Eight is Great!

Leah turned 8 on January 4, and this precious Peanut had a great birthday!  She chose to have her three best girl friends over for a "non party" after school, which was a perfect solution for our sweet girl who doesn't love being the center of attention at large celebrations.  I took donuts into school to celebrate, and we had signed up to have Kiwi for the weekend, so all was right with the universe:

Class guinea pig + BFFs = perfect birthday!

And then the power went out.  Again.  The past six months have been unbelievable in terms of weather events, and we've lost power and water more times than I ever remember.  This time, the townwide power outage seemed to be caused by heavy rain, so I picked up these 4 cuties early from school (which was also without electricity and dismissing students whenever parents could arrive to pick them up).  They happily played games and did crafts in the dark, and were positively giddy about this adventure :

Mommy had the fun idea of encouraging the girls to make fingerprint animal art with Leah's stamp pad/ink set, which was brilliant... until we realized that had no water to wash off their hands afterward.  Ha!  

We had planned an ice cream sundae celebration, and as the minutes ticked away, I could picture the ice cream melting in the freezer.  Luckily, power was restored later in the afternoon, and, much to the girls' disappointment, we weren't forced to eat ALL the ice cream before it melted!

We had Leah's family party that evening, and our special birthday girl opened her presents.  Leah asked for "Trader Joes' Chicken" and homemade mac & cheese for dinner, and we celebrated this precious eight year-old:

Leah Grace, we are your biggest fans.  You are kind and thoughtful, intuitive, and incredibly smart.  You are a great friend, a loyal teammate, an adoring sister, and a beloved daughter.  You continue to display wisdom well beyond your years, and are a blessing to all who know you.  Although Daddy and I still think of you as our baby girl, you are evolving into a strong and beautiful young lady right before our eyes.  We have watched in amazement and wonder as you've grown into the person you are today, and we're watching with great anticipation to see what you become.  Happy 8th birthday to the sunshine in our lives.  You are pure sweetness and joy, and we love you so very much!