Six going on 13

Ella's pre-teen years have begun, and I'm not ready for it yet. I thought I had at least four more years before she started acting like a teen-ager. As the picture shows, she's already got the pre-teen look and the attitude to go with it. I get the eye-roll on a regular basis along with the multiple-syllable "mo-ohm." We're so screwed.

She's started getting phone calls from her school friends. I'll answer the phone to hear heavy breathing on the other end, followed by a faint "Is Ella there?" When Ella takes the phone, she flips her hair over her shoulder and paces the house giggling. It hasn't happened yet, but I am preparing myself to hear her say, "Like totally Oh My God!" I don't remember calling friends or getting phone calls when I was her age. The only thing I remember was calling the girl across the street to see if she could play. We never had conversations.

Ella has already had one friend spend the night here, and this past weekend she had her first sleepover at a friend's house. She's spent the night with grandparents a lot, but somehow, this felt different to me. Perhaps because I know it's just the beginning of lots of sleep-overs, slumber parties and giggling girls. Sigh.

I called the friend's house to check on Ella at about 9:30. Everything was fine, but I got a little weepy when Heidi told me what the girls had been up to and how well behaved Ella had been. My baby girl is a big girl now, and I'm just not ready for that.

While I'm adjusting, Ella is already planning another sleep-over. Another of her friends, one who calls regularly, is coming over after the school talent show and spending the night. The girls are already discussing what to bring and what they'll do - and the sleep-over is still two weeks away. They may both die of anticipation long before the sleep-over ever happens. And if they don't, I may throttle Ella if I have to hear "How many days until J spends the night?" one more time.