Happy 9th Birthday, Braelynn!

TODAY my sweet girl turns 9 years old!
And I can’t even wrap my head around it.
But then, this sweet blondie walks up and wraps her arms around me – and somehow, I can rest my chin right on top of her head (she’s getting SO tall!)

I have so many things I could say about my Braelynn Fiona – she has grown up so much in the last year! She’s so kind, caring, generous, and giving. She’s a massive help to me around the house – always looking for ways she can do little things to surprise us. She loves so big and literally lights up our lives.
And I love her so very very much.

As a little update:

• Braelynn remains our resident artist – I think “creative” is her middle name. She will sit and draw, paint, doodle, and create for hours on end. (She loves to listen to dramas and audiobooks while she creates. She learned how to crochet a few months ago and she has absolutely taken off with her new skill. She can create just about anything she sets her mind to – with ZERO pattern! She’s made so many different stuffed animals, blankets, scarves, collars, and accessories for her stuffed animals – it’s absolutely incredible. She was blessed with a huge basket of yarn from my Aunt and got a whole set of different crochet hooks for Christmas from Nana – so she’s been in crochet-heaven!
• Yes, she is still obsessed with her stuffed animals. She has most of them neatly arranged and organized across the top and bottom of her bed and the rest are stored in a “bag” that zips into a chair. She knows every single animal she has and can tell you the story of how and where she got it. Every stuffie is important to her, but Fluff (a wolf that Derrick bought her a few years ago) remains her most loved stuffie. Even though his name is “Fluff”, he’s lost most of his soft fur and a lot of his stuffing. He is well loved and gets carried just about everywhere.
• Braelynn’s big news of the summer was that she learned how to ride a two-wheeler bike and biking quickly became her absolute favorite pastime. She loves to bike around our block here at home and we were able to bike a lot at the Lake this past summer (which was such an amazingly fun experience!) She got a brand new bike for Christmas and she’s been just bursting to get out and ride it (it was so warm on Christmas Day that she was able to ride it then, but it’s been too cold/snowy ever since to go out!) She talks about summer and biking all the time and can’t wait until the weather breaks enough for her to go out.
• She is in 3rd grade this year and she’ll very quickly tell you that her favorite subjects are math and science (even though learning multiplication and division have been a challenge this year – she’s got the concepts down though! I’m so proud of her and how quickly she’s grasped it!) She’s come a long way in her reading skills this year and her confidence continues to grow! She’s become much more proficient at sounding words out and not just giving up when she reaches a word that seems too long or overwhelming. Reading isn’t her favorite thing (although she loves to be read to – go figure), but it remains something she fights to master and I’m very proud of her and the strides she’s making this year!
• She adores her cousins and has an adorable circle of friends at church. She desperately wanted to have a “kids’ party” for her birthday this year that she could invite all of her friends to. However, as we talked through different ideas, we decided to wait until her “half birthday” – that way we could invite everyone over and they could do stuff in the backyard (instead of being cooped up in the house). We’re thinking a painting party would be fun, so we’re going to do that in June!
• Braelynn has chores to do around the house that she does on a daily basis and she’s become so good at them, that most mornings she does them without prompt or complaint. She is constantly looking for little ways she can help and I’m so thankful for her sweet, giving spirit. She and Leander clean up every afternoon before Derrick comes home, she’s been doing the dishes after dinner every night – we’re really loving this age and her new maturity in helping around the house!
• Speaking of Leander – he remains her BEST friend (although, if you ask her, she’ll tell you that her “best friends” are her cousin Cameron and a friend from church) – but in reality, Leander is her closest companion. They are constantly creating forts, setting up all of their toys and acting out complex imaginative scenes, running around outside – and they love to play Mario together. I love seeing their sweet friendship grow and I hope it only gets deeper and deeper.
• She is an amazing traveler and loves to go to amusement parks and ride roller coasters with us! She hit 52″ tall this year, which opened up a whole new “level” of roller coasters for her to try. I think my favorite to see her experience was her first “inverted” coaster, called Banshee, at Kings Island. It’s a coaster that hangs below the track and she was VERY nervous to ride it. In fact, the first day we were at Kings Island, she decided that she didn’t want to ride it after all. But by Day 2, she worked up the courage and off she and Derrick went. She loved the experience SO MUCH and had the biggest smile on her face!
  The last “coaster” riding milestone is 54″ – and if she’s not there yet, she will be by the time roller coaster season rolls around! Then, she’ll be able to ride EVERY roller coaster in every park we go to! (Manta, a “flying” coaster at Sea World Orlando, has been on her “I can’t wait to ride that one” list for so long, and she’ll finally be able to ride it!)
• Speaking of traveling – she flew on an airplane for the second time in her life this past fall (but the first time she was too young to remember). She still talks about how much she loved flying and asks all the time about when we can fly again.
• Normally, Braelynn has her birthday party theme picked out months in advance, but she really struggled this year. We’ve already had birthdays themed to her favorite characters and animals, so she resigned herself to simply having a “pink” party. Then, I found a balloon kit with DONUT balloons and she became obsessed over the idea of having a DONUT party! So, that will happen this weekend!
• Braelynn has requested that we go to Red Lobster for dinner tonight so she can eat “endless shrimp”. She remains an excellent eater, but she loves shrimp more than just about anything. We went to Red Lobster for her birthday and endless shrimp last year, and she’s never stopped talking about it – so if you need us, that’s where we’re headed tonight!

AND – today has become EXTRA special as Braelynn is getting a brand new cousin today – on her birthday! She will now has a birthday-twin who is exactly 9 years younger than her, and she’s OVER THE MOON EXCITED.
I’ll never forget when Ellen told Braelynn that she was pregnant and going to have a baby – and Braelynn asked her when, and Ellen responded: “Actually, it’s VERY likely that this baby will be born on your birthday!” And Braelynn has been hoping for that to happen ever since – and today it’s actually happening as Ellen is at the hospital in labor. Braelynn is so excited and cannot wait to meet her new little cousin (she’s already planning their joint birthday parties!)

If you want to take a trip down memory lane, here are the links to the past birthday posts I’ve written about Braelynn!
Happy 8th Birthday
Happy 7th Birthday
Happy 6th Birthday
Happy 5th Birthday
Happy 4th Birthday
Happy 3rd Birthday
Happy 2nd Birthday
Happy 1st Birthday