Happy 8th Birthday, Emma!

Today, my most precious, middlest girl is eight. Eight is just far too big!





















I look at her now and I still think of how I went in for a scheduled doctor visit on her due date, naively thinking the doctor would suggest scheduling an induction by the end of that week (since I was due and all!). I was huge and uncomfortable and he told he me there would be no induction that week, and that I could easily go another two weeks without any concern. No, actually I cannot go another two weeks, I remember thinking frantically. She was born five days later, without the help of an induction, and while those were the longest five days ever, she was sooooo worth the wait. I remember waiting for her as if it were yesterday.


Yes, there is no way this tiny little button is eight! Eight is just too big for her!


Emma is the most easy going child and so frequently makes me feel like I've got this whole "mom thing" figured out. She's quick to obey. She's very hardworking. She's an acts of service girl, so she LOVES to help me around the house. She's an awesome little sister and maybe an even better big sister. She seems to like everyone, and she is a thoughtful friend.

It may very well be because she's in the middle, and she has Alyssa who usually gets to do things before her, and Rebekah following her every move right behind her, but Emma seems so unchanging to me. So steady, so consistent, so reliably sweet Emma. It wasn't until I scrolled through some baby pictures of her over the weekend that I realized how "eight" she really is. Because when I think of Emma, I still picture... Bringing her home from the hospital and how proud Alyssa was to be her big sister...


And how teeny tiny she was, even next to a Bitty Baby...


And I still remember how when she was a baby, she smiled with her entire face, and when she laughed, it seemed way too loud to have come out of her tiny body. She still laughs and smiles that way, it's just that she's grown into it, at least a little bit.


But here she is an eight year old (did I mention yet that 8 is just way too big for her?) and she's grown into this amazing little girl.

Eight years of silly laughs.

Eight years of following me around the house, (cleaning, cooking, doing whatever I am doing) not because she loves a good chore, but just because she loves to be under my feet.

Eight years of a sweet stubborn tendency to need to figure things out on her own.

Eight years of being the pickiest eater ever.

Eight years of working hard and playing hard.

Eight years of wearing holes in almost all her jeans and shoes.

Eight years of seeing her happy and amused with the sweetest, most simple things. Just about anything can make this girl smile.

Eight years of having our precious Emma to love...

Thank you, Emma for being such a sweet and wonderful little girl!! We are so proud of you, and so very thankful that you belong to us!! Happy 8th Birthday, Kahiwalani!! We love you so much!!