The Betty That Will Live in Infamy

Betty's birthday leopard print blanket cape,
which she wore to sleep last night over her
pajamas and then wore to school today.
Basically, one of us will have to pry it off
of her in about a month for cleaning and/or
hazardous waste disposal.

At the end-of-the-year conference a couple of years back, I was chatting with Betty's classroom teacher and dyslexia teacher. Somehow, as it does with any group of moms eventually, we got to talking about pregnancy and I mentioned that Betty's original due date was December 7 (Pearl Harbor, the Day That Will Live In Infamy) and I had always thought that was especially appropriate for Betty.

They, of course, were horrified, because Betty is the class sweetheart, who welcomes the new kids, befriends the kids other kids avoid, gives big hugs to the teachers, and generally walks around with a big smile on her face and a huge belly laugh always about to break out. Teachers love her. I love her (of course).

But there is no denying she is intense, passionate, loud, and often surprising. Yes, she hugs you, but she doesn't just walk up and put her arms around you gently and give you a light squeeze. These are tackle hugs. She gets that look in her eye and I look for a wall to lean against, because she's going to run at me, full speed, often knocking me backwards if I don't see it coming, then squeezing the breath out of me. The last few months, I've had to remind her that I don't need the OTHER foot broken.

So, in honor of her 11th birthday, which happened just this Tuesday, here are a collection of Betty's Living Loud and Proud moments.

Betty has always been a fan of accessorizing. She's never outgrown the attraction of mismatched socks, crazy clashing tops and bottoms, and as much bling as she can get. Her style has never been subtle and she has a definite passion for leopard print...leopard print pants, leopard print blouses, TWO leopard print onesies (one of which was a RAINBOW leopard print and was once worn for four days straight over the Christmas holidays and had to be destroyed), and now a leopard print blanket cape. If it's leopard print, Betty will wear it.

Shortly after performing a freestyle dance to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" at the Fern Bluff Elementary school carnival. This was before she started school; we were there for Eleanor. All the elementary kids were milling around, getting pizza, playing carnival games...and Betty is dancing around the parking lot in front of the snowcone truck.

Here's Betty and Bruce. I have no idea what game they were playing., but they are clearly killing it in the fashion department. Although, technically, all Betty's wearing is the hat, goggles and a diaper. It's a bold statement.

Betty is a bit impulsive. So, whenever her bangs would get in her eyes, instead of telling me, or putting in a barrette, she would go find some scissors and chop them off. She wound up getting buzz cuts three times after butchering her hair. This is Episode #2. She has also done several rounds of temporary hair dye, teal being her favorite. She's an independent problem solver, for sure. I keep telling myself that one day it'll help her run her own empire.

One of my favorite pictures of Betty, swinging from the arch at the Dallas Arboretum. She also was the only child to climb out of her crib and fit her head between the stairway rails. 

On vacation at Port Aransas, a month before Hurricane Harvey. 

Another megawatt smile at the family reunion in Wallis. She's happy even BEFORE winning 10 lbs of candy at bingo.

For her birthday, her father got her a cell phone. She promptly called me and talked for half an hour, about everything from her birthday presents to the layout of her bedroom, to how to spell "available" (It's like, 'Ava, I lable,'). You'd think we hadn't talked in days, instead of just this morning. Five seconds after we hung up, I heard Mom's phone ring...I didn't even get a chance to warn her.

The loudest moments are still to come, though. Betty wants to play the trombone in junior high.