It's GREAT to be EIGHT!

Adrianne had a fantastic 8th birthday.

The night before, after she had fallen asleep, I laid out all her presents at the foot of her bed so she would see them as soon as she woke up. It was a fun little surprise, and I think she got a kick out of it.

She woke up early and then spent the morning playing with her sisters and brother.

We took a quick trip to the fabric store to try to find some fabric for a project I wanted to start working on, and then on to the grocery store to pick up a few items I needed to make her birthday dinner. Adrianne had decided she wanted black bean soup and quesadillas. For her "cake" she chose Triple Chocolate Chunk cookies because, as she put it, "I like chocolate!"

After Matt got home from work she wanted to open up all her presents. She received so many things: an 18" Doll (similar to the American Girl dolls), Polly Pocket set, Liv doll clothes, a few new clothes for herself, a friendship bracelet making kit, legos, and a card that said I would take her the next morning to have her ears pierced!

She was really excited and pleased with all the things that she got. Many of the items she has been asking to get for months now, like the legos and having her ears pierced. She really likes her new doll too and has had fun dressing it up and combing its hair.

Later on we had our dinner and sang the traditional "Happy Birthday" to her while serving her "cake" and ice cream. Let me just say it was a tight squeeze getting 8 candles on a scoop of ice cream! She's getting so old!

The next morning, Adrianne, Riley, and I went out to have Adrianne's ears pierced. I was so proud of her. I had prepared Adrianne ahead of time, letting her know that it would hurt a bit when she had her ears pierced. She was a trooper and didn't even flinch! She just held onto my hand. She picked out a really cute set of blue daisies (blue is her current favorite color).



So far, Adrianne has been very on top of caring for her healing ears, making sure to follow the after-care directions to the letter. It's been really nice not having to worry about reminding her to look after them, and I think she enjoys the responsibility of cleaning the piercing.

My baby is growing up!