EVYNNE - Sounds like ELEVEN

It's birthday season around here. We have 3 in 6 weeks and then nothing until February. Morgan just turned 13, and now our youngest is 11. Happy Birthday Evynne, you're 11.

She came into this world my zen baby. She was such a relaxed child. Albeit, I was a more relaxed mom than when her sister was born, but I couldn't get over how different she was. One thing I thought my girls did share was their clumsiness. My oldest couldn't walk in a straight line without falling. When Evynne would bump into walls and furniture, I just thought she had inherited the clumsy gene as well. Nope, she was legally blind! No wonder she wasn't learning the sign language I was trying to teach her. At 19 months old, I took her to the eye doctor and was told my daughter couldn't see my hand in front of her face, let alone me trying to sign "more." But once she got glasses, there was no stopping her. Forget signing, she could now see my lips moving, so she moved straight into speaking full sentences after that.

From then on, she has continued to amaze me. I've often admired how balanced her brain is. That might sound odd but, she is left-hand dominant, right leg dominant, and ambidextrous for many things. Art and math are her favorite subjects, and she is without question, the most creative person I know. When she was 5, at bedtime she would ask me to give her math problems so she could figure them out in her head. She's so visual. Often she has an idea she tries to communicate, but when I don't understand, she looks at me like "how can you not see this in your head?".

But while she might be the most balanced in some ways, she is definitely our most emotional child. I can't imagine it's easy being 2 years younger than the rest of your sisters who are all the same age (at the moment). But the one thing Evynne forgets to stop and realize is because she is the youngest, she often gets to do things sooner than we allowed her sisters to do those same things.

Evynne loves people, and she's our extrovert, extrovert. She needs people to pump her up and recharge her. She loves to stay up late but she definitely needs to make up for the sleep.

I absolutely love that Evynne will come up and ask for a hug when she needs one. She identifies her needs, and that's amazing. She's still my little girl. For now...

Happy Birthday Evynne, you're 11.

Shannon, The Herdmother