First days…

First months…

First year…

Second year…

Third year…

Fourth year…

Celebrating and giving thanks for every moment we've been given with this precious girl! She makes us smile every single day!

Today my sister is 24.

I shared with you about my sister Alisha before. She and I were the little dynamic duo.

And then along came Ana.

Cute, pudgy little baby for me to tote around like a doll and do all my baby-talk to.

I was thrilled to have a new baby sister. 

I remember how full of pride I was when I got to leave my kindergarten class early to go visit my new baby sister at the hospital.

Ana was adorable. And Alisha was a complete spaz at this time, so Ana was the new sweet & innocent fixation of my attentions.

The cuteness carried on for many years.

So sweet. And innocent.

Uh…wait..

Not quite!

This is where the story goes awry, and you learn that beautiful sweet little innocent Ana was a bit of a crazy girl herself.

Sure her peskiness and bossiness and somewhat brutal methods of gaining our attention may have been completely the result of Alisha and I dropping her after the baby phase had passed. But still…..you really can't blame us for her mishchief, right? 

The ridiculous truth is that for what ever reason, that prized baby sister of mine became the aggravation of my life for a number of years.

This is about the age she was when I decided there was no hope….she was pure annoyance in the flesh and nothing could be done about it.

A little example:

I would have my boyfriend over, we would be in my room, but of course, I wasn't allowed to close the door. So what do you think Ana did? Stood about a quarter of an inch past the outside of my doorframe, smiling, staring at us and saying "I'm not in your room." 

(Insert my completely disgusted groan here)

After enough whining to my mom, I would finally be given permission to shut the door. 

Within seconds…. BANG. BANG. BANG.

What's that noise? Oh, it's Ana. Driving her remote control car into my closed bedroom door over and over again.

As you can imagine, a self-absorbed teenager combined with a bored and restless ten year old equals very little sister-love.

Ana and I really did not get along. For a long time.

BUT, rest your mother hearts! Those of you with girls to raise. Those desperate prophesies of my mother did prove to come true.

We eventually grew up, and we became friends.

Harmony at last.

Happy Birthday Ana!

We had some company today.

(I made that sweet blanket, by the way. My first crocheted creation!)

I should have a slew of exciting pictures of fun between friends, but I don't.

Really, if this little girl came to your house and needed to be held, I bet you'd toss the camera aside too!

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

For more moments, look here.