November 12th, 2007 by Jennine

Today is Miss Elly’s ninth birthday. She woke up around 1 AM and slept fitfully on the couch for a birthday is
nothing to sleep through! When I began to make breakfast, she was up, already dressed in her new birthday outfit,
and anxiously awaited each family member’s birthday greeting. Unfortunately, with the exception of her BFF Nathanael, not one boy wished her happy birthday until I actually prodded them with a less than subtle reminder.

“Isaiah. Get back here! It’s your sister’s birthday. Do you have anything to say to her?”

“Yeah. Where’d you leave the toothpaste cap?”

I gave him a look that actually tore cartilage in my face.

“Yeah, yeah. I was just teasin’, Elly. Happy Birthday.”

She slowly removed her hands from her hips and hunted down the next boy.

Shame on them. They should have been seeking her.

Elly is so easy to love. If she isn’t cracking me up with her wit, she’s amazing me with her insight and understanding of the world around her. She actually likes me and wants to spend hours upon hours together. She asks cooking questions and loves to care for our daycare baby. Her thumb-wrestling skills are cat-like and unrelenting. She knows High School Musical 2 by heart and can do all the moves for anyone willing to sit long enough to watch them. She’s on the A honor roll and is in the highest reading and math groups in her grade. She befriends the friendless and is the first to respond to a commercial for starving African children. Her heart just breaks when she sees suffering.

Yeah. She’s easy to love alright.

My gift to her was the most amazing 600 thread count sateen sheets I could find for a twin size bed. I wanted her to slide into bed and feel like a princess. (I’ll explain that in a future post…really, I wasn’t being a dorky mother here) Her response to my gift?

“Gosh Mom, and here I would have been happy with an iPod Nano or a trip to meet the cast from High School Musical.”

Did you know that nine year olds still pee their pants when tickled long and hard enough??

Happy Birthday, Eddy Joe. I love you to infinity and beyond…and back.