The Wild Things Are.: How did I become the mother of a 9-year-old??

Well, believe it or not, my precious little firstborn red-headed baby girl is 9 years old now! It literally feels like she was born, and then I blinked, and then now she's 9. I think seeing personally how true the axiom is that the days go slow, but the years go fast is helping me to be patient and take my time with Norah and Shiloh as they grow up. I seriously can't believe I am the mother of a 9-year-old! It's crazytown!!

In honor of the occasion, it seems appropriate to take a little trip down memory lane. I pulled out a bunch of old albums earlier today to track down pictures of Autumn at every age. Here goes! : )

Here she is as a newborn. I was young, just shy of my 20th birthday, but I grew up awfully fast once I had another precious little life to care for! She was such a sweet little bundle!

She was a joy to have around as a baby... Very smart and happy, if somewhat anxious to become more independent and start moving around on her own ASAP. As soon as she was born, she became the light of my life, and still is. One way or the other, she was adorable!

Here she is at 1... What a little doll!

Then she turned 2... Several ER visits and self-imposed super-mullet haircuts later, here she is... This particular picture was from a time when she hid one of my lipsticks under her pillow prior to naptime. Shortly after I laid her down, I noticed that she was miraculously quiet. Thinking she must have somehow fallen asleep without her customary fit, I peeked in to find her like this. Rather than get mad, I decided I should take a picture. Which I did. Then I framed it and hung it in her room because it was just so... "Autumn!" : )

Then she turned 3, and things started to get a little easier... She was so smart and talented and talkative, she blew me away! Also, she went snowboarding the December she turned 3, and she was such a rockstar at it already. That girl amazes me!!

By the time she was 4, she was an absolute doll! She had so much joy and enthusiasm, she literally lit up every room she entered. Precious!! Here she is for her 4th birthday party at my parents' house:

It wasn't until 5 that I really started to realize how gorgeous she was. I mean, don't get me wrong, I always thought she was pretty, but at 5, her personality started to so perfectly compliment her adorable looks that I would find myself routinely staring at her in complete disbelief that such a beautiful creature could really be mine.

At 6, I was starting to realize what a happy, social creature she was. She made friends so easily and was so adaptable to new situations. It made me admire her even more!

By 7, her personality had really started to explode. I still cannot believe that this gorgeous, outgoing, super-intelligent little person could be the same sweet, helpless tiny baby I held in my arms all those years ago!

At 8, she had experienced a lot of changes. She had switched schools without so much as missing a beat and become a big sister to Norah and Shiloh along with moving twice in under 2 years. I still can't believe how gracefully she handled all the changes. Not to mention that despite her new braces, which some might think of as "nerdy," she somehow only gets more and more beautiful by the minute!

And now she's 9. Really, truly, honest-to-goodness 9 years old. And still as smart, happy, bright, friendly and loving as ever. This girl totally amazes me!! Here she is giving it her all at the cheer competition that was held on her birthday in Hot Springs. She's so stinkin' cool!