was 8 lbs. The nurses were all commenting on what a good size she was, but we couldn't believe how little she seemed compared to her siblings. Everyone else was close to or over the 9lb mark. So she felt teensy;)

That was 11 years ago. 

Since then she has still stayed on the petite size, but wonderful things come in small packages. She is still easily content and just a sweet, wonderful girl to be around. 

She also likes to be in charge and she frets when she isn't. It will be a great tool for being a mother some day. But right now I hope she can relax and just worry about the things that she is actually in charge of. 

She also shares a love of all things Beatles with her sister Kate, our other easily content child. Beatles music is relatively mellow, just like them. 





In staying with love of all things Beatles, she wanted a strawberry fields cake. I did my best to accommodate.


 Anne Marie is lucky to have a cousin who is only a few weeks younger than her. They are good friends and we love living near her now.



 Oh, and all things Doctor Who. That is a family thing. We all love the Doctor.



10 things we love about Anne Marie

1. As I have mentioned, she is so easily content. Sometimes I have to really drag out of her what SHE actually wants because she is so willing to let other people have their way. We are working on balance between the two things, but to not be instantly fussy when you don't get what you want is a gift.

2.She consistently tries to do what's right. Progress not perfection is my personal motto and I share it frequently with my kids. Heavenly Father does not expect us to be perfect, he expects us to try and give it our best, and Anne Marie lives up to this.

3. She is a fantastic soccer player. I have this on the list because it is so fun to see her love something so much and be good at it. And it is wonderful as a parent to see your children excel at things they enjoy.

4. She is the best big sister to Henry and Nora. Whenever she is gone, they both tell us, "Its no fun without Anne Marie here." They love to play with her and she is so kind and patient with them.

5. She is so creative. You could hand her empty toilet paper rolls, some pipe cleaner and markers and some blank paper and she would have a farm and 8 different animals created within an hour. I love that about her. And I feel bad because that is NOT one of my talents so I don't share in the fun hardly ever. So I just try and provide the materials and get out of her way:)

6. When she is needing a hug or some love she will just come over and plop herself on me. I like that she does that. Not everyone can voice what it is they need, and so when she feels like that she is comfortable enough and confident enough in my love for her to just let me know some other way.

7. She is such a pre-teen! It's awesome. I love hearing the drama of the day and the way she talks with her friends. She is different from Kate and Julia this way and I am enjoying that they are all their own person. The one thing that unites them is that they are all nice girls, even if they view school and life different sometimes.

8. She is always thinking of other people. Again, like with number 1, we are working on balance. But it is amazing to watch how genuinely concerned she is with how other people are doing, what they need, how they are feeling.

9. She is starting to find her voice, like, her actually singing voice and it is beautiful! Again, it is just wonderful and fills me with joy as a parent to see my children discover things about themselves. It is lovely.

10. Anne Marie wants to be with her family. She loves us AND likes us. What more could I ask for?

It is a privilege to be Anne Marie's mom. I feel so blessed to be able to raise her, that Heavenly Father trusted me with this most precious child.

Happy Birthday Anne Marie!!!!

1 comment:

  1. Happy birthday, Anne Marie! I loved it when she used to wear tights on her legs AND her arms at the same time :) what a spunky, cute girl!!

    ReplyDelete

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