Ramona Dixon, Age 8

This daughter of mine just keeps growing up. Last month she turned 8 years old.

To celebrate, I took her and some of her friends to go see "Beauty and the Beast" at the movie theater.

Here is on her actual birthday, heading out to the bus stop for school.

After school, she got a mini rose bush from Daddy.

She requested homemade pizza for dinner that night, and afterward she opened her gifts. She loved the way Baachan wrapped her presents.

Card from Jii and Baachan:

Mika gave Ramona a dolphin sun-catcher to paint.

Paula gave her a tiny American Girl doll, and so did Wylie.

Among her many gifts, she also got several "Ramona" books by Beverly Cleary (thank you grandparents!), a giant Barbie head to help her practice braiding hair,

a little lego set,

and pictures of some Beanie Boos that had not yet arrived in the mail--Zoey the zebra and Sparkles the pink dolphin.

Torpedo the chubby dolphin:

A pencil holder I repainted to match Ramona's room:

The birthday girl was pretty excited when she saw her cake at dessert time.

 Even Wylie got to taste some cake!

Ramona was such a happy birthday girl on her special day.

A few days later, her much-anticipated Beanie Boos arrived.

Zoey the zebra shares a birthday with Ramona (all Beanie Boos have their birthdays printed on their tags) and Sparkles the dolphin is as sparkly as her name.

She was so thrilled with her birthday. Ramona made me a thank-you card at school that just about melted my heart. 

Dear Ramona,
   It is amazing how much you have grown up in the last year. Not only have you become more independent, but you have also gained a greater awareness of others around you, demonstrating kindness and willingness to help out those in need. This has been a huge blessing for our family as you step up to nurture your younger siblings and lend a hand with household chores.
   You continue to love learning and trying to figure out how things work. You are as observant and inquisitive as ever, and I love hearing about what you are working on at school. Also, you have become a lot more expressive through writing, dancing, and music.
   Thank you for being such an amazing "biggest sister" in our family. I know you will continue to set a wonderful example for all of us! Enjoy this year . . . it really is great to be eight.

Love
Mommy