The baby is a teenager...God help us.

Savanna Rose is 13 today.

Where did the time go?  Everyone told me this would happen, I just didn't want to believe them. 

I feel like my life didn't really start until my daughter was born.  I wanted a girl so much.  We waited six years after Jordan was born to try for a girl.  We kept saying we were going to wait for Jordan to "get under control."  Finally after six years I said, "honey we have tried our best but I don't know that he is ever going to get under control, and I really want a girl."  There were no guarantees in the land of X's and Y's, but at least we could try.

It's a good thing we just went ahead and got pregnant because Jordan is 19 and still not under control.  But, we have our girl.   By the way, in 34 days Jordan leaves for boot camp and the Air Force is going to take a crack at getting him under control.  :) 

But back to our Savvy girl...

I wanted so badly to have a girl...Larry and I not only prayed about it A LOT but we followed a book that I bought on the subject of, "How to Have a Girl."  Yes. I. Am. Serious.   He thought I was crazy but I didn't care, I said, "we're doing this book, and that's that."  Whether that book contained anything remotely factual or not I at least felt like I was doing something to try to cause XX to line up in our favor.  Yeah, I'm just a tad bit of a control freak and on certain things, my husband just deals with it.  So we followed this "How to Have a Girl" book to the 'nth degree and I've gotten a million questions over the years of, "exactly what DID you have to DO?"  Some people laughed their heads off at the answers and others were extremely sorry they ever asked.

We told the doctor we didn't want to know ahead of time what the sex of the baby was.  I told Dr. Barnett  he should be prepared in the event of a girl --  I was going to jump up and down on the hospital bed and shout.  That was honestly my plan.  However, you know what they say about the best laid plans...

By the time I was finished with her labor and delivery which was an absolutely exhausting one, I was so spent I couldn't hop on the bed.  But, when Dr. Barnett said, "It's a girl" my voice was still strong and I praised God to the top of my lungs laying there in the hospital bed.  I think everybody in Carroll County probably heard me giving thanks to God.  Although I did follow my "How to Have a Girl" book  I know that ultimately GOD ALMIGHTY gave us our girl.   Life started for Savanna but life started for me too because there's NOTHING LIKE HAVING A GIRL!!!  Having a daughter is so amazing.

I always wanted her to really enjoy being a girl.  I believe we should revel in all things female.  What a gift!  I have never understood many parents extreme strictness with things like makeup, or pierced ears.  These are some of the FUN parts of being a girl!  What could be better than a mother/daughter mani/pedi day?  A shoe shopping day?  Having our makeup done together? 

I thought I would have to wait til she was a teenager for her to want to use my things but for a few years now we have been the same shoe size and she borrows my shoes, my earrings, even a few of my clothes although we are vastly different sizes!  She either borrows from my old "in shape" collection that I still have and am longing to get back into, or she grabs one of my jackets when she's going for the extremely baggy look.  :)   She's a size "0" or "1" and I'm a "12"...just to give you an idea.  However in shoes, she's a 9 and 1/2 and I'm a 9!  She's 13 and already taller than me and has always been the tallest girl in her class, and usually even towers over the boys.  I tell her that's cool because models are all tall.  She seems to love her tallness as well she should.

She's a brilliant girl -- on the honor roll every single quarter.

She loves to write and was selected for the writing academy for her school.
She's a voracious reader and usually has a book with her at all times to pull out when she has a moment. 

She just received an invitation last week to participate in advanced art at her school next year.

She's funny -- and can deliver a sassy one liner quicker than her Daddy which is quite the accomplishment if you know her Daddy.

She is a strong girl who has a great sense of self worth and confidence.

She sets the pace by what she wears and doesn't care what others think.  Years ago she asked if she could wear her pajamas (modest, flannel ones) to church on Wednesday nights with her slippers.  I thought it an odd request but at the same time didn't have a compelling reason to say no since they were modest.  I feared others laughing at her and told her so.  She said, "I don't care what they think, Mom."  Imagine my surprise weeks later to see not only Missionette girls, but their LEADERS coming to church in pajamas and slippers!!!   The M'pact girls at our church  instituted "pajama week" once a month based on Savanna's example.  Is that amazing or what?  They didn't laugh at her, they just jumped on her bandwagon. 

She's a trend setter who runs ahead of the pack.

She has strong beliefs and knows how to articulate them.

She's a neat freak when it comes to her room and cleans and straightens it on a daily basis.  She even scrubs and washes her bedroom window on a regular basis and makes sure it's shining.   The colors she chose for her room were neon pink and green and her grandparents (Shrodes) painted it with her last time they were here.

She loves photography and is really good at it.

She likes to play the piano and sing, but not for others...yet.  And I'm fine with that.

She loves broccoli and other healthy foods.

She talks of being a missionary and she wants to adopt babies.

She's quite the creative one..I'm so proud of my Savanna Banana girl.  

We have church tonight and there is not an opportunity to adequately celebrate as a family so her family dinner will be Friday night and she will have a  sleepover party at the house with some of her girlfriends in a few weeks.

I love you, Savvy girl and am so blessed and honored to be your Momma.