Paige's 8th Birthday

Paige turned 8 last Thursday.  That is crazy to me.  I have so many vivid memories from her birth, and our stay in the hospital, that it could have been a few months ago.   I can remember lying in the hospital bed, watching Jess in his pink recliner/bed recording this video of a sleepy newborn Paige in his lap.

She challenges us for sure, she is strong willed and so smart.  She could be an attorney one day.  Ha.  But she says she is set on astronomy or marine biology.  If you ask, marine biology is always included, but she seems to be more interested in astronomy by far.  She's always reading about it and checking out library books on space.  

She and Cason were saving up for this moonscope we saw on amazon, that was made for children.  Cason would have liked it I'm sure, but I think he was mostly contributing because he's a sweet boy and knew it would make Paige happy.  They hadn't managed to get it yet as Paige's birthday approached, so we got her a telescope for her birthday.  We decided to buy her a better one, though it's still for beginners and children.  

We gave it to her during her birthday breakfast, before school.  She was really happy to get it, and the moon map it came with. 

 

 

 She had a good day of school, including getting taken out for a birthday lunch date with Grampa and Grama Trudi, at the restaurant of her choosing.  So Denny's.  :) 

We had pizza, Paige's favorite for dinner, and since Grannybob is in town, she got a couple more gifts.  One was a CSI fingerprinting kit from Grannybob, and a beginners astronomy book from us.  

She loved both, and got to work lifting our prints all over the place.

Lucky for her, the moon was full on her birthday, and the sky was really clear, so it was a perfect night to try out the telescope.  We all took a turn and it is really cool! 

Jess made us all a birthday butterbeer to end the day of celebrating our girl.

The full moon had me thinking about the night she was born, because there was a full moon then too.  My labor with her started intense, no buildup at all.  We left for the hospital and I can remember the drive so clearly.  The moon was big and full and bright, and we both commented on it.  I watched it for a good while on the drive, probably to distract myself.  Ha.  We were both caught off guard by how it felt to meet our baby.  Even more amazing than you expect.

 I was so happy and so relieved at how naturally it all came to us.

She was our only baby under 8 lbs, but she gained a pound her first week and got right to work filling out.  She was so happy and joyful, and such an easy baby.

She was a little beauty too, and we could tell she was a smart one early on too.

She has grown and changed so much, and even when she frustrates us she makes me proud of how strong she is.  

She won't be pushed around, that's for sure.  Ha!  

She's still our sweet, smart, beautiful, silly, joyful girl, and will always be our first baby, the one who changed our lives (and us) in the best way, and made us parents. 

Happy birthday Paige, we love you SO much.