Happy {11th} Birthday, Natalee!

Our oldest girly turned 11 yesterday.  We are so humbled to think that God gave her to us a decade + ago.  We have been through so much together, growing as parents.  She is the trailblazer, which is a hard gig around here.  We're learning how much freedom to give her and how much independence to push her towards while simultaneously pulling her closing and making sure she knows how loved and treasured she is.

We took everyone out for breakfast in celebration, after she opened presents. 
We're so thankful that our pre-teen girl loves playing still.  Legos, dolls, etc.  She also loves reading, helping in the kitchen, and lately enjoys painting her nails.

 

Natalee is also very into horses.  She wanted horse sheets for her birthday.

The mail run, which was disastrous for other reasons (nothing but trouble with USPS since we moved!), was successful for Natalee, as it had a card and 11 one dollar bills from Grandma Num and Papa in it.

We had spaghetti for lunch and took the day off school so that she could build her new Lego set and just enjoy her day.  Supper was supposed to be fried chicken, but for reasons beyond her control, the day got a little chaotic, and Natalee was very gracious when supper became monkey bread, sausage, and bacon.

We ended the night doing one of Natalee's very favorite things, playing a family game.  She got Uno Flip for her birthday and it was a lot of fun!

Natalee, we love you so much.  You are brave, and tougher than you realize.  You often say things are hard for you, but I think you don't see how hard you fight to complete everyday activities.  You are amazing and so very brilliant.  We love you, sweet girl.