10 years ago today...

it's amazing to think that at 12:30 in the morning, 10 years ago, my water broke and we left for the hospital.

it's also amazing to think that haley was almost 2 full weeks early, and an ounce shy of 9 pounds. (just like i told the doctor)

she had rolls on her thighs. it's unbelievable how cute those little rolls were.

i remember our nurse, a little bit of a woman all of 4 feet 10 (maybe), telling me not to "worry" about her being "too big" because she was her mom's biggest baby at 9 and a half pounds. she didn't know the genes haley had gotten. now that you are 5 feet 1 and 95 pounds...with a size 10 shoe.

she walked the day she turned 9 months. october 22nd to be exact. how do i remember? well, because she is the ONLY ONE I DIDN'T WITNESS TAKE THOSE FIRST REAL STEPS!! we had a wedding or something to go to, and so she and alex stayed with my sister-in-law...the next day she says "why didn't you tell me she was walking?" um, because she wasn't. i knew she was close, she walked around the furniture barely touching it, but she didn't have the confidence to just "walk". until she went to aunt debbie's anyway.

i was so worried about her going to school. girls can be so catty..and (not that i'm biased or anything) she is just so gosh darn beautiful. and nice. but a touch on the goofy side. i was worried about her getting bullied. little did i realize how much confidence she has. if someone was mean, she told them exactly where they could put their opinions. my darling girl did not get this from me. i am so glad she has such a strong backbone, and knows how to make good friends.

she has such great choices in friends. not that she isn't nice to everyone. but the girls she is close to are really great kids. they have really great families.

she has a strong backbone, but a soft heart. i L.O.V.E seeing her encouraging other kids when they are struggling. nothing compares to witnessing the compassion in her heart.


she is so incredibly smart. i feel bad because i didn't see it. not that i didn't think she was smart, but she was/is a little dingy. that's ok, it's just her personality. the intelligence she has is staggering. she reads books that are 600+ pages. i love reading, but i was a lot older before i read books with that many pages. like high school, not 4th grade. she is doing 5th grade math...and it's easy to her. she's doing better than my nephew who is in 5th grade.

this kid loves animals. she rarely complains about doing her chores like feeding or giving water to whatever animal i tell her to. she is the one kid that i could see giving a puppy to.


in case you can't tell, i love this kid. she has such an amazing mind and personality and heart. i have been so blessed with having such an great kid.