13

Last weekend we celebrated Ysabelle's 13th Birthday. 

I still can't get over it...she is a teenager.  I remember that little baby that laid in the bassinet while in the hospital and I looked in at her and wondered what she would be like as she matured.  Would we be friends, would she be athletic or a cheerleader, would Steve have to scare the boys away from this beautiful girl?

And now I know...she is a beautiful young woman.  She is very independant, but has moments that she needs her mom and dad for support still.  She is very smart and can do anything that she puts her mind to.  She can be very nurturing to little ones and compassionate to those who need help.  She can dance and play sports.  She is a natural on the piano and has a beautiful voice when she sings.  She just seems to be a natural at anything she tries.  She is going therough the typical preteen/teenage angst that so many of us have gone through.  I hope she will continue through these upcoming years with few heartbreaks and tears.

I love that girl, my baby girl...

Welcome to your teenage years, Bell-E-Button!!!

BELLE'S SOFTBALL

This year Belle is playing 12 and under softball. It is been fun to watch this year,but many of the rules have changed. She has had a couple of chances to pitch this spring. She is still struggling a little to get her strikes, but I love her spirit to keep trying. She is one of the smallest players on the team, so much so that her coach has taken to calling her, "TINY". Initially she was a little frustrated that he called her Tiny, but I think she has realized that he is calling her that because he likes her.

It's Unanimous!!

Monday was a day full of award assemblies. Before attending the school awards assembly, I went to Belle's classroom and sat through the class awards that were given out there. Before the awards were handed out, Mrs. Kilcrease spoke to the children about higher education. She spoke about graduating from college and then progressing to get her masters and even had a parent there who had gotten their doctorate. It was very inspiring. I could see a glimmer in the children's eyes at the thought of their own higher education.
Then the fun began. It started with the general awards, such as the Presidential Fitness awards, Honor Roll, and such. Then we got to the awards that were voted on by the students in Belle's class. Some of the awards were Bookworm, Peacemaker, Quiet Studier, Always Prepared and the list went on. Finally the last award was presented. Mrs. Kilcrease announced that it was a unanimous vote for who was the "CLASS DRAMA QUEEN"...

BELLE WEBER!!!

It totally fit her and she wore her crown with pride the rest of the day.

Spring Soccer

Yesterday was the last day of spring soccer. Katie and Becky had been playing on the same team (they have the bright yellow jerseys on) that was named the Golden Tigers. This was the first season that they really seemed to have caught on to some of the strategy of the game. It was a bit more fun to watch.
This was Belle's 1st time ever playing soccer. She has devoted much of her time to dance, but this year I thought it might be fun for her to try something new. Her team was the Dalmatians (they wore white jerseys and red socks) and she got to play with a few of her classmates: Megan and Savannah, from school. She enjoyed soccer so much, that she is considering spending next year playing sports rather than dance.

Dear Mr. President

The beginning of October , we were at my parent's house. While we were there, I was sharing with Belle some of the mementos I have from my childhood. I showed her a booklet about the White House and Ronald Reagan that I had received when I was 9 years old. I received it in response to the letter and birthday card that I had sent to the then President Reagan. She was so amazed that the President had sent me mail. So I told her she could do the same thing. So when we got home later that weekend, she put pen to paper and wrote to her letter to President Bush.

It was quite cute, she told him about school and her siblings and sent a school picture along with the letter. Weeks went by and Belle would check the mail for her response from the President. Both Steve and I told her that it could be a while before she would received a response. I wish you could have seen her reaction when I handed her the large manila envelope today as she returned home from school. Of course I took pictures before she opened the envelope.

She read and examined every word in the letter and was thrilled to get a photograph of the President "from" the President. As she put the letter and photo back in the large envelope she declared that this was "the coolest thing that has ever happened" to her. As her mom, I have to say, it was one of the coolest things for me to watch my daughters face light up when we received that envelope...so thank you Mr. President for making my little girl's day and a memory that maybe she will be able to share with her daughter in 26 years!!!

Last Couple of Days

Tuesday Zack and Belle both had field trips to the Hogle Zoo. Instead of volunteering to chaperon, Steve and I decided to make a date of it. We went to the zoo and walked around. We looked around for our kids. We found Zack and watched the Bird Show with him and his group. That was very cool. We watched different bird swoop down over our heads. The best part was the BEAUTIFUL bald eagle we saw at the end. They truly are a magnificent bird. After the show we left Zack with his chaperon and wen t to look for Belle, but never actually found her. We did see some neat animals: Rhinos, orangutan, Zebra, Bears, Giraffes, Meerkats, different primates...

Once we were done at the zoo, Steve and I left to go and have lunch. We found a TGIFridays and gt and outside table. As we sat there and talked, I realized how much this setting reminded me of lunches Steve and I would have when we were first dating and Steve was living in PB. It was such a pleasant lunch and probably was the best part of our date. I just love hanging out with Steve and talking about nothing specific, but sharing our thoughts.

Wednesday was an exciting day for Belle. She has had one of her front teeth that just would not fall out. We had seen the dentist a few months ago and had told us to come back if it did not fall out. So we returned to the dentist's office at 10:00am and he pulled out that stubborn front tooth. Hopefully the adult tooth will fall into place soon. After getting that tooth pulled we visited Steve at work to let Belle show off her hole. Once we left KMart I drove Belle to a nail shop and we both got PEDICURES. She was so excited. I told her she could choose the the color so we could have matching nails. She chose BLUE...HOLY COW!!! I don't think I have EVER had blue nails. We even had little pink flowers painted on there too. It was a fun thing to do with her and I think she enjoyed the Mommy and Daughter time.