She's 8.

She had a great birthday. Todd's rule this year: no party. We instead did his childhood family tradition where  she gets to pick dinner and I would bake her the cake of her choosing. Which, as a side note. (Because there always has to be a side note!)  I was sure that I would definitely NOT start this tradition. Mostly because I just like to either A. buy a cake or B. make cupcakes, and because C. Todd's mom makes some crazy cakes that are pretty impressive :)  But this year Todd announced it to her before I could make any objections and she was really excited about it.  And she choose Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches for dinner with Chips with Chocolate Milk. And I am always up for an easy dinner, so Todd's childhood tradition it is.  She picked Little Pet Shops in the Snow as her cake... which I think she may have seen at someone else's party because it seems really specific.  So I gave it my best shot.

So her birthday.  She took donuts to school and they sang her happy birthday twice.  Plus she got a bunch of pencils and a Blow Pop and you know how exciting those are!  She opened her gifts when she got home from school.  She was so sweet and excited about each gift.  It was beautiful.  And later in the evening we went Christmas Caroling with the worship team from church.  Bella had fun reading the lyrics and singing along.  And she felt extra special when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her at the end of the night.