Happy Birthday Zoe!

Today at 3:35 pm Zoe turns 9! (See sidebar, she told me to be sure to update it!) What can I say about Zoe? When I was pregnant with Zoe and we were considering her name, the name Zoe seemed like something you would have to live up to if it were yours. The name Zoe made me think of someone who was fun, brave, carefree, adventurous, and above all unique. Zoe lives up to that and more. She has truly been an interesting child to have around here. She is one of the most strong willed, stubborn people I have ever met. As a baby she was all smiles and laughs but that soon changed to a very challenging young girl as she got older. I've been really proud of her lately. She had a trying first half of the year (therefore, so did her parents). She was definitely a handful and on top of that seemed to be developing obsessive compulsive disorder. Spending tons of time in the bathroom, washing her hands (you know how Zoe gets the bleeding hands in the winter, well this was about ten times as bad as usual.) I had to set all the clocks forward about 7 minutes so she could get out the door to school on time without me harassing her. This problem even crept into the day she was baptized. She was so excited to get baptized and it was a very special day but afterward she was really upset because she felt so much pressure over having to be good now. She thought she had to be perfect from then on. I had to finally sit down with her and re-explain repentance to her and that no one is perfect after they get baptized and that's the cool thing about repentance, that we get to start anew every time we do it and try to improve ourselves. Finally it all clicked for her and things settled down. It took a long time and the long boring winter didn't help any, but we finally figured out what was wrong with her. She quit sucking her thumb (finally) right before school started last year and that was always a comfort thing for her. She has always been a high strung girl but she could at least go lay down and have that thumb to comfort her. Without it she was terribly distressed and it took months to work through that. She seems like she's matured a lot lately and the thought of her as a teenager in a few years doesn't strike terror in my heart like it once did. She's still a spitfire, of course, but she has always had this really sweet side too. She is so good about playing with Noah most of the time and they really have fun together. All the kids, although they do get on one another's nerves on a regular basis, are really loving toward each other and look out for one another. Once in a while we'll be out at the store or somewhere and I'll look back and Isabella and Zoe will be acting like the best of friends, laughing and holding hands. I love those times! I don't know where they got that because my siblings and I gagged at the thought of ever hugging each other or saying I love you. Anyway, we love having Zoe in our family, she is the queen of silly from time to time, making us all laugh. She amazes me with how smart and curious she is. I think it's cool that she asks for educational toys for her birthday like binoculars and stethoscopes. She has so many natural talents, I guess that is why she has that stubborn personality, to balance things out. I love this girl and I'm so grateful to have her and her brother and sister in our family!
(I'll get some birthday pics up later today!)