Happy Seventh Birthday, Abigail!!

Almost two weeks ago we celebrated our late summer girl's seventh birthday.  As a friend of mine recently said, I don't enjoy my babies growing up but I love seeing the people they're becoming.  Abigail shared a party this year with a two year old buddy of hers, Jay Brown.  We reserved the Shelbyville Aquatic Center and invited all of our family and a bunch of friends.

She was so excited to share her birthday with the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, that she decided to have an American flag themed party.  For a July birthday, it was fun to plan with the 4th so recently passed.

 The pool party was such fun that most of the guests seemed to almost forget about the cake and gifts!  And honestly, that's perfect in our opinion.  Everyone had a great time celebrating our big girl and for a couple of hours we forgot about the 105 degree heat and the recently declared "extreme drought" that has been weighing everyone down this summer.

We enjoyed watching the sun set on the pool, the kids splashing in the water and some of the older folks sitting by the pool chatting.

Abigail has matured so much in the past year.  She has now lost five teeth since Christmas Eve!  She's an emerging reader, her printing has improved very much since her wrist healed in the spring and she's growing much more confident.  Her favorite thing to play is "grown up friends" with Hannah, while clomping around the house in my heels, carrying a purse and a baby doll.  Each of them "lives" in one of the upstairs bedrooms.  She colors multiple pictures everyday and she has become an outstanding helper with and big sister to her little brother.

 We can't wait to see what first grade brings!  She knows the school, has some good friends, is getting interested in choosing her outfits and hairstyle and has SO much love to give.  Almost everyday there is a moment when I'm smiling to myself about how grownup she seems.  I'm so proud of her and absolutely love seeing the young lady she is growing into!