Happy 6th Birthday, Allie!

Allie on Hat Day, October 11th

It seems like only days ago we were about to celebrate Allie's 5th birthday with her and all of a sudden we are at the 6th birthday.  She is feeling a bit under the weather lately and yesterday had to go to the doctor to get her thumb "stuck".   She seems to have one of those dreaded "fever viruses", but we are thankful it isn't anything worse.  She was rather rambunctious yesterday, so I ended up rather tired and I seem to have taught her the lesson of sharing quite well. I'm not sure if it was the sneezes in my face or the coughs or just all the together-time, but I went to sleep feeling a bit worn out and woke up wondering how a truck hit me in the middle of the night. I can't imagine how bad she has felt!

We are all surprised at how quickly the last 6 years have gone.  I guess every parent says that and I should just accept that time is going to fly past, but I can't do that. I seem to know it is going to happen and so I take pictures... lots of them.  I think I used up an external drive just with the pictures from the NICU!  I know someday she will be out on dates and at her friends' houses and I'll be up worrying, so I figure I will do something creative with all of my pictures at that time.  But, in honor of her 6th birthday, I put together this collage of memories.  We have always referred to Allie as our "Amazing Allie" because - well, she has been and continues to be amazing. 

Before she was born we had so many ultrasounds we have a whole photo album of her development. There were so many scary findings during those ultrasounds and we were lucky that God led us through them with positivism and courage.  We set the record straight after the first in depth ultrasound that despite the list of a dozen things "concerning", we weren't concerned. We believed she was just too small to really see all that they needed to see. We introduced her as Allie and everyone continued to be amazed as something fell off that dreaded list each visit. 

She is still growing - at 6 years old she has now reached the 29.4 pounds. I swear she was at 30 not too long ago, but I suppose fluctuation is okay.  She is about 37 inches tall, but I haven't measured her in a little while, so that could have changed, too. She is chattering non-stop - even more today being under the weather. I think she has a determined soul. She isn't feeling herself, so she goes the extra mile to tell us every story under the sun. Some we understood.  She is a very fun little girl. She is sweet and a good friend.  I found out the other day she is a good shopper, too. I didn't even realize she was paying attention since she was watching herself in a mirror. I tried on a pair of boots and she immediately looked at me in them and said "ooh, those look good".  She keeps me laughing all the time. And not, just a little smile here and there.. often belly laughs. I can't help it. She cracks me up. 

Tomorrow we will sing "happy birthday to Allie" probably more times than I'll be able to count. It is her favorite song especially when it has her name in it.  And we will say goodbye to our little 5 year old. The age I was particularly worried about. We changed schools during that year and she began "real" school. Kindergarten. I was worried. Now, I have no idea why. She is fitting in wonderfully and has some wonderful friends that look out for her, but give her space and time to do it on her own.  She has become rather independent and I hear "I do it" more than I thought was possible. Oh, and she has become quite managerial, too.  For example, today at the doctor's office, the Nurse asked Allie to step on the scale.  Allie looked at her and pointed to the chair and told her to "sit down". I've never seen someone move so quickly to sit down before. I looked at the nurse and said "it works on  you, too, huh?" She commented, "she was so authoritative I had to do it."  I see leadership qualities in our girl.

Here is the compilation of the last 6 years. She is amazing and since you are following this blog, I guess you know it, too.  Thanks for loving our little 6 year old angel.