Hoofprints: Abby's 8th Birthday

My beautiful Abby is eight years old now. This year I promised her that she could have a sleepover with a couple of friends. Josh was working the weekend that we normally would have celebrated her birthday, so I said that it would be an ideal time to faux celebrate her big day. Alex had a sleepover once around this age with his friend, Kyler. I figured that it was about time Abby got to experience the same thing. Of course, a couple of friends turned into three friends and she couldn't have been more excited. They came over on Saturday and stayed until Sunday morning. The girls all had fun. She invited Breylynn, Braylie, and Gentry (all her best buds right now). We had pizza, cupcakes, and popcorn and a movie before calling it a night. They played outside and were all very tired. The last girl clocked out about 10:30. After a delicious donut breakfast (homemade of course), they finished the fun times with some chilly morning outside playing after eating me out of house and home. I think it was a hit and Abby was very grateful for the good times.

We officially celebrated this past weekend. Every birthday that we celebrate with the kids gets so much easier on my stress level. I stopped caring how crazy clean the house was and making sure than every kid got those blasted gift bags I always used to be so intent on making. I finally realized that it's a birthday for one kid. Not every kid that comes. I provide cake and ice cream and plenty of playing. That's good enough for me. Sure, Evie will get a big kindergarten party one day with some fun things, but I've got a couple of years before that happens.

This year, Abby is Star Wars crazy. I'm hoping that this sticks (just like Alex, of course). She wanted all things Star Wars, so naturally this meant a Star Wars cake. At first, she was convinced she was getting a Death Star cake. And then a Star Destroyer cake. Many ideas were thrown around as I tried to convince her I wasn't a cake miracle maker and I convinced her that BB-8 (the new droid from Episode 7) was perfect. She was so excited! He turned out pretty great...and huge! Grandma, Aunt Mandy (and kids) and Uncle Jake, Aunt Stephanie (and kids) were all there to help us celebrate. She got lots of Star Wars goodies, including a quilt that I made for her. She doesn't sleep under her bed cover out of some fear she developed when she was around two years old. So a nice heavy blanket helps her sleep better. She loved it! That made me happy. She got a Rey costume, some toys, a glitter lamp and a Hello Kitty speaker for her Ipod (which is always on now), and a lightsaber. The cousins all played and a great time was had by all.

As for my little 8-year old, she's quite a girl. She is sweet, kind, caring, and sarcastic - which she got from me unfortunately. She is consistently insistent on wearing her hair down with zero chance of me ever getting it into a pony-tail or braid. She's very tomboyish and wouldn't wear a dress if I paid her to do so. She's creative and a great little artist, having won two contests so far and is still desperate to get a puppy one day. Turns out that she is also a bit...hmmm...frugal? She keeps saving money she gets for Christmas or birthdays, etc. To date, she's almost got $160 and no intent to spend it. I want her to be a kid and spend a little on herself from time to time, but I'm glad she's learning how to save. I'm super proud of the girl she is and can't wait to see where she goes as she grows. Happy Birthday Abby! We love you!