May 5th was a very special day at our house.  My little Maddie turned 8 years old!  I can hardly believe it has been that long since I brought her home from the hospital.  It had been 14 years since Bob and I had our first child, so of course until she was able to walk, there was a lot of fighting over who was going to get to hold her.  It has been an amazing journey to watch her grow into the creative, witty, funny, smart, and loving  little girl that she is today.  When I look at her I am constantly reminded of how wonderful and fortunate my life is.  I feel that way about all of my children.

As part of our family tradition, we turn our breakfast room nook into party central on birthdays (regardless of the day of week), eat cake for breakfast, and then shop until we drop.  This year we had our cake for dinner, but it was still just as yummy.  It was very strange to shop at Game Stop and the electronics store instead of Toys R Us.  Yet another reminder that my baby is growing up and I need to savor each and every moment.

To add to the already special day, my Lily was treated to a special breakfast followed by a  ceremony for being the Core Value Student of the Year for her kindergarten class.  It is an honor to be chosen.  It means she is a role model to other students and exemplifies the core values of her school such as honesty, respect, responsibility, and accountability on a daily basis.  She received a certificate and metal as recognition. I am so very proud of her!

She is extremely shy, so I wasn’t sure if she was excited or going to throw up :).  Afterwards, she told me it was the best day ever, so I guess her fright was overshadowed by excitement.

This was her first time trying a powdered doughnut.  She took one bit, and said she would stick to her favorite, fruit…baffling :).  Otherwise, it was a wonderful day to be remembered!!