Ella, Jan 2013

Yes, this is what met me at breakfast a few weeks ago.  I was so stunned it's taken time to recover.  My sweet (sometimes) and annoying (wow- she's so good at that) little girl was wearing bright blue eye shadow and red lip gloss, proud as peacock. Of course, when I pulled out the camera, I caught a little attitude.  She wore this look for a couple of weeks.  Madeline was getting unwanted attention on the bus and at school about why her sister was wearing blue eyeshadow.  Madeline tried it one day, but to a much milder degree.  Where has the time gone.  I still think of her as being 5 or 6, like this:

Ella and Madeline ages 6 and 7

And yet, tell-tale signs all over the place indicate otherwise.  She is infatuated with bras, and can't wait to wear one.  She thinks her best birthday ever will be when she turns 13 and can watch Pirates of the Caribbean, The Avengers, and a growing list of PG-13 movies that she thinks she missing out on life by having to wait to see them.  

For our quarterly date, she and I went to Best Buy to check out the mini I-Pad.  She asked me if it had FaceTime, and when I affirmed, she started asking questions about how much it cost compared to the I-Pad.  I asked if FaceTime was important to her, and she said she wanted to buy a mini I-Pad so she can FaceTime her friends when she moves.  We talked a little about how long it would take a buy an I-Pad at the rate she earns money.  Not wanting to discourage her, I offered to let her use my laptop for FaceTime until she gets the I-pad.  "Mom, not to be mean or anything, but if I use your laptop, then you say things like, "Ella, don't touch that"  or "Three more minutes", and I'd rather have my own so that I don't have to deal with that", she responded.  I told her I could understand her desire, while chuckling to myself.  

I look back at pictures of the girls, and remind myself to enjoy the delight of their ages, because when it's gone, I always think, "ooh, they were so cute and said the most adorable things".  Somehow, when I'm in the mess of all the un-cute things they do and the un-adorable things they say, I can miss the magic of who they are and who they are becoming.