She was RUN NiiNG

In my best Forrest Gump voice, I am constantly saying, "Run, Paige, RUN!"

My little dancer extraordinaire has shown this year what an incredible athlete she is. I am not surprised that she is doing so well at Cross Country, because when we first brought her home from China, we used to tease that her feet never touched the floor...they skimmed on top of the carpet as she ran from room to room. She has always ran everywhere she was going. It is quite comical to think back on her first few years home.

Paige chose to try out for Cross Country this year on top of her full dance load. I knew she was a fairly decent little runner, but she has far surpassed what I thought. There were so many kids who tried out for the team this year (67 to be exact) that they had to cut the teams into an A team (Competitive team) and B team (run at home meets). Paige was chosen for the A team!

She has had about six meets and she is shaving off time at each meet! At her last meet, she came in 12th out of 113 girls!!!

The only caveat is that I spent time with some of her dance teachers this weekend and they said while her strength will serve her well with her fourettes and jetes this year, it is hurting her flexibility. She is becoming more muscular and tight. So, we are going to have to make sure she stretches really well after she runs. No matter what, she loves running and I am THRILLED that it is something that can keep her little heart healthy!

Here are some favorite pics of my girl! RUN, FORREST, RUN! :)








Fixing her hair before the run! Always some "girl time" :)

Look out now, she's 13!!!

My sweet baby girl, is, ahem...NOT a baby anymore :(

Paigeee poo turned 13 in August. I just cannot believe we have a teenager in our midst. She is still as silly as ever and enjoys snuggling on occassion. I am so proud of the young lady she has become. She is kind, compassionate, independent, funny.as.all.get.out, smart, athletic, determined, coy, mischevious, dry, adorable, irresistable, loving, and so many other adjectives that I just don't have time to mention.

At 13, she is:

SOCIAL, RUNNER, ACADEMIC, DANCER, FRIEND, SISTER EXTRAORDINAIRE, STILL NOT WEARING MAKE UP, LOVER OF PHITEN, PREFERS BASKETBALL SHORTS OVER JEANS, WEARS A PONYTAIL WITH A RIBBON DAILY, SLEEPS WITH HER BLANKET CHECKY, AFRAID OF CARNIVAL RIDES, GOD FEARING, NON GOSSIPER, LOVER OF CATS.

She let me take her for my a fun photo shoot. She allowed me full reign on this one...Did I mention I LOVE this kid??!?

We had a little shotty carnival at our local mall. One day I had the idea to dress her up like Betty Boop and take her for a fun shoot. Here are some of my favs!


LOVE THIS PIC!!!













And a black and white...


Happy Birthday Paigee Poo!!! I lobster you to the moon and back! (I texted her one day and my phone automatically put in "lobster" instead of "love", hence our new term of endearment!)

Check out other fun photos at Lisa's Black and White Wednesday!

Seventh Grade

Sigh! Wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding her little hand walking her into Kindergarten? Paige is growing so fast! I know everyone says that all of the time, but sometimes it is scary how quickly time slips by.

Paige has been in school for two weeks now, so I am awfully late on first day pics. I've been busy with school starting up as well.

Per tradition, Paige attended the annual Ellis Cougar Breakfast for her friends. She has so many girls that she calls friend. She is blessed, but I think they are pretty blessed to have her.

Here are a few of my fav pics from that morning...


Paige and JM...these two are best of friends and have a stare down contest everytime they get together...goofy girls :)


6:30 a.m. I don't know about you, but I sure didn't look that cute when I was a 7th grader!


So sassy...




Pretty typical of this crew.



After school that day, we all took the kids to lunch so that they could unwind and of course for the cute photo ops :)







This has been a great year for her already. She got the team that she wanted (blue) with lots of great teachers, she is being challenged academically, she has lots of friends in her classes.

She was so excited to be a seventh grader, because they can play sports. She is a great runner (she runs a 7 min. mile!). She tried out, along with 60 others, for the Cross Country team. Because so many tried out this year, they had to make an A team and a B team. The A team is the competitive team. Paige made it!!! She is sooo excited. She has her first meet next Saturday.

I think this is going to be an amazing year for her!

Counting our blessings

This past Wednesday is a day I'll never forget. Paige had been invited to go to a waterpark in our area with a friend. I knew the friend through dance, but had never met her family. I have friends who know the mom and dad and always so spoke highly of them. I knew the little girl was very sweet, so I didn't have too many reservations. Besides, I was just going to be running errands that day, so Paige wouldn't enjoy that.

The last thing I said to her when she left for the waterpark was, "Be careful. Have fun! I love you".

Fast forward six hours and I am home cleaning. The phone rings and it's the mom who Paige went to the park with. She said very calmly that there had "been a little accident" ... those words are the ones that you never want to hear. She said that Paige was en route to V@nderbilt hospital via an ambulance and we should get down there asap. I.FREAKED.OUT!!! As I got into my car, the EMT called and said they had changed their mind and were taking her to a closer hospital. I took that as a good sign and said I would meet them there. About five minutes went by and the EMT called me back and said the hospital turned her away due to the nature of the accident and to meet them in the ER at V@nderbilt Children's Hospital.

At this point, all I knew per the EMT was that her vitals looked good and that he thought she was going to be ok, but couldn't tell me much more.

I got across town in record speed and flew in the ER. The lady at the front desk said "Who are you here for?". I said, "Paige ... " she ran me back to her room, because she saw how frantic I was.

As I entered Paige's room, she was lying flat on her back, hooked up to IV's and was red from crying. She couldn't lift up her head, because they had her restrained. They were trying to keep her still before they took her back to xray.

I have never been so scared in my entire life. When I walked in, she started crying and said she was hurting. Her eyes looked very hazy and I knew she was scared. I kissed her and told her she would be just fine.

In the meantime the mom and Paige's friend arrived at the ER. Both were absolutely hysterical, so I had to calm them down :/ However, after hearing about what happened, I can now understand why. Paige was on a ride where it looks like a giant skate ramp. You go down one side 20 feet and go up the other side 20 feet. You land in the middle in a puddle of water. Apparently, per Paige's little friend, the teenager who was working the slide pushed Paige's raft before she had planted herself in it. The raft took off without her and she fell ( air born ) 20 feet to the bottom where she rolled up the ramp and then rolled back down. The lifeguards pulled the sirens and rescued her.

Turns out all that baby endured was a concussion and full body contusions. The doctor in the ER said she was a living miracle, because per the EMT report, she should have had a broken neck or back.

My baby was able to walk (slowly) out of that ER and enjoy a frosty and hug from a new teddy bear and actually went to school the next morning.

Everyone who knows Paige knows she is a TOUGH COOKIE. She is stubborn and that will serve her well in life. However, I have NO DOUBT that God has BIG plans for this child of ours. She will do big things. Blessed!

Coming to an end...

I cannot believe that summer is almost over! I go back next week to start setting up my classroom... UGH! I do love what I do, really, I do. It is sooo stinkin' hard to get back into a routine. I will miss my lazy days that I have spent poolside, sleeping until my eyes pop open, staying up late, spending quality time with Paige, etc...

Sometimes I feel like a kid again. Do you remember being little and feeling anxious and sad about school starting back? I have always enjoyed summer so much. This summer I have really relaxed, because my body NEEDED it! Now, I am going to join the rat race again.

Paige starts back on the 4th. She found out her schedule and she will be pushed academically this year... YAY! Last year, she wasn't placed in any accelerated classes and she breezed through with little challenges. Paige thrives on a good challenge. She performed well on the state testing and the school placement tests so finally she will be in advanced classes. She is also changing dance studios. It will give her another really great challenge. Without going into it with great detail, she was waaay behind in technique and since she's changed, they are whippin' her little butt into shape. She comes out with a bewildered look on her face, usually saying "I had no idea I could do that!". Once again, YAY!

It's going to be a year full of change, but that's a good thing.

As an aside, I would like to ask for prayer. I'm having a procedure this week. I am hopeful that it will bring about some much needed change personally. Thanks!

Britney

So, I realize that a night out downtown for dinner and a concert doesn't sound all that bad to do with a few moms and daughters, right? Would you still think it was ok if the said concert was Britney Spe@rs? My mom about had a hissy fit when I told her that I was taking Paige, but after a lot of convincing, I got my way.

I have been a fan of some of the most ridiculous entertainers ever as I have grown through the years. I guess it is a quirk of mine that I thoroughly enjoy wonky, kooky types of singers, bands, etc... I love Britney. Paige has grown up listening to "some" of her songs while I drove her to and fro and has developed a liking to her songs, too.

Sooo, my girl is turning 13 next month and I thought it would be fun to surprise her with tickets as an early bday gift. She was so excited, but I think I took the cake with the excitement factor.

I am friends with some great gals whose daughters just happen to be some of Paige's bffs. We jumped at the chance to spend some girl time together. For those of you who have ever visited Nashville, you know it is truly a happening and alive city. We went to eat dinner at The Hard Rock, Nashville and the girls had all of the tables around us singing Britney songs. My daredevil sister decided to start the bandwagon of "planking" after dinner. For those of you who don't know what planking is, google it...so random! Here, in all of her glory, is Paige "planking" aye yi yi!



We had a "rockin'" waiter. He was playing Britney songs for the girls and would get them up and dance with them. Too cute!



As for the concert, it was ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS!!! She sang some of her best older songs and the best of her newest. Actually, I don't think she "sang", rather did an amazing job of lip syncing. We didn't care, though, as she is one fierce dancer and so are her back up dancers. Paige and I danced and sang the night away. I had a BLAST!!! The night reminded me of when my mom took me to see NSync when I was younger.

Paige woke up this morning still talking about the night. I'll never forget it either.








Fellow in the red, teaches hip hop workshops at Paige's dance studio and is SUCH a nice, Christian guy. Who'd a "thunk" it?!

As a side note, there weren't any curse words or anything too suggestive throughout the entire show. I was impressed!

You mean I have a blog?

I have been so awful about blogging. I feel like I constantly write that when I post. It's not that I don't want to blog anymore, but for some reason, it feels like a chore.

First, I would like to say a sincere thank you for the comments and emails about my last post. We've had a bit of a rough beginning to the summer, but I am happy to say that we have come out on the other side and MAN does it feel GREAT!!!

I don't want to document publicly what actually happened, but I will say that "sista bear" had to come out and it wasn't pretty. I generally take a lot from people. I have been wronged so many times in my life, but I easily forgive. When someone/someones hurt my girl, it's a different story. I have always run from confrontation, but not this time. I feel so much stronger in my convictions, but the most important lesson that has been learned is Paige knows that we have her back and NO ONE will hurt her as long as I have anything to do with it.

Everything is great for us right now! We've enjoyed a very nice, relaxing, sunny summer. Paige has been working at a summer camp as a counselor. The camp is called "Gym and Swim". It's right up her alley. She gets to lead in canoeing sessions, obstacle courses down by the lake, swim games, etc... She has been the leader of her group and the little 5 and 6 year olds LOVE her. She feels like a rock star :)

My sweet, little mama fell a few weeks ago while looking at a cute little pup. She was able to drive herself home, but once I saw her wrist I knew a trip to the ER was iminent. She fractured her wrist, basically shattering it. She has been such a trooper though and is sporting a pink cast that goes above her elbow. She is such a tough cookie. I love her vivaciousness and zest for life. She is such a precious lady and I couldn't love her more if I tried.

As for me, well I have been super busy with photo sessions. I photographed a mid size wedding this evening and lets just say, I will never do that again without a second shooter. I probably sweat off 10 lbs running to and fro, but it was a challenge that I met and I am proud of myself. I have also found a new niche and am photographing mostly newborns. Who'd a thunk it? I'm in the process of building a new website, logo, branding, etc... It's been fun and I am blessed, blessed, BLESSED!

School begins in a few short weeks, so I intend on lounging by the pool as much as possible, drinking my share of fruity drinks, watching my little girl blossom, and just enjoy life!

Aaaah Summer 2011 you have not disappointed!