Meanwhile, back at the ranch: HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEFANIE!

Tuesday, November 18th

Recognize this face? Perhaps not because you really can't see much of the face, but how about the eyes? Recognize those big blue peepers?

Yup, that's my baby girl. And this was her first birthday cake. I think our idea was to put it in front of her, take a picture and then remove it and serve slices to the guests. One look at the cake and she must have had other ideas! Perhaps influenced by our dog Bentley who she might have observed from her highchair eating this way - directly out of her bowl - she decided to try eating her cake that way too...face first. Why not? Or perhaps she waited "patiently" for me to start spooning it into her mouth the way I did with her baby food and got tired of waiting and decided to take matters into her own hands. Or face. (Stef was never a patient baby.)

This has always been one of my favorite pictures. It was just so spontaneous and totally unexpected.

Her table manners did improve over time and she eventually learned to use a knife and fork.

There were lots of presents and parties over the years.

So here it is November 18th, 2008. Hippo Birdee to Steffi today! Technically she will not be 19 until just before midnight. Each year that goes by I always remember the days leading up to her birth and the specific moment when she was born. The doctor gave me a choice of birth-days for her - just before midnight on the 18th or just after midnight, which would have made her birthday on the 19th. Saturday or Sunday. Such a choice to make after already waiting 9 months and being in labor all day! I couldn't wait to see if we would have a Stefanie or a Duncan so I said "speed it up!" And so, at 11:55 p.m. I got to say hello to my baby girl. It turns out the 18th was a good choice and firmly established a trend in the family. Both my kids are born on the 18th (November and July) and our chocolate lab Choco's puppies were born on December 18th. My cousin who has the same birthday as me (same day, different year) has an almost 1 year old son - you guessed it - born on December 18th. The 18th turned out to be a pretty popular day to be born in our family.