SHE'S 11!
Ah! Penny girl is officially 11! Im not gonna lie, 10 has been a hard age for all three of our kids. I don't know what is up with the age of 10 but 11 has always brought all their sweet souls back to the surface and Penny is just that! She truly is such an amazing human. She is kind, thoughtful and so mindful of others. She can see an aching heart a mile away and always tries to help. She has blessed our family in too many ways to count and is the perfect caboose to our family.
Penny chose to go on her first shopping spree in lue of a birthday party this year and it was so much fun! We celebrated it one day before her birthday because the holiday paused all evening activities so it was the perfect day to dedicate to our girl! We set up decorations the night before and first thing in the morning Brian and I gifted her card and cash for her shopping spree! She was SO WILDLY HAPPY AND EXCITED!
After a quick dentist appointment that was booked 6 months ago for all three kids, Penny and I left for shopping at 11am. We went to 3 different Winners stores, two different thrift stores, the dollarstore and the mall and she spent every dollar of her money with just $0.15 cents to spare! She said this was the best day of her life and that she is "DEFINITELY" doing this again next year. Haha, I love her. We stopped at the mall for lunch together and checked out every single thing she wanted to. It was seriously so fun just hanging out chatting with her all day. It felt like I was spoiled with time with my girl and I too was on cloud 9.
I love the things Penny picked out. She is right between the little girl and tween phase where she was so excited to find dollies to adopt and love on and has paid the most attention to them but also was thrilled to get new shirts, a vest and lip gloss and a new hair brush. I can see the little girl slipping away while she explores new interests but my mom heart was also so happy to see her still pick out dolls and diapers and clothes and hold onto her little girl youth that will inevitably slip away all too soon.
We had pasta, her favourite meal, and Starbucks lemonade for dinner. For Dessert, she requested a chocolate board filled with all her favourite chocolate bars so I made it into a little pile cake shape thing..... it was yummy and so uniquely Penny!
The evening was filled with visits from Grandparents and playing with her new dollies. It was quiet and calm and just what she wanted.
She went to bed late and when she woke up she was officially 11. Her birthday-day was busy but her heart was so filled from the day before that she was in the best spirits the entire day. She requested egg McMuffins for breakfast and after getting Bentley to 7am practice, picking up 60 fresh timbits for her class and getting Carter out the door to seminary, we made it happen!
She said she had a great day at school and was showered with gifts in the parking lot when the bell rang. She has the best group of friends who spoiled her and other moms who wanted to celebrate her. My heart was so full seeing this village of ours love on our girl so much. We ate spaghetti out of a thermos on the stands at Carter's football game and then ran Penny and one of her besties, Jersey, to their basketball practice but stopped at Starbucks for a Frapachino and Cake-Pop! Birthday dessert on the go!
She shared lolly-pops with her basketball team after practice and when the night was all said and done, she changed her new dolly into pajamas and cuddled her to sleep.
I love this girl more than life itself. I am so proud of who she is and I hope she is proud of who she is too. I loved every minute of time spent with her and celebrating her completely!
Penny, we love you endlessly! Happy 11th Birthday, sweetheart!