Happy Birthday Amanda!!!!

I can hardly believe that 11 years ago today, this beautiful baby was born and made us parents! I remember so many of the details of that day still. It was so amazing to have given birth to this strong, beautiful baby and have her change our lives....our very souls....so profoundly. I loved watching my sweet hubby in tears as he took our child out to introduce her to her grandparents. Amanda and her Dad still hold a special bond.


Here are some fun facts about Manda Panda:
1. Amanda loves sushi! She has always loved seafood. In fact, we are going to get sushi tonight for her birthday dinner!
2. Amanda is a great big sister. She likes to pretend that Sydney annoys her, but she is very protective of her, especially at school. Sydney told her at the beginning of the year that she could make it to the bus on her own and didn't need Amanda to pick her up anymore. With Brandon, she is so fun. She takes care of him, loves him and teases him. They love to play together.
3. Amanda loves babies! She loves playing with our 3 cute 1-year old neighbor boys.

4. Amanda loves to read! The librarian at school is Amanda's friend and keeps her in interesting books....(Grandma Gib gets her great books, too!!)

5. Amanda loves to ski! We were loving how quickly she took to it! I haven't skied with her yet, and I'm a little nervous that she'll show me up!

6. Amanda loves to go boating! She is crazy on the tube and is awesome on the wakeboard! We love to watch her have fun.

7. Amanda is EXTREMELY helpful! I don't know what we would do without her. She is very good at asking what else she can help with. She has save my sanity many a day!

8. Amanda is a great soccer player! Her coach likes to give her the corner kicks. She enjoys it so much and we love to watch her! We also love to watch her dance in her ballet performances! She is so graceful! It's wonderful to have both talents that seem so opposite of each other!

9. Amanda loves music and loves to make up dances and plays. She and her friends and Sydney have spent many afternoons in our basement 'rehearsing'

10. Amanda LOVES dogs! More particularly, her dog, Max! She babies him way more than he deserves! She plays soccer with him in the backyard and it is so much fun to watch!

11. Amanda is almost as tall as me! She has always been tall, but this summer she must have grown 3 inches! She has only about an inch to pass Grandma Gib and she can't wait to reach my height! It sure makes it hard to do her hair for her! She has to sit on a small chair!

Amanda is an amazing young lady. We love her so much! She is such an important part of our family! I don't give her enough credit for everything she does and how kind she is.

Happy Birthday sweet girl! WE LOVE YOU!!