"Oops, I did it again ..."

I had a surprise visit on Saturday night from a most handsome young man. I'm talking heart-meltingly handsome. I told him I wanted him to move in, but I don't think he'll go for it.



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I went and forgot Rule # 463 in the Mom Handbook: "Never do for one child, unless you do the same or its equivalent, for each other child."

In other words, I took a real shortcut when I made Em's birthday entry on Saturday. I knew I was doing it. I just didn't know she would!

So here for you today, a belated Birthday Entry for my youngest and only daughter ...

Emilie lives in Clemson, but is going to move back home in a few weeks to look for a job. (Of course she's not looking forward to that, but I'm hoping there will be some good parts to the whole thing for her. Homecooked dinners! No lonely, dark apartment to come home to! Maggie-lovin'! Bubba lives 15 minutes away! I know, I know.) Emilie has a degree in Psychology from Clemson University. She's absolutely happy-happy in her relationship with her best friend, Jud. She loves Green Day, and has done so since she was in middle school. She dreams of travel and a bright future. She has beautiful, thick brown hair, and mesmerizing green eyes.

There you have the facts about one Emilie Elizabeth. Here are some lesser-known tidbits:

~ Her name was going to be Elizabeth Joy. At the very last minute ... seriously, it might even have been in the delivery room, I decided on Emilie Elizabeth.

~ She was born a week late.

~ She was the 2nd baby born in the hospital's new-fangled "Birthing Room". It was decorated to look more like a bedroom at home, than a hospital room. All the rage in the early 80's.

~ She weighed almost 10 pounds at birth ... the doctor came into my room and told me Emilie was beating up the other babies in the nursery. Har har.

~ On Christmas Eve, 1983, she had a febrile seizure. This was caused by a fever that went too high, too fast ... and literally scared me to tears.

~ When she was 2, she had plastic surgery. Not really, but a plastic surgeon was called in to put stitches into her upper lip. She had fallen onto a low brick wall, and gashed it wide open.

~ At 3 years old, she and Adam were running in the house ... Emilie slid into a wall and ended up with a broken arm.

~ She didn't sleep through the night until she was about 2 years old. Oy.

~ She was a very picky eatin' baby ... she would eat grated Cheddar cheese. And Cool Whip. Period. If it wasn't for Mama's Milk, she would have starved to death.

~ She worshipped and adored her big brother from Day One.

~ She called him "Eenah" when she was almost 2 years old. She couldn't pronounce the letter "L" until she was almost 4 years old. I will never forget the day she came to me and said, with so much pride on her face, "Mama! Mama! Wisten. 'I Love you.'" I wanted to cry, because I knew I'd never again hear her precious little voice say, "I wuv you".

~ Another pronunciation memory: She called a tricycle, a "pie pickle" when she was between 2 and 3 years old.

~ She was a "Brownie" in Kindergarten.

~ She sang in the elementary school chorus for two years.

~ In middle school, she learned to play the viola. She hated it.

~ In high school, she switched to the trumpet. She loved being in the marching band.

~ She is, without a doubt, a cat person. She has loved just about every kitty that's crossed her path since she was a baby. (She's now learning to be a dog person, too.)

~ My favorite thing about her is her perseverance. Life has presented her with challenge after challenge, and it seems that nothing comes easy to this daughter of mine. But she faces it all, and deals with each obstacle in her path.

~ My other favorite thing about her is her ability to love. Her heart is big, and she loves even bigger.

~ My other favorite thing about her is her smile ... it lights up my life.

~ She is, and always will be, my Baby Girl.

Emilie, we so enjoyed spending your 24th Birthday with you and Jud. The meal was delicious, and the laughter during the games we played afterwards was needed and WONDERFUL. I hope you had a beautiful day ... because you deserve it! I am so proud of the way you have lived your life, and dealt with the challenges that OCD has placed in your path. You've tripped and fallen many times, but you get back up and walk on ... every single time. You are my inspiration. I am one lucky Mom. And forever, if you need me, I am here for you. I love you. xoxo Mom