Seven Years Ago

This is Hannah at six months of age. I tried to find a newborn picture somewhere on the computer, but because our computers have been updated a couple of time since she was born, Dave has the old pictures stored somewhere. I have no clue how to find those ones and am actually fortunate to have found this one.

Hannah today. On her birthday. She is SEVEN.

Like I've said before, seven today. A teenager tomorrow. Married next year. Life is flying by.

Right now I feel at a loss for words. I can hardly fathom that it was seven years and nine months ago that I found out I was pregnant. It had been a year of hoping, dreaming and praying, with finally our dream coming true - we were going to have a baby. I was sick for six out of nine months, so sick that I had to take four Diclectin tablets per day (a prenatal antinauseant) just to keep any food down.

Hannah was born curious. I know it's said that a baby can't see that much when they're first born, but I have a hard time believing that. She was very alert for a newborn, staring at everything like she was just "taking it all in". She hardly slept. Instead of having long naps, she "catnapped" for approximately 45 minute stretches. Unfortunately, she still doesn't like to sleep. She's afraid she "might miss out on something".

One of my favorite stories about Hannah was when she was between one and two years old. She was in bed, we thought asleep, because she'd been there for quite a while. We heard a noise of something falling in her room, so I went in to find her sitting at her table, in the dark, looking at a book. She couldn't see, but she was "reading". If a book hadn't fallen, who knows how long she would have gotten away with it.

And that is my girl today. Ever reading. And never sleeping.

One more quick story, showing her quirky personality. She was reading sitting on her bed yesterday, trying like mad to finish off one of her Boxcar Children books. She finally finished with a triumphant, "I'm done it, mom!", came out of her room, and told me that her neck was sore. I asked her why she didn't change positions to make her neck more comfortable while reading. And her reply?

"Because I knew that if I stayed in that uncomfortable position, mom, that when I was done my book and got up, it would make my neck feel that much better!"

???????

That's my girl. Ever logical. And I sure do love her - just the way she is.

Every last quirky bone in her body.