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I can’t believe I did this, but I am actually gone this morning. On my oldest baby’s birthday I am off frolicking at a photography conference. I feel terribly guilty so I’ve got a few surprises ready for her. (Breakfast and flowers arrived on our doorstep before she woke up via AmazonFresh and I am going to Facetime her a bit later to wish her a happy birthday.) If the stars align and flights are on time I should be back home by 7pm for some chinese food and spice cake with the neighbors. Fingers and toes crossed!
This birthday photo session with Jill cracked me up. It was just a perfect example of the stage she is in these days. She has turned into quite a shy girl. I swear if she could fold into herself sometimes she would! I had a hard time getting her to look into my lens for the first half of our photos. But Jill has a great sense of fun so once I started joking around with her the real sparkle came out.
I even got some shots of Jill on the ground and that is so fitting. She has grown so much this year that she is all elbows and knees and often finds herself tripping and falling over nothing. She reminds me of a baby horse with that awkward yet graceful gait.
Middle school has been a much easier transition for her than we ALL thought. Jill has excelled in her classes and she is such a perfectionist she got MORE than 100% in a couple of her classes. (This B student didn’t think that was even possible.) Figuring out where she fits among all of her friends has been a bigger challenge but that is what middle school is for. 6th grade is to secondary grades like kindergarten is to primary grades. (See, I’m getting ready for the SAT’s already!) What I mean is that both 6th and kindergarten are really more about figuring out how this school thing works, how to get along with new friends, and figuring out the new chain of command. Not that academics aren’t hard, but I don’t really think they are the focus this year. And rightly so!
Enough of this silly chit chat and lets get to the pictures. Right? Here are my favorites…
Here’s where she won’t look me in the eye. (Eye, lens, whatever!)
Here’s where I become funny mommy to get her sparkle going…
Finally here is Jill on the ground. If it looks natural that is because she is often falling on the ground so she is used to it!
Happy birthday kid. I love ya!