Happy 25th birthday!!!

Today is my sweet girl's 25th birthday! I have a daughter who's TWENTY-FIVE???!!! How did THAT happen?? WOW. Just the thought of it totally amazes me. It doesn't seem like that long ago when she was just a little baby. Okay, a fairly big baby. Over 8 lbs. And she didn't want to come out. She waited a week past her due date to make the appearance and only then after some nasty pitosin and 18 hours of hard labor. Remind me to thank her for all that later.

Well, she was sooooo cute that the pain of childbirth became a distant memory. Eh, okay, I still remember the pain and I think I might still have a few stray stitches from the episiotomy from hell, and then there was about 4 months of COLIC, but that's all beside the point. See.... look how adorable my little girl was. :)

She always was a bit of a ham for the camera!!!

Here she is circa 1989? Right around the start of Kindergarten.

Back then, we didn't have the Wiggles, and Dora the Explorer.... it was good old-fashioned Sesame Street with Bert and Ernie!

Did I mention she was a poser?? These days she runs from the camera. But back then..... she could take position before I even got the camera out of my purse.

Halloween was always fun and she loved getting dressed up.

She had alot of different hairstyles over the years too.

Strike a pose, girl!!! She had ALOT of fun at a wedding that her Dad and I were in.

What?? More posing?? Well, she was just too cute not to. We used to host Murder Mystery parties and in the second of the next two shots she was wearing the glasses her Dad wore for his costume and my character's wig.

And again, on Halloween. She loves loves loves plays and musicals and movies with singing, like 'Sister Act', so of course she had to dress the part.

More hair colors and styles.......

All dressed up for the Prom!

Of course she ADORES her Daddy!

OH she's not gonna like that I'm posting this picture. She really wasn't a stoner AT ALL!! Just looks a little wiped out for this picture. Marching band will do that to you. She played flute for awhile.

And the xylophone too.

And has a beautiful voice. The name of the solo she sang in the Chorus one year escapes me right now..... sheesh, I think it was a Sarah Brightman tune..... it'll come to me....

Ah, I'm just practically weeping now......

not so much because she really struggled alot through high school and then decided to pull things all together to graduate.....

but because this photo more reminds me of how FAT I am now. Hmmm..... I had a chin then.

Although her brother is not in on this post and I can't quite know for sure exactly what he'd tell you if given the chance, but I think overall he would say she's a pretty cool big sister. There are 9 years between my kids.

For awhile after high school, D worked in retail. Not great pay, or hours, but she did enjoy most of the customers and liked the variety of that type of work.

She moved out for the first time at 21. And then moved back by about 23. She had fallen madly in love and brought her boyfriend with her. We were cool with that. He's a really good guy. They make a nice couple.

I'm sooooo blessed to have been able to share the birth of her first child with her. Her honey was kind enough to let me go into the delivery room. If you've been visiting my blog for awhile then you know all about my sweet grandson. He was just a tiny little preemie not even weighing 4 pounds. Spent a month in the hospital too. But his Mommy was always right with him.

And when he finally came home, there were lots of new things to get used to. His monitor could come off for bath time. My daughter is a good Mommy. :)

It didn't take long for him to catch up. You wouldn't know that he was born so early and was so tiny. He's growing bigger each day and sure loves his Mom.....

I know that she has found happiness in life. She has her own family now. And there's another wee little one on the way too!

Yup, that's my girl. Hmmm.... what else can I tell you about her??

She loves MUSICALS! Has been to see a few of them including 'Lion King', 'Les Mis', and one of her very favorites.... 'Phantom of the Opera'. While she definitely listened to the Backstreet Boys for years and has enjoyed alot of other various groups, like Davinci's Notebook from days at the Folk Festival, her favorite overall band would probably be Depeche Mode. She has a bunch of tattoos, somewhere in the 13-15 range, and a couple of piercings. I'm not sure if the barbell is still in her tongue, but I know there's a rod across the back of her neck. Yikes! I'm guessing that her favorite movie is The Notebook. She loves to take pictures! Doesn't like alot of chocolate... which makes me wonder if she's really mine.... but sometimes enjoys sashimi so I know she's her father's daughter.

These days, while tending to her young one and trying to keep the vomiting to a minimum with her second pregnancy, she's become an Avon representative.

Of course there are all sorts of other little things to tell you about her life over the last 25 years but I've still got to post some of these pictures on Facebook and go get the cookie cake we're taking with us tonight for her birthday celebration and wrap some presents! We made reservations at PF Changs, her favorite restaurant, so I also have got to go get into my party groove!

While twenty-five is a great age and she'll have lots of new experiences and get to make many memories, she'll always be our little girl. :)

Happy Birthday, sweetheart!!! We love you!