To my sweet daughter who is turning 8 years old

I love the sweet young lady that you are turning into. You are always the one who doesn't forget to say, "Please" and "Thank you". You keep yourself looking nice by putting together pretty outfits. This year, you decided to grow your hair long and it motivated me to learn a lot of different braids and hairstyles. I absolutely love the time I get to spend making your hair pretty.

You have become my little Mommy's helper by setting the table, clearing the table, making tea, cleaning, and being my assistant soccer coach. You are also my biggest helper on camping trips. You love to help me set up the tent and organize everything in the tent. You also love to hang out with me at the campfire when everyone else goes to bed.

I look forward to watching all of your soccer games because you have become so good at getting the ball away from the other players and scoring goals. You also ask me to come outside and play soccer with you, which is so fun.

I have definitely seen that you have a natural ability in the arts. Your paintings and drawings are so detailed and original. You even made it into an art show this year. You started theatre this year and I see that you have so much enthusiasm in your voice and you memorized your lines so quickly. You are always the one I think of whenever I see a play that I want to go to. You love watching plays. You have seen, "The Nutracker", "Stuart Little", "Seussical", "Mary Poppins", and "Beauty and the Beast" with me this year.

You decided to have your Birthday party at the Bowling Alley and you invited family, school friends, and soccer friends. It was so neat to see you playing and laughing with your friends. You scored the most points in the bowling game and I laughed so hard watching you and your friends try to throw the heaviest ball that you could. During the arcade games, you played skeeball over and over again and won a lava lamp. We had so much fun celebrating your Birthday!