Gratituesday: Our Oldest is 9!

I can not believe Isabelle is turning 9 this week! I don't feel 9 years older, how is possible that she is?

Isabelle was born on Friday the 13th in August, 1999. I was induced at 41 weeks. My doctor was oddly superstitious so she decided to induce me at noon and just break my water so that she could be guaranteed I would not be delivering on the 13th. Well, Isabelle did not enter this world as a patient child and that has never changed. She was born at 11:58 pm. My doctor kept saying, "If you could just wait for 2 minutes, her birthday can be on the 14th!" Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Isabelle was born with a completely full head of hair. I could have put it in a ponytail from the time she was a day old. Needless to say, all this hair on a tiny baby earned her a lot of attention, beginning at the hospital. She was absolutely adorable.

As a little girl, she loved to stack, order, and line up things. She was very much an only child (until she was almost 5) and was ridiculously spoiled. She definitely gave me a crash course in mothering.She has since turned into a wonderful big sister and my right hand helper. Isabelle is skilled at cleaning also and loves to go to work with Eric and help him out. Our family is happier and runs more smoothly because she is a part of it!

Isabelle loves to read and spends at least two hours every day reading. Typically she will get at least 10 books from the library and finish them all before they are due. She loves both fiction and non fiction and especially loves learning trivia type facts. I think she would make a great Jeopardy contestant someday.

We began homeschooling Isabelle after 2 painful weeks of kindergarten at the local public school. Her birthday was right on the cusp date wise and we should have delayed a year. God knew better than us though. By not delaying, we were open to the wonderful world of homeschooling and have not looked back since.

Isabelle loves being homeschooled. She thrives on independent work. Her daily activities are a wonderful example of finding learning moments in life. She does not have to be sitting at the counter doing schoolwork to be learning. She desires knowledge and does whatever she can to gain more all the time. Her new favorite this summer has been playing school with Alex and Olivia. She is very patient with them and really has been teaching them a lot.
We are so thankful for this special girl. She enriches our lives every single day. It truly is a joy to watch grow and mature.

For more Gratituesday, don't forget to stop in at Laura's blog.