this is eight

alex turned eight years old this past sunday and my emotions are mixed on the subject.  eight feels so grown up, and at the same time, so small.  it feels dangerously close to the end of many things, yet right on the brink of what is to come.

either way, it feels like eight is a threshold of not being little any longer.

eight years go by awfully fast.  one minute you're hoping they'll sleep through the night, and the next you can barely drag them out of bed before the sun rises.  eight is silly.  still a little clumsy.
full of laughter and at last, (some) reasoning has set in.

for alex's 8th birthday, we had the kind of day you just want to bottle up and re-open as the years go by - knowing full well they will get undoubtably more complicated with time.  we spent the day doing things she loves, and things i hope she'll always long to do with us.

eight, whatever you have in store for us, we're ready.   and alex, my wish for you is that you always enjoy what it feels like to be this carefree.

happy birthday to my big baby girl.