We ruff rooooooo!!

As I sat behind the sewing machine MOST of today, trying to finish a special request outfit from a most special girl I was mulling how I wanted to approach this post. Then with that last kiss of yours as you headed to bed, as you skipped away from me with glee at the progress on your Cartoon Christmas themed Holiday Concert outfit, as you tossed back the happy farewell "I'm so excited but I promise I'll sleep because I CANNOT wait for my pillow present!" it came to me!! I know it is soooooo hard every year to watch Mari, who's three whole years older, get to celebrate her birthday while you have to wait another nine days!! But that's just the point of my post!! Ever since our first meeting you have been the most easy going, smiling, snuggling, see the silver lining type of kid!! Patience is not your strong suit....but in true you fashion these nine days have passed with happy anticipation! You must have gotten that from Daddy! Getting our first snow of the year helped pass some of the time.... giving you the distraction needed to pass the time before it was your turn to celebrate! You see nine long years ago tonight I was being my true self, waiting very impatiently and whining for a phone call that just was NOT coming fast enough for me!!! Nine years ago tonight as Mari said her bedtime prayers she asked God AGAIN to please hurry up and find her a baby sister and that made me very emotional. After I tucked Mari in and kissed her good night I went and sat with Daddy in the kitchen and as he drank his tea I pouted, I cried, and I was NOT smiling. See Mari gets that from me but just like you Daddy smiled and reminded me, "It's in God's hands and he knows when the baby that needs us will be born. Relax and remember it's Advent and even Mary had to wait for her baby!" I remember that phone call VERY well! It was only ONE DAY LATER!!! Daddy was at work and Mari had fallen asleep on the couch while watching the 11th hundred rerun of a Barney episode and I was.....sewing!!! I was sooooooo excited and was even more excited when I found out that your birth mother had given me the gift of choosing your name! It got crazy at that moment because they wanted to know your name RIGHT THEN so they could register your birth!!! Oh my!!! Daddy was at work and we thought your birth mother would have given you a name so what name could I give them?!?!? Luckily they gave me 15 minutes to call Daddy at work and we had once or twice discussed a few options that 'worked' in both the Irish and Spanish cultures so it didn't take long. Rita...nope ....Anna....doesn't seem just right....Julianna....maybe...how about just Julia? Ding, ding, ding the bells rang and after quickly deciding that Godmother Auntie Peggy was so dear to us we added Margarita and I quickly called Guatemala and spelled out your name. Just a few short days later this picture arrive in a packet with your first doctor's report and your original birth certificate. Mommy sputtered and fumed!!! They had made some kind of mistake!! Darn, now that would take WEEKS to correct and we wanted you FAST! So I called Guatemala and told them about the mistake. Then the hairs on my arms stood on end and at that SECOND I knew Daddy had been sooooo right about God knowing which baby was ours......you see the 'mistake' I saw was that they had typed your name twice, once on the birth mother's line and once on the baby's name line.........it was NO MISTAKE!!!! Without knowing it, Daddy and I had chosen your birth mother's name....JULIA madre de JULIA MARGARITA was a true sign!! Six weeks later we were in Guatemala!! You were the TINIEST baby we had ever SEEN! I had never held a 5lb baby before and I marveled at how alert you were and how HUNGRY you always were!!!! Every hour and forty-five minutes you'd start the whimpering and by two hours you were screaming for your pacha!! From that day forward for waaaay too long you had a very close relationship with that darn pacha!!! But I know we will never be able to get you over your love affair with food...especially since you claim to be our chef in training. But back to the story..... Six months later as I took this picture in the hotel room on our pick up trip I marveled at how peaceful and content you were in this strange woman's arms! The maids and waiters all loved to pick you up and kiss you and their refrain, "Que contenta!" said it all. Less than 48 hrs after coming through immigration as one of the first 'automatic' American citizens here you are at Cousin Will's wedding in Charlotte with your doting Godmother! Yep, we arrived home from Guatemala at 5pm and at 11am the next morning you were already logging frequent flier miles as we winged our way to join the wedding festivities where we tried to not let you upstage the bride....it was sooooo hard since everyone wanted to hold the newest baby in the family.....except Mari, she was seriously rethinking the whole baby sister thing!! The newest princess just had to have a beautiful, lacy christening gown! Look, your smiling! So when exactly did wearing beautiful, lacy dresses become torture? You shared this special day with the baby that quickly usurped your role as the youngest cousin and nothing has changed...you two still share everything you can convince the Moms to let you share! Fourth of July picnics...and probably that grape! Messy, silly play dates...... pre-school Christmas parties... first day of school hugs of delight upon discovering that you'd be in the SAME classroom...God help that teacher! Sleep away summer camp.... times TWO YEARS NOW sleep overs, and more sleep overs, and even more sleep overs filled with non-stop antics.... and she even is right at your side when it's your passion....HORSES!!!!! Even when it's ALWAYS about horses!!!!!! You two have tried every way possible to convince the Mom's to trade sisters because it would be sooooo much better if you could just ALWAYS be together....and now that you've realized that plan is not working all we hear about is the 'apartment' you will be sharing when you get 'grown-up'! From your very first birthday party we knew what a sweet heart you were...sharing that dainty finger full of icing with your sister... loving your favorite things....I mean REALLY giving them hugs and kisses! See? Full of hugs and kisses and always telling us "I love you!" many times a day!! Well, some of us hear it more than others..... yes, I know who is your favorite! It's okay, he's gobsmacked over you too!!!!! From the first time I had to go back to work and left you with Daddy it was sealed! I came home to find him with you snug on his lap at the kitchen table spooning tea into your eager little mouth! How long it took Auntie Peggy to break your little Irish accent....I tirsty Mommy, I tirsty sounding so funny from your little latin lips! You both love the same line from Toy Story and play video games together and best of all you both keep Mari and Mom in line with your humor and calming words! I love how you are proud of your uniqueness! No peer pressure is going to keep you from loving the PBR.... even if this is as close to a bull as you will probably ever get! And you don't care about what's the new 'in' bike.... because your chopper with flames that we constructed from an 'old' bike from Grandma's garage is your 'in' bike! While the other third grade girls gush about Princesses and Pop Stars you are perfectly content to join the boys in a game of basketball... since there are no stables at your school! And while other girls slumber in pink palaces with walls covered in BOP magazine posters of TV stars.... you'll take your blue shrine to horses, thank you very much! We love your happy-go- lucky humming around the house and we love the laughs you bring with your antics.. because only you would pair a bikini and guns!!! and only you would slip in the fangs while Mom is trying to get a nice shot of Daddy with his girls! So as I reviews some pictures from birthdays past, I'm filled with pride at the girl I see growing up before my eyes!! Today as I talked to the parents calling in their RSVP's to your special party on Saturday I'm busting at the seams, as I listen to Mom after Mom telling me how 'sweet Julia is to my ....". You are a great friend to everyone and the best daughter ever! So cheers to the newest NINE YEAR OLD in the family!! Glad you let us do your birthday dinner tonight because.... NO! The mouse won't eat all your Out Back mac-n-cheese before you're 'real' birthday' but you will be too busy today!!! The special Holiday Concert at school, followed by a special birthday lunch date with Auntie Peggy, followed by Homework Club, and then....well you get the idea! So as I put the last stitches in the outfit I just knew what you'd love to read this morning...... We RUFF ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Julia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy, happy, happy Birthday!