Happy 11

A few weeks ago we celebrated our little lady's 11th birthday. I really find it hard to believe that she is actually 11, but this year she was super aware of getting older and anxiously awaiting her special day.

Happy birthday to our chaos-creator, gummy bear aficionado, queen of all costumes, ballet devotee, high-pitched screamer, budding photographer, Doraemon and "waving cat" fan, poacher of iPads and phones, pretend traveler, and body artist.  You discover new music to enjoy and sing along all the time. Your favorite meal is chicken with strawberries and chocolate coconut milk which you'd have three times a day if we'd let you.  You've finally passed the 50 pound weight mark and outgrown a wardrobe you've had for years.  You've been crying big tears because you "want to go to the theater and see the stage again."  You hand out smiles, hugs, and kisses along with words of love and praise like there's no time to lose.  Your joy never ceases to battle your pain.  You are "wonderfulsmart" and make our hearts dance with delight.

We love you.

Picture Of The Day

 I really enjoy her social commentary in the margins of her workbook.

"Sexist but true"

Fall Getaway

Pandemic or not, some traditions are too important to give up, so we headed to Maryland for our annual fall getaway with our friends.  Both they and we have been very responsible with Covid-related health guidelines and we felt that the risk for any of us to contract the virus during this trip was quite low.

We had a lovely long weekend that included pizza, fairy houses, campfires, a birthday breakfast, a boat ride, golf, pumpkin picking, smores, hot tubbing, card games, and plenty of time to talk and relax.