Madelyn is nine. I blinked again. It seems like every time I do that, one of our kids is a year older. Her birthday was last Friday, and she requested Dunkin Donuts as a school treat to share with her friends. Smart girl! She is a smart girl, with or without the Dunkin Donuts request. She loves school, loves reading, loves to learn. She's doing very well with piano. She played soccer in the fall and will again in the spring, and she's playing basketball right now. Her offense needs some work, but she is aggressive on defense and loves to steal the ball. Her coach called her a thief last week. She amazes me with her ability to memorize things. Listing facts as she's studying for a test seems so easy for her. Maybe it was for me, too, when I was young, but I don't remember it being that easy. Her ability to memorize scripture for school and her Sunday school class at church is also impressive. She's a complicated girl, though. She won't dare wear pants, unless they are leggings under a dress or tunic because boys wear pants. But, she won't wear bows in her hair of any kind because they're uncomfortable or babyish. She's pretty quick to tell you what she's thinking, which has its pluses and minuses. We are constantly working on tone and taming the tongue.
We had a small celebration for her birthday. JD's parents, brother, sister, and sister-in-law joined in the celebration. My parents are coming in a couple of days. She requested birthday cake and hot dogs as her birthday meal. Here are some pictures from her day:
Cousin Caroline came to celebrate. This picture just cracks me up. Oh, so hard to get good pictures of the kids.
Happy 9th birthday, Madelyn! We love you!
