This morning I stirred at 6:10 AM. I quietly walked over to Maile’s room and opened her door. She was on her bed doing some Chinese exercises on the iPad (her latest move these days since she wakes up so early).
“Hey, would you like to snuggle for a bit?”
(Big smile!)
“Yes, Daddy I would!”
It might have been her birthday, but it made my whole day.
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As I was tucking her in tonight, she looked up at me.
“Good night daddy, thank you for an awesome birthday.”
She was mostly excited about her presents, but still, I’ll take it.
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Maile at 8 is definitely in between. Growing up fast. Driving us a little crazy along the way. So. Damn. Smart. But still our little girl. Often in ways that delight and sometimes in ways that frustrate. An incredible big sister … and every once in awhile … not. Gaining confidence every day, becoming more daring. Pushing the boundaries where ever they fall in both impressive and maddening ways.
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On the eve of her birthday, Maile and I finished a book we’ve been enjoying – The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm. One the quotes and main takeaways of the book is:
“Believe in the impossible possible.”
Indeed.
Happy Birthday, Maile Girl. We love you!
(Click here for the video.)
For the past few years, a bunch of our friends have been going down to Carmel Valley Ranch for 4th of July. This year we decided to join the fun and we had an absolute blast. There were 9 families in all and 18 kids – all under the age of 8! Having the 4th on a Tuesday made for an awesome long weekend. The kids did a “camp”-type thing each morning until after lunch and then we all had fun together at the pool, playing tennis and running around. On the 4th itself they had a bunch of fun games like the three-legged race, water balloon toss and pie eating contest. We took a ton of pictures, but here are some of the highlights…
CANNONBALL!
Maile doesn't actually like eating s'mores, but she enjoyed making them.
Lauren doing her best attempt to join in on the chubby bunny fun!
Hannah and Maile - they've known each other forever and whenever they get together fall right back into the fun 🙂
Maile and Lauren doing the tube thing...
(Almost) all of the kids - a couple little ones were already asleep...
Younger sister posse - Willa, Kate and Lauren
Pool side snow cones with the crew
Hot tub!
Mommy crushed after dinner Jeopardy with the kids...
Lauren took her first tennis class with her friends...
We are ready for the water balloon toss!
Three-legged race - Lauren and Dexter
A big sister is the absolute best partner in a three-legged race
We got A LOT of swim time in 🙂
Maile Girl taking flight!
Lauren is a little lighter than Maile Girl - Daddy didn't adjust well enough on the first toss 🙁
Love my girls
Mommy and Lauren getting some quality pool time in
And we're done. (Ride home 🙂
