AUBREY TAYLOR TURNS 14

hAPPY 14TH bIRTHDAY!
I cannot believe Aubrey is 14 already. It seems like yesterday when I first held her in my arms. When she was born she had been situated inside so that her face was pressed up against some bone. Her face was very flat and round...I was truely a little startled when I saw her. She has been startling me ever since! Her face rounded out and she developed the fattest checks I ever had seen in a baby (next to emily but she hadn't been born yet). She talked very early and was extremely social (unlike her parents). When Emily was born I once called Emily "doodlebug" much to Aubrey's consternation. She told me in no uncertain terms that "her" name was "Doodlebug" so I could call Emily "worm". She would talk to adults like they were her long-lost friends and relatives. She would ask women in grocery store if they would like to be her grandma (not that she didn't have grandma's already...and not that many of the women were the proper age to be grandma's (like 20-to-30 year olds)). She became obsessed with "Barney" and the "Barney children". She memorized all the songs and the dance moves and then started asking how she could crawl into the TV to be "on" Barney. She made us buy lots of grape juice so she could practice the Welch's grape juice commercial. She would become the characters in movies and act them out constantly. She had along drawn out "Annie" phase in which she "believed" she really was an orphan. She cleaned the house by slopping water around the floors and acting very mistreated. Also as a child, whenever she would get in trouble she would tell me "My other mother wouldn't....make me clean my room....tell me "no"...etc." She had an imaginary "other mother" who was "perfect" and the poor girl was stuck with me. By age 4 she started asking for an "agent" which hasn't stopped even to this day (still doesn't have an agent). She lets us know we are holding her back. From before age one she has been talking on a non-stop basis about every topic that happens to enter her head. When she started nursery and primary I always worried about the "stories" she would tell. I told the teachers I would believe half of what she told me about class if they would believe half of what she told them. One day in nursery they taught that we all have bodies and that even Heavenly Father and Jesus have bodies. Somehow she thought that bodies meant "bottoms". She could not believe they would teach that Jesus had a "bottom". At the store that week...she commented very loudly about a woman getting drink "Boy that lady has a big body!" By age 6 we felt we had to put her singing lessons because she would sing until she would lose her voice. She used to belt out "Natural Woman" like no kid I ever knew until her throat would hurt. We have video of this that we hope will be worth some money some day (at least in blackmail). I never worried about her becoming a teenager because I knew I would know every moment of her life and every thought she had in great detail. Very expressive since birth...and always a performer. She has kept the last 14-years of our lives full of fun and excitement. Never a dull moment. She is the grasshopper to all of us worker ants. Our home is filled with constant singing, comedy routines, strong unyielding emotions, and constant talk . Our home would not ever have been the same without her. She loves being on stage and is so excited to finally "be Annie". We all love her with all our hearts and are blessed she is a part of our family. We hope she has the best day ever.