"Did I Hear a 'Niner' In There?"

There she is! My nine year-old. This picture is rare because she doesn't sit in my lap very often anymore. She's too old for that. She has moved on to things like: getting braces, doing her own hair, diving into musical theater, and asking theological questions that sometimes I can't answer without research.

This year, to celebrate, she wanted a luau complete with a real pig on a spit and an apple stuffed in its mouth. Seeing as her dad has gone all vegan on us, that wasn't going to happen. But he did take her out shopping for decorations and they found a paper pig with an apple stuffed in its mouth. To say she was delighted would be an understatement. Cayna, in general, is all about OVERstatement.

On the day of her actual birthday, we went out to dinner with grandparents and that's where this photo is taken. I love my daughter. I love that I HAVE a daughter (two, in fact!), and I love seeing life through her eyes. Last year, she proclaimed her birthday with chalk on a park sidewalk. This year, she simply wrote CAYNA surrounded by the number 9 in crayon on a paper doily. I'm saving it. I want to remember this day because she won't let me hold her on my lap much longer.