Cecilia is 7!

dear Cecilia Bedelia, 

I can hardly believe you are seven years old! you have grown so much in this past year. you still love to make us laugh, and you also are maturing and take your responsibilities very seriously. you love your first grade class. your favourite part of school is your small group reading time (to no one's surprise, you're in the advanced group -- I would guess you're capable of reading on a 6th grade level). over the course of this year, you've learned how to articulate your /r/ sounds perfectly. I'm happy for you because you sometimes felt self-conscious about your speech, but my mama heart was a little bit sad to lose that precious bit of your babyness! you like to help me in the kitchen and you're always up for a board game or card game. in the summer, you'd ride your bike around the block, stopping to chat with various neighbors along the way and getting to know three different kids who live just across the street but with whom we'd never really interacted prior to your friendly reconnaissance.  

you loved being part of the junior developmental soccer team this year, and you grew so much over the course of the season. before your first game, you were absolutely distraught with fear (the game was on a huge field with multiple older kids' games going on, which was pretty overwhelming). as soon as I walked you over to your team, however, you immediately started chatting with your friends and you went on to win that game. over the course of the season, you found your groove playing defense, whether on the field or in the goal. at the end of October, your team won the diocesan championships for your grade level! that was such a fun way to end the season, but the lessons you learned in perseverance, teamwork, and listening to your coach are even more important than that huge trophy you won. 

for your birthday this year, we had a small party for you at our house. you chose an ice cream theme and planned out the party activities in every detail: cookie decorating, playing various party games including charades and pin the cherry on the ice cream sundae (thank you, Amazon), doing a scavenger hunt (for which you wrote out the clues yourself), and of course, feasting on ice cream cake. Nana and Pappy drove out for the day, and our good friends drove down from Erie. 

this was not such a brilliant idea on my part. Oreo cookie crumbs ended up all over the floor

working hard to decipher the scavenger hunt clues (you were a bit perturbed at being told to let your friends think about the answers to the clues first before you blurted them out!)

your great-grandfather sent this Squishmallow for you (I think he had a little gift-buying help from Nana!)

the day after your party, we broke in your new Easy Bake Oven and you proudly baked red velvet and strawberry bars (an elaborate endeavour that involved baking two different cakes for the layers and making two different kinds of frosting). 

after the party, we then had a taco bar dinner (by request) for your godparents and their family. I somehow failed to take any pictures of this part of the evening, but we certainly had fun.  

I found this message you conveniently left for me in my meal planning notebook the week before your birthday

your birthday was complete with a package from Grammie containing a beautiful new dress, a bracelet, a puzzle in a cute carrying case, and a Squishmallow that's almost as big as you are!

happy birthday, Cece-ma-geesey! we love you more than words can say!