This is my Baby Girl’s 100 blog post and I have the honor to post for her. Over the years, I have put a lot of thought into just “who is April.” I never really came up with the answer. That is such a difficult question, as she is a complicated and diverse woman, while at the same time being simple and predictable. She places her values not in material things, but in her heart. Let me introduce you to my “Baby Girl”
April was always an adventure. She was the youngest of 5, yet the only girl. I guess she was anxious to begin the adventure of her life, because she was delivered after only 80 minutes of labor and she weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. This should have been an omen to me that I had something special given to me that day. I have heard that great things come in little packages. The largest of all my babies; she grew to a full grown height of exactly 5 feet tall.
I was a tom boy, so was really pleased that she was too. Don’t know what I would have done with a girly-girl. But, April is the best of both worlds. She is the best fisherman of all our kids, had the best balance, could ice skate in a skirt, and tear you up in fast pitch softball. She could shinny up a tree as fast as any of her brothers, and learned to stand up on a knee board behind the boat at the age of 4. April got her motorcycle license at the age of 15, and drove the bike to high school, just like the boys did. She could dress up like a princess on Friday night to go with her Dad proudly to the Father-Daughter dance, and the next day slide into second base to beat the throw. April knew more about a carburetor than most of her guy friends did. She was and still is a Daddy's Girl.
April graduated from kindergarten as valedictorian, took high school classes in Jr. High, and graduated with honors a year early from high school. I went to college when April was in 5th grade and she would help, by being my study partner. April could have passed the college Anatomy & Physiology final at the age of 10. 
She has an intelligence that would make you jealous, yet loves a simple life. A night out with Hubby includes riding in the truck on back/dirt roads and stopping to dance in the moonlight when a favorite song is played on the radio. My Baby Girl is intelligent enough to have discovered at an early age, the true meaning of success – a happy and loving self and family. April has the career that she feels is right up her alley, that of wife and Mommy, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. Her success is measured in the laughs and smiles on the faces of her husband and children. April’s children are raised by her, and not by a day care worker. They are raised to appreciate, cherish, and respect the love of family. I am so happy to see the joy on the face of my daughter every time she tells me of the most recent adventure with Little Man, Toot, or Smiley. Of course, I also delight in telling her that she deserves every minute of the adventure, as she sure kept us on our toes. Here is the great contradiction: April has always felt that people should be themselves, and if others didn’t like it, then go away and leave her alone. She would do the same for you. Sort of a "what you see, is what you get" type of girl. At the same time, she also felt she had to prove a point to society. At the age of 14, my beautiful April shaved her head, wore Doc Martin boots, black: nail polish, make-up, and clothes, and walked around with a look of “attitude” on her face. This girl loved for strangers to make under their breath comments, calling her a LOOSER, so she could inform then that she was in fact, an honor student. They would then hear her smart-ass comment “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Her Dad didn’t know whether to be proud of her, or royally pissed off. He showed her the pissed off side, because he didn’t like the appearance of rebellion and didn’t want to encourage it, but was so very proud that while going thru this stage she still had self pride and kept her grades up. As much as we didn’t like the shaved head, we did find humor in the fact that she chose to do it in January – during a very cold winter. April spent most of that time wearing a stocking cap to keep her head warm until the hair grew back out. LMAO
Well, now she has Toot, a little girl just like her Mommy!!! … AND APRIL DESERVES EVERY MINUTE OF IT. Of course, my Mom tells me that April was just like me. I guess the independent adventure and love is passed down from generation to generation. Let’s all hope that Toot has one of her own some day, just like her Mommy. This is our precious Toot, and you can just see the adventurous instincts oozing out of her:
Thank you all for being April’s friends and for the honor of allowing me to join you for the 100 post of April’s blog. This is me, I guess April comes by it honestly. Mom
(Thanks Mom for the great post and for being my best friend and a wonderful Mom. I have and always will strive to be as good as you. I love you so much. What a road we have gone down the last 27 years. I'm sure the rest will be just as fun!)
