Ten

Boo's tenth birthday is today. She's TEN. Double digits. I can barely believe it...

Here's lesson one about ten year old girls. They like to shriek. They shriek when they are happy. They shriek when they are excited. They shriek about pretty much anything. And the more of them you have, the more they shriek. We're in for an ear-splitting year.

Anyways, to celebrate this momentous age she had an epic party. Lots of her friends and family joined us for a great time playing at the Redmond Gymnastics Academy. We all bounced, tumbled, ran, and laughed. The kids ate cupcakes and she opened a small mountain of gifts.

Then came the sleepover. Boo and seven of her friends spent the night (with me and QP) at the Ameritel in the Old Mill District. We were steps away from a 24-hour swimming pool and Red Robin... in a pretty nice suite with a full kitchen and a separate bedroom for my sanity.

They played Twister and giggled. They went swimming. We made pizzas. They giggled. They did makeovers on each other, and showed off their outfits to friends that stopped by. They giggled some more. We went down to Red Robin for desserts (which they inhaled the moment they were set on the table). We walked around and around the Old Mill District, stopping at the open fire pits to warm up. They giggled a LOT, and the shrieking began. They swam off their sugar rush... while giggling and shrieking. Finally, upstairs in pajamas they started to wind down. A few of them watched TV while others played board games. Out came the sleeping bags and they started to drift off to sleep.

And then Boo came into my room, and asked if she could cuddle and watch a show with me. Just the two of us. She was pretty pooped, so I laid down with her and we watched TV for a bit. It felt good that even though her friends were there, she still wanted to spend time with me.

After she went back out to sleep with the gang, I had the girls put away the games and turn the TV down. Slowly their voices got quieter, and someone turned the TV off. A few whispers later all of them were fast asleep. They were out by midnight!

This morning the girls had sparkling cider with their cinnamon rolls, and then it was time to go home. All the girls seemed tired but happy... and Boo had a blast with her friends.

Today is bittersweet for me. I am so glad that she had a wonderful, practically perfect 10th birthday party. (Especially after last year's fiasco.) And I am glad that she wanted me to be a big part of it. But despite my feelings that she will always be my "baby girl" she is moving past being a little girl. Those double digits are a big deal to her, and she's getting more independent every day. Boo has a great spirit and is a really upbeat, positive kiddo. I am starting to really cherish every moment that she wants to spend with me, because I know when she's a teen it will happen less frequently... or not at all. I wish she could stay little forever, but I am excited to watch and see what kind of young woman she is growing into.