Lorelei's 11!

Lorelei turned 11, which conjures all the cliche phrases about how time flies with kids - and truly, I can't believe she's this old! 

Mark and I surprised her with lunch at school from Chick-Fil-A.

Lorelei wanted to celebrate her birthday with a slumber party, as per tradition. I made some bunting as a celebration banner for the fireplace and bedecked the kitchen in blue, twirly crepe ribbons for when she arrived downstairs, a year older.

Some pics from her slumber party:

Opening presents:

Lulu's guests included Lillian, Gryffy, Aria, Reece, Christina and Ava.

Her favorite cookie cake, the one she asks for every year.

Wishing!

Two of the girls fell asleep at a reasonable hour. The others were up all night - ha! Fortunately I'm a light sleeper, because three of them tried to sneak onto the trampoline at around 3am. :) Not so fast...

But my favorite part of Lorelei's birthday? Bringing gifts to a family in need. Lorelei picked out this bike for a little girl, along with an adorable helmet that looked like a peacock. When we delivered the bike, that precious little girl would not get off of it! I was steering her around the wood floors of their house until my back was sore.

To add to the magic, it began to snow outside, and for this family of refugees who had just arrived in America, it was their very first snowfall. When we got home, the kids were rolling snowballs all over the yard.

Eleven things we love about Lorelei (random order):

11 - She is the world's best big sister. She and Gryffin adore each other and have an incredible bond, always have. They rarely ever argue (except about where to sit in the backseat of the car during carpool - ha).

10 - Lorelei is kind through and through. She treats others with love and compassion, and sticks up for people who are left out or need a friend.

9 - She's deeply intuitive. She listens to the soul of the world through dreams and her extraordinary perception.

8 - She works hard to be a great student; she's smart, excels in school and often represents her class for special events (math competitions, spelling bees, musical solo, etc.)

7 - She still snuggles with me. When Mark has band gigs, we have slumber parties and stay up watching movies or reading Harry Potter (we're midway through Book 4)...

6 - ... Which calls to mind that Lorelei is a voracious reader. She cannot stop carrying her Kindle everywhere. The other day, she even brought it on our family bike rides to Zaxby's and also to the Fish Fry.

5 - She doesn't start drama. She just does her thing and (usually, with a small hiccup this week) tries to avoid all the drama around her at this age.

4 - She knows who she is and what she's about. Without imposing her wants on others, she stands her ground and does things her way. (Much to my chagrin sometimes, like when I have a particular outfit in mind for church.) :)

3 - She has a spirit of adventure and chooses to be courageous. 

2 - The girl can write and draw. Stories and comic sketches, poems, research projects, debates and other creations, just flow creatively from her hands. I'm amazed at her writing and research skills, and how she comes to me all the time asking for more ideas to write about. She's always conjuring up something creative, often entrepreneurial (like Baking Club).

1 - She's exuberant about life and soaks in its beauty. She notices and appreciates, and helps me to appreciate it too (like last night, when she just wanted to sit on the porch step with me and stare into the starry sky on a mild spring night, or how she frequently wants to drive extra loops through the neighborhood to appreciate a song on the radio - music lover, she).

Lorelei, we love you something fierce! Happy 11th Birthday!