Bailey turns 8!

How can this girl be 8?!  I know it's cliche, but it is so true that children grow up way too fast.  I won't say that it feels like just yesterday that she was born.  However, it definitely doesn't feel like it's been eight years!  My sweet, precious baby girl is no longer a baby and is turning into a beautiful, young lady.  She fits the stereotype of the first born almost to a "T."  She is the little momma in the house and helps me out in so many ways.  She is definitely learning to express herself more and show us signs of the person she is going to be one day.  She always wants to justify her actions and explain every detail of why she made the decisions she made.  Normally, this is a positive thing, but tends to not work in her favor when she's done somethings she shouldn't be.  In the last year, she has become quite the reader.  In fact, it's gotten her in trouble at school a couple of times for reading when she's supposed to be listening to the teacher or when she's taking a spelling test!  The girl LOVES to read and does it ALL THE TIME!!  I love that she is so passionate about reading and it definitely fits her personality.  She's also taking piano lessons this year and her teacher says that she is doing very well for her age.  Of course, we have to constantly remind her to practice, but she definitely seems to enjoy it.  

We decided that this year we are going to go simple for birthdays and have no birthday parties with a bunch of friends.  However, I still wanted the day to be special for each of one of the kids down to every last detail.  She picked her outfit out the night before and said she wanted her hair curly for the day.  Her hair is naturally curly, but I think it looks prettier when it dries and she hasn't slept on it.  So, I woke her up a little early that morning and let her take a shower before school.  It's funny how little things little things can be so exciting to her.  Things that I don't even think twice about are a big deal in her eyes.  It was going to be her first time to take a shower before school and this was a present in itself.  She felt all grown up, but I don't think she wants to make a habit of getting up and showering in the morning.  She definitely enjoys her sleep and doesn't want to get up any earlier than what she has to.  After the shower, we had breakfast.  She picked biscuits and wanted one with butter, one with jelly, and one with cinnamon and sugar.  I figured three biscuits were a bit much since all we had were the Grand size, so I gave her half biscuits as a compromise. 

After everyone was ready for the morning we had time for her to open one present.  I picked one that was necklace that I bought for her the weekend before in Canton.

It's a bottle cap necklace and it's hard to read but the bottle cap says "Big Sister." 

Off to school she went for her big day.  Daddy made the day even more special by bringing her McDonald's for lunch and eating with her.

That night we went out to dinner.  Unfortunately, I had to limit her choices of where we could eat.  Since her birthday is on Cinco de Mayo, Mexican food was not an option she could pick.  Maybe when she's a little older and baby brother isn't such a baby anymore we can open up this as an option again.  One of her favorite meals is spaghetti, so she decided on Olive Garden.  Excellent choice!!  After a delicious dinner, that I didn't have to cook, it was time to open presents.  We only brought a couple because we are going to celebrate with the entire family on Sunday.  However, I needed to let her open a few presents on her actual birthday. 

It's a charm bracelet with two charms.  She also got a gift certificate to go back and buy a couple of more charms that she likes.

Her next present is the gift that she's been asking about for two months!  Her original request was for a puppy.  A real-life dog!  I'm not a dog lover, so the thought of bringing another animal into the house was not appealing to me.  However, she is quite the sales woman and tried to tell me everything she would do to help take care of the dog she wanted.  Sadly, I had to break her heart and told her that she would not be getting her dog and she needed to be thinking about other ideas for gifts.  This is the gift she came up with.

A stuffed animal dog named "Cookie."  Whew, dodged that bullet...

Braden cracked me up after she opened this present because he is also a dog lover.  Talk about the irony.  Two of my kids love dogs!!  Anyway, as soon as he saw this puppy, he just had to have it.  Of course, Bailey didn't want to part ways with her new present.  Luckily, she was a good sport and let him "hold" it for a quick second and then had to give it right back.  Bailey kept referring to it as Cookie since that's the name that was on the dog tag.  Braden had to keep correcting her and explaining to her that it was a puppy, not a cookie.  LOL!!  Oh, the funny things that little kids say.  

Here's a shirt that Nana and Papa gave her.

After presents, dessert came and Bailey ordered the Black Tie Mousse cake.  The girl ate almost the entire piece by herself.

Here are all the people that came to celebrate with us for our baby girl's birthday.

Yes, I was there.  Just not in a picture...


Aunt Brittany wanted a picture with all of her nieces and nephews.  Doesn't she know it's next to impossible to get a decent picture of little kids?!  Especially, when two of the kids are three-year old boys.  Notice what Braden has in his hand. 

Happy Birthday to my sweet Bailey.  I hope you had an extra special day where it was all about you.