Our beautiful brunette turned 10 in October. To celebrate, I took Charlotte and three friends to the American Girl Bistro for lunch. As a girls' lunch out is always fun, of course we had a wonderful time. The AG staff pampered both girls and dolls while serving us way more yummy food than we could possibly eat. After lunch the girls shopped (of course) before returning here to open presents. The next day we celebrated as a family and had an equally nice day.
I feel nostalgic as I write this. While I completely celebrate this beautiful daughter we have, I pause because time is passing all too quickly. Charlotte is growing into such a nice young woman. She's like a second mother in the house and often a better mother than the one who lives here :). She helps and cares for all of us, often packing school snacks or making lunches and always has a game ready to play with whoever is available. For our church's trunk or treat, instead of running off with her friends to gather candy, she chose to take Mary and her teacher's granddaughter (age 3) around instead. I honestly thought she was just being kind, but she really, really enjoyed taking care of those two little girls that night. I admire that quality in her. Charlotte is also extremely intelligent. So much so, that sometimes I wonder what she'll end up pursuing in college and how she'll balance her education with being the type of mother she'll want to be. I know she'll value both and want to make both a priority so finding that balance will be a challenge, but one I'm sure she'll thoughtfully work through. Charlotte is so mature in so many good and uplifting ways. Yet, she still LOVES her American Girl dolls. And I love that about her too. While some of her friends already have I-Touches and are into music I'm not familiar with as well as clothes from stores I have barely heard of, Charlotte loves playing with her dolls and with her sisters and their dolls. They are busy planning their Christmas lists to create AG homes within their rooms. They have playdates for their dolls and plan sleepovers with the 'cousins' and take them trick-or-treating to each others 'houses.' I love that while Charlotte is so accomplished and helpful and mature in many ways, she's still a kid - a wonderful, creative kid who is enjoying her childhood and not in a hurry to grow up too fast. Because while she doesn't know it, I know how very quickly that growth is coming so I treasure this time more than she'll ever know until she has her own daughter who is turning 10.
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| Pink lemonade for all, even the dolls |
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| Cake |
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| Cake for the girls and whipped cream with pink sprinkles for the dolls |
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Left to Right: Dayna & Mia; Charlotte & Chrissa; Kylie & Kirstin; Anna & Lanie
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| Mom, Dad & Charlotte |
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| Traditional Texas Chocolate Cake (that thing is riddled with chocolate - yum!) |
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| Always need a picture with the siblings |
I've always been impressed with Charlotte and we've thoroughly enjoyed her pleasant and fun personality. What a wonderful sister she must be to Laurel and Mary!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures Ella! Such precious times. Ana still loves her dolls too- She jokes about having a party at the AG store because her friends would die (they think they are so grown up), but Ana just laughs at them (not mean just on the inside), she still loves her dolls even if she doesn't get to play with them much unless someone younger comes over. I think playing with dolls shows great parenting skills & babysitting skills- even my boys will play dolls on occassion.
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