My Baby is Eleven!

Liana, my youngest child, is growing up. It's hard to believe she is eleven. This picture is perfect to reveal the complexities of the age. Her passion is Build-A-Bears, yet she loves the old ipod her sister gave her and was delighted with her new shoes with wedge heels.

The girls don't go to school on their birthdays. It's the least I can do since I drive them so hard with school work when other kids have holidays and snow days and in-service days, etc., etc. On Arielle's birthday we spent the day at the mall, but on Liana's birthday we had icy roads and there was no going anywhere that morning. She wasn't terribly disappointed because she is a stay-at-home kind of person like me.

First of all, the girls decided to watch I Love Lucy on TV. I think it is funny they enjoy that show so much. I watched it on hot summer days in Arizona while my mother ironed. The voices and music of the program bring back special memories for me. After I Love Lucy my mom and I would watch Queen for a Day! I loved that one too.

Liana requested French toast for breakfast and then she opened a couple of gifts. Another birthday tradition is measuring! Arielle brought the yardstick and we saw how much they each had grown. (Too much!) Friends called to wish Liana a Happy Birthday, and since these children had no school due to the weather, we had an impromptu birthday gathering. Sometimes those spur-of-the-moment events are the most fun. So these two girls, plus their mother who is my good friend, came for the afternoon.

In the evening I made Liana's Chinese birthday soup and cake. Fred had a patient coming to the house, who is also Liana's violin teacher, and he happened to bring his son. So they ended up being our birthday guests. Liana had an interesting day after all.