Happy Birthday to My Baby Girl!

Eighteen years ago today, I became a mother for the first time. My daughter was born at 1:17 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long.

My daughter is not home with us for her birthday today. She is celebrating at Disney World with her Aunt.

I was looking through old photos to scan for this blog and noticed that many of her childhood birthdays had a bit of Disney to them...

My daughter has always loved Disney in all its forms (she still does). She had a pair of Ariel pajamas before she could walk. One of her first dolls was an Ariel doll; a little rubber doll just the right size for her little hands to hold. She took it with her everywhere. She wore her out (chewed on her) so we had to get her a new one. She loved Disney movies and still does (who doesn't?).

Notice the Ariel wrapping paper and tablecloth...

An Ariel fish tank as a birthday gift. The fish did not live long, so we bought some more, they did not live long either. We finally gave up and decided the plastic the tank was made of was non-compatible to marine life. My daughter liked playing with the Ariel figurine that came with the tank and did not seem to miss the fish at all.

More Ariel wrapping paper a couple of years later and notice the Pocahontas pajamas. I should have bought some stock in Disney.

My daughter shares her birth date with some other special people in my life. She was born the same day and year as my cousin's youngest daughter (my daughter is on the right).

She shares her birth date with the daughter of a dear friend from my high school days.

And she shares it with another dear friend from my Air Force days.

I wish them all a Happy Birthday too!

I think it is fitting that my daughter is turning 18 and celebrating at Disney World, not only because of her love for anything Disney, but also because she is leaving childhood and entering adulthood. Disney World is the ultimate trip for any child, yet also an awesome place to go as an adult. My daughter is legally an adult as of today...but she will always be my baby girl.