Monday, September 06, 2010

And then she was 8 . . .



Anybody who has experienced the birth of their first grandchild can feel the emotions in these pictures.





She was born 3 weeks early, weighing 5 pounds 8 ounces. We were all there for the excitement. The nurses called her "Peanut."


On my birthday that year, 25 days later, she felt like a very, very special gift.



Great Grandpa loved holding her and playing with her.




When she was only 20 months old, in fact the day her sister, Feisty, came home from the hospital, she began wearing glasses. She hated them at first, flinging them across the room, but soon learned that life was much better with them.




Here we are, age 8. How did it go so quickly? If you come around here very often, you know that Care Bear, the Birthday Girl, is an event planner. This event was no exception.

Last year I did a scavenger hunt for her to find her gifts. She now believes it to be a tradition. We had it in the back yard this time. Sorry these two are so fuzzy!







Grandma usually gets her clothes, but this year she gets to pick out her own with gift cards.




She spent one whole evening a couple of weeks ago creating a list of things she wanted this year - it gave us many options. I think we'll still be using it for Christmas!




One of the things she wanted was a mess kit for Girl Scouts.







Grandpa told her to walk 5 steps west and 25 steps south to find his gift --






It was the digital camera she's been wanting so badly.




With a memory card, of course.




Then she opened the gifts from the others at the party --





Feisty was proud of her choice from The Dollar Tree --




The High School Musical cake was a big hit - with Care Bear and with the twins!







The next day she had a bowling party with her school friends, followed by Monkey Bread and pudding pops at the park.








The new rule at school forbids sugary treats, so Mommy took bananas and goldfish crackers for her whole class.

She ended the third celebration convinced it was the best birthday ever. Now she'll start planning next year's bash!

20 comments:

Linda said...

They grow far too quickly, don't they Dawn? She is sweetly adorable. I can fully understand why she thinks this is the best birthday ever.

Amy said...

Sounds like a great birthday celebration!

Needled Mom said...

Awww....happy birthday to her. Wow...where do those years go, Dawn? It looks like she thoroughly enjoyed each of her birthday celebrations.

nancygrayce said...

What a fun way to find your birthday gifts! That girl is bound to grow up to be a party planner! She's so sweet!

Sharon Lynne said...

Thanks for inviting us to the party! It was great fun. One can see the Care Bear has a loving and supportive family. And she has the Lord. What a wonderful springboard to propel her into life. Happy Birthday Care Bear!

Wow...that was a long list!

Robin said...

Wow! Turning 8 looks like lots of fun and games! I loved the newborn pictures - what special times!

Linds said...

I swear I was playing with dolls at 8, and I don't recall being allowed to choose my own clothes at the shops! But that was a million years ago. Happy Birthday to the big girl! What fun she had, and with gift cards, she gets to keep having fun too!

Hootin Anni said...

Dawn, Dawn, Dawn....this whole celebration was super. I loved how you wrote all about it and the photos are stupendous. Now...I must admit the birthday gal is one of my own heart.........JUST LOOK AT THE LIST OF ideas for gifts!!!

You go Care Bear!!! My kinda thinking.

Glenda said...

Now that's a birthday celebration!! Time does fly so quickly, but you are making wonderful memories with your grands!

Unknown said...

I smiled all the way through this. What a special birthday!

I love that D gave her a digital camera. I think I was probably her age when my parents gave me a little blue 110 film camera. So special!!!

Gigi said...

This sweet girl has a heart the size of Texas and so deserved to have 3 celebrations of her special day!

I loved the look of delight on the twins' faces!! Oh and the love of sisters...priceless!

Dawn - my oldest grandson started high school today... !!!!!

Unknown said...

Looks like a fun birthday party! What fun for Care Bear to get to celebrate 3 different times. :-)

I love Care Bear's haircut!

Bowling parties are very popular here, but the bowling center just closed, so I wonder what parents will do now. We still have bowling centers, but they are 30 minutes away.

grammy said...

What a great celebration
Love that list (o:
she went to a lot of work to do that
I think the tradition of a scavenger hunt type thing for the BD presents is a great idea ... I will have to try it.

My three year old said she can't have wet pants at school or she will get kicked out (o:

Carole Burant said...

Happy Birthday to the 8 year old!! My goodness, where are the years going, it seems like she was just a few years old when I started blogging:-) Look at that list...she's my kinda gal! lol It really looks and sounds like she had a wonderful birthday and I so enjoyed seeing the pictures. Her face is priceless when she opens the digital camera. A professional photographer in the works:-) I can't believe how Kristin's girls all looked alike when they were born. Precious, every one of them. Three celebrations for an 8th birthday is pretty darn good! hehe xoxo

Anonymous said...

How fun her party looks and she looks like she has a grand time. They grow so fast, my 1st grandchild will be 7 on the 16th.
Love the list!

Christa said...

Looks like a real fun party and she looks really happy. They grow up so fast!

Sam said...

I love all these pictures so much! The one of Care Bear in her first glasses is possibly one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

Looks like it was a wonderful party. Such sweet girls!!!!!!!

Midlife Mom said...

I could use a good event planner around here! It seems there are always things to be planning and I don't always have the time to get it done. My SIL's sister is here from Brazil and I want to have a birthday party for her as her birthday is this month. NOTE TO SELF:get planning!

What a great party or should I say parties!! She looks so cute in her glasses, she must be well used to them now. I hated mine at first too! I love her hair up with the little foo-foo in it. Miss T likes those too.

So sorry about hubby having the big booboo on his face! Will he have to have any treatments or will this take care of it? I've had several things removed due to my days of being a sun worshipper in my youth!

Thanks for your e-mail this morning. Yes, this has been a hard week and I can't imagine what it's been like for BG's family. Please keep them in your prayers! xoxox

Anonymous said...

I love the glasses--they make her a real cutie. We always do the hunt too, but we call them treasure hunts. My grandkids do it for their birthdays now too!

nannykim said...

oops the anonymous was me!