Another year has come and gone and it's seems to be the fastest one yet. I feel like I just wrote this post yesterday for her 8th birthday. But, while the time seems to have passed quickly, the changes have been great.
She's done a lot of growing up in the last year. She's slowly made the transition from "little kid" to "big kid". She notices much more about the world around her, which has led to some interesting discussions. She also continues to grow in her own personality. She continues to be the most determined and strong willed (yet impatient) child I know, and it spans over all aspects of her life. She likes to succeed (which is my polite way of saying she likes to win.....at everything!) and we are constantly trying to teach the importance of character, even in the disappointments. She likes to be right! She never backs down in a disagreement. Unfortunately, while I do my best to teach her that it's ok to have your own opinion and you don't always have to agree, she hasn't quite learned the importance of picking your battles! So, it seems we're always in a debate about some trivial issue. While all of this may sound like she's a fussy child and she does have her moments, I can assure you that she is very much a happy, enjoy-life-to-the-fullest, joyful kid and looks at life from a positive prospective. All that strong will and determination makes her confident in herself. She has no insecurities and I hope she keeps that confidence as we head into those tough middle-school years. She is very independent and prefers to manage things on her own, while still needing a few reminders from mom on occasion. She's very smart and learns quickly. She has a very analytical mind and her favorite games are the ones that require strategy, like Rook or Mexican Train dominoes. Jacob's not the type to "let her win" and she recently celebrated the great achievement of besting her daddy (and me, of course) for the first time in a Rook match. God has a special plan for this child and I can see Him working in her life. She is the greatest blessing God has ever given me and Jacob and we pray for her constantly.
This year she picked flowers for a birthday party theme and we sat down to build her invitation together. She decided to have the party at home in the backyard and after much negotiation we agreed to just invite her girl friends. Decorating for the party is always part of the fun and we found some really cute flower decor to go with our theme. I usually just order a birthday cake or cupcake for the convenience, but this year Brenna talked me into baking our own. We dedicated the whole day before the party to putting up party decorations and baking cupcakes. She had a great time frosting her cupcakes with a rainbow of icing colors. She decorated each one with a specific friend in mind.
Her birthday always falls on a holiday weekend here in Canada and while we had a few that couldn't come because of vacation plans for the long weekend, we still ended up with fourteen girls. It was total chaos for three hours! And they manages to consume four large pizza, three dozen brownies, two bags of chips, and three gallons of lemonade! They enjoyed the slip-and-slide, the hot tube, and piñata, before they went back inside for pizza, gifts, and an exciting game of twister. There was a sopping wet trail of grass, food, and candy wrappers from the basement, to Brenna's room, and back outside.
We've got such a great group of kids at school and in the neighborhood and they all get along so well. The party was a big success and it was another great birthday for Brenna!
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