Happy Birthday, Bella!

Wow. My Isabella is now ten years old. 10. Double digits. Old enough for her first military ID. How did this happen? I look back and the years have gone by so quickly. I look at her and I not only see the little girl she used to be, but I look at her and see glimpses of the teenager and young woman that she soon will be. It makes me happy, sad, hopeful, anxious, and nostalgic all at the same time. And then I remember that I was warned... I was warned by parents over and over that this would happen... but it doesn't make it any easier.

Bella's birthday fell on a Friday this year, so it was mostly business as usual. We had school and ballet, but then for dinner we had some friends over. Bella requested Nana's eggrolls and molten lava cakes, and I obliged.

Then two days later, Bella had her birthday party. This was her first 'drop-off' party, and she had invited friends she knew from homeschooling or Awana. I was a bit nervous about how it would all pan out, but it was a great party! Bella wanted her party theme to be an 'art' party. So we put together goody bags with crayons, art pads, and sidewalk chalk. Then during the party, the girls spent time making melty bead crafts and decorating a piñata. It was low stress for me and lots of fun for them! 

Their melty bead creations:

Decorating the piñata:

The finished product:

Collecting the loot:

Naturally, we finished the party off with cake and presents.

We had a wonderful day celebrating and I'm so thankful that everything went so smoothly. Yay! 

Happy Birthday to my beautiful Isabella!