Twelve Today

How can it be?  Where has the time gone?  My little Blondie girl has turned 12.  I called her my little "butterball" when she was a baby because she was just so round and cuddly and sweet.  She was SUCH a happy, carefree baby.  She loved to sit in her bouncy seat, hold onto her toes and extend both of her legs in a V position and just sit there and bounce and happily babble.
One of her favorite things to do was play "hands" under the bathroom door.  We would go into the bathroom and she would stick her little hands under the door.  Whoever was on the other side would get her fingers and she would laugh so much.  Then we would stick our fingers under and she would get us.  She could play that forever and we would too because it was so cute to see her delight!
She was my first (and only) baby that didn't want to sleep with us.  She wanted her own bed.  She was a textbook sleeper.  You know how they say, "Put your baby down while they are still awake so they will learn to fall asleep on their own."  She was an ANGEL at bedtime.  And naptime.  I would just nurse and snuggle her, put her in her crib, say goodnight, turn on her little music and lights thing and she would never make a peep.  Just happily go to sleep on her own.  It was so cute to watch her with that lights thing!  She learned how to push the big heart-shaped button that turned it on and she would literally flip her arm in the direction of the button to turn it on during the night.

This is the toy she LOVED at night.

Our family tradition is to do baptisms for the dead in the temple on our kid's twelfth birthday.  (This is when they are old enough to go)  Since our local temple is closed for deep cleaning and repairs right now, DH took the three oldest up to Snowflake so they could go to the temple there for Blondie's birthday.

Here they are after coming out of the temple.  

They had a great experience and got to visit with Grandpa D while they were there.  When she got home she opened her present-a green ipod shuffle complete with headphones and speakers for her listening pleasure.  :)  Tomorrow is her birthday party and Sunday is the birthday family dinner.  

I love this Blondie girl!!!  She is a delightful member of the family and it is an honor to watch her grow up into such a lovely young lady.  Beehives, here we come!