Anne is (has been) 11 (for awhile now)

Somehow time has a way of going so slow and yet flying by at the same time.

Between painting signs for the fundraiser, Thanksgiving, Caroline's 5th birthday, Christmas and New Year, I allowed myself to get propelled along without sitting down to blog about two special birthdays.

Beautiful Anne

Back in November, which is now nearly three months ago, Anne turned 11. Eleven! It seems strange to think that I've been a mom for over eleven years. I don't even feel all that old. Ok, maybe some days I do.

Anne is a really awesome kid. She is very responsible (like, way more trustworthy than I was at 11). She is a fun girl to be around with a good sense of humor. Anne loves to read books. She recently took her 5th grade CAT (California Achievement Test) exam and scored ridiculously high in all the reading sections (we're talking high school/college levels).

Growing up!

It certainly wasn't a surprise as I am with her everyday so I know how much she reads, how quickly she reads, and how accurately she remembers what she reads. Truly, it's mind boggling how she can recite something from a book she just read. Even when she was little she could quote nearly full sentences from books she has only read once. While this is an excellent skill it makes her less than wonderful at summarizing a book because she remembers and wants to retell every little detail.

Anne has a love, zeal and passion for life. She likes to do just about everything and is nearly always willing to try something at least once. She still wants to be a nurse when she grows up which is great because she is intelligent, compassionate, and hard-working. I have no doubt that she will excel in whatever she does as an adult because she is already a great pre-teen.

Speaking of being a pre-teen, yes, we have had some challenges. While she is as described in the above paragraphs most of the time, Anne will be the first to admit that she isn't always like Mary Poppins and "practically perfect in every way".

Both Anne and I have had some difficult emotional swings in the past couple of months. I am glad that I remember being 12 and how terrible I was. However, in the moment of Anne's outrage I raised her up one and instantly regretted allowing myself to be baited by an eleven-year-old. In the end, both Anne and I apologized to each other and were able to move on. In my regret I worried for days about how my own actions would spoil our good mother-daughter relationship. When I brought it up to Anne several days later she said, "Just forget about it, mom. I already forgave you and you forgave me."

Have I mentioned how awesome she is? I'm pretty sure I was not that magnanimous when I was eleven. Heck, I'm not sure I'm that magnanimous at 34.

Anne is a fantastic big sister. She is always a great help with Caroline and Ruth. She is growing up quickly and has outgrown most toys, but still likes legos and board games. She loves drawing, especially pictures of horses.

She still would love to have a horse, but she'll have to settle for a lamb since she is joining the 4-H Woolies Club. It should be an interesting learning experience.

Anne is growing so quickly these days. She is now 5 feet tall, just three more inches and we'll be the same height. This past year she grew three inches so I wouldn't be surprised if by the time she turns 12 she is as tall as me!

Happy (very belated) birthday to my Anne. Thanks for all you do for our family. You are my biggest helper and things would be much more difficult without you. I love you, Anne-girl!