Aria turns 8

On December 28th, Aria turned eight years old! Her birthday fell on the weekend so we scheduled her party for the same day. Of course, Minnesota had plans to thwart it with a snow storm, but we prevailed as her party guests slowly trickled in from the snow covered streets.

Aria enjoyed opening all her fun gifts. The helium filled balloon was a favorite, and she did not want to let it go.

When it came to her cake, we were a bit stumped as Aria hasn't had a strong preference on themes for quite some time. Baby Shark was her last obsession a very long time ago. We eventually decided on a winter theme for our December birthday girl. Of course I contacted the bakery late (again). I have such a hard time remembering to order her cake 2 weeks in advance with her big day so close to Christmas. But thankfully they were still able to whip up the cutest pink winter themed cake. 

Soon pizza arrived for the party guests and we all settled down for lunch...

Followed by singing Happy Birthday to the newly turned 8 year old. 

Then we all dug into the cake. It was divine! Even Aria liked it, and she is one picky girl!

Kate couldn't resist attempting to take a bite out of the frosting covered sugar cone that was decorated as a tree. What a silly sister!

Aria - you are a fierce and determined little girl. While you don't have many words (although you can say "hi" and "help"), you do not shy away from expressing your opinions and needs. I can usually tell by the tone of your voice and the direction of your reach exactly what you are requesting. From the sassy "leave me alone" to the bossy "fetch me my iPad", you are quick to ask (or perhaps demand) your request. You are definitely full of opinions. You hate it when anyone, other than you or me, touch my cell phone. And while you can be busy on your iPad at the dinner table, you heavily disagree that I can be sitting next to you on my computer. Suffice it to say, no one should underestimate you. You know exactly what you want and when you want it.

You are a proficient iPad user and can easily navigate to your favorite app, YouTube Kids. You love picking out your favorite videos to stream. You have no problems scrolling and selecting exactly what you want. You love watching various kids channels such as 'Toys and Colors' or 'Jason's Vlog'. You will laugh and laugh while you watch the silly episodes. 

You and your sister Kate were sporting matching smiles this year with you both loosing your two front teeth at the same time. What are the odds! You both rocked that adorable toothless grin for quite some time before your new big girl teeth grew in.

You are definitely Popi Dave's girl. You love spending time with Popi and will even shoo me away making sure I don't interrupt your time together. You sure do love your grandpa.

You have an amazingly strong left arm. It's so powerful that it can propel you wherever you want to go in your one-arm drive wheelchair. That arm gets you in all sorts of trouble, digging through drawers, throwing things on the ground, and snatching your siblings toys. You sure can be a mischievous little girl.

You have become quite obsessed with crossing your legs. It takes some effort as your legs can be stiff and don't like to listen to you. But your left arm is always there to give them a helping hand, grabbing that leg of yours and plopping it into position. You always look so grown up whenever I see you sitting with one leg draped over the other.

You have a jam packed weekly schedule with therapy typically 10 hours every week. You are always on the go from one appointment to the next. You do it with such grace, rarely complaining. Although you do like to con your therapists into snuggle time rather than work time. You have mastered the snuggle move with your therapists, pulling their arm around you as you lounge on their lap. You have worked so hard over the years and come such a long way. You deserve a snuggle every once in a while.

You are still a huge Mama's girl. You sure do love being with me and have developed a bit of anxiety anticipating my departure. Even on days when you're coming with me, which is nearly every day, you work yourself up with the thought of getting left behind. You are happy to tag along wherever I go. It doesn't really matter where we're headed, you are just happy to be by my side.

Aria, you are such a sweet girl with a giggle that can melt hearts. We are so thankful to celebrate with you on your big day. A very happy 8th birthday to you! We love you to the moon and back.