Cadie is 11!

Cadie picked her own party which we did on Oct. 5 - her actual birthday. And then she caved to my request and we hosted a party for all the girls in her class on Oct. 12. Her party was way better than mine.

Her party included a special dinner at the Magic Time Machine with Nina, Stephanie Noonan (Cadie's 2nd and 3rd grade teacher), BFF Kamryn, and me. We went to the Magic show, purchased the crazy picture with our faces swapped, the girls drank fizzy drinks, and we sat in the tiki hut. Kam then spent the night and we had cupcakes made by Nina. It was a lovely evening and just Cadie's style and pace.

My party included all the girls from her 5th grade class and we made crafts at JoAnn's. Some of the girls picked shirts and some picked shoes. About 1/2 the girls were a bit sassy, the bathrooms were not working properly at Joann's and only about the 1/2 the girls really enjoyed the crafts. I thought it would be an opportunity to be inclusive and for the girls to spend some free time together on a Saturday afternoon, but I was wrong. It was overly stressful for both me and Cadie and we won't be doing that again. Lesson learned by Mom. Cadie handled the Joann's party in stride and she was a gracious hostess.

At 11, Cadie is funny, responsible, sensitive about being "embarrassed", reliable, hard-working, loves her room, loves reading. does a good job sharing her feelings, and she might be taller than me by the time she is 12. I love her so much and hug her every morning and every night and am so grateful to get to witness the beautiful young lady she is becoming. I love you Cadie! You are one of my greatest blessings.