Double Digit Birthdays, Road Trips, and First Concerts

Mali ~

Well, let's just start off with the big guns, shall we?

YOU TURNED 10 THIS MONTH!!

Yep, You are officially a tween and boy, do you love claiming that title. The day of your birthday, it was originally supposed to be cold and rainy but it was sunny and beautiful all day long! What a nice surprise gift.

On your birthday eve, Lao Lao came over with her birthday presents for you in some homemade wrapping paper with some of her special drawings. It was really cool!

She even drew sketches of you (and her) and they are pretty darn awesome!

since you LOVE piggies right now

GG

The day began with Daddy and I's usual surprise of birthday decorations throughout the house and kitchen with a special breakfast and birthday send-off to school. It is SO much fun to have this tradition for you. I love, love, love it.

now, I do have to say that I underestimated how large the glow in the dark balloons
would be (as part of your surprise) and I barely fit them in my car for the drive home
(I must have looked so silly with a big glow in the dark car driving home, ha.)

As soon as you went to bed, Daddy and I got to work.

And now, time for bed...and the big reveal in the morning!

*drumroll please*

HaPpY hApPy BiRtHdAy, M!!!
Click the link below for the big birthday morning reveal!
https://youtu.be/9gKDxDPkyZQ

Piggy pancakes!

This was the first year you wanted to light your own candles. *tear *sniff

Click the link below for a video of us singing you Happy Birthday!
https://youtu.be/_G_mdk9fXzk

You had a fantastic day at school and this was also the first year you told me that you could handle passing out your birthday celebration gifts to your classmates yourself. *tear, sniff, sniff* My kiddo is growing up.

After school, we all went out for dinner for your birthday at your go-to place for special dinners, the local Chinese buffet.

Then home for cake with the family.

Click the link below for a video of more birthday singing and your CrAzY lotus candle!
https://youtu.be/M3kwqyL64V4

And another link of us trying to turn the dang thing off. Haha!
https://youtu.be/1uTPVi1Lhco

And what is cool is it just so happens that Memaw figured out that their anniversary is actually on your birthday as well so I picked up an extra cake for them to celebrate their big milestone - 48 years!

That night at bedtime, you decided to wear your new pig onesie that we got you. It's a funny angle because I took this picture as you stood over me in bed, but seriously...how adorable do you look?!

Just before falling asleep, you gave me a huge hug and said, "This was my best birthday ever!"

We were all so very tired but that hug, your happiness, and knowing that we just might be conveying how special you are to all of us made all the planning and preparing for your big day totally worth it.

Below is the message I shared for your birthday...my sweet, sweet 10 year old tween.

That weekend after your birthday, you held me to a promise I made you several years ago that I would get you your own phone on your 10th birthday. It was a promise made when I thought you being 10 years old felt so far away and surely you would forget about it by then but...nope. You didn't so here we are. It is a big responsibility to have your own phone, but I actually think you are up to the task. Here goes nothing!

Shifting gears for just a moment, here is something I shared on social media as I was feeling a bit low one day. Yes, I was having a difficult day but I think this is a valuable reminder. As you get older and older, remembering to take care of yourself gets more tricky but is always important.

The following 2 pictures go with my post.

The same day as above, I had this text exchange with Daddy while I snuggled with you and the animals on the couch. Be still my heart.

On another note, you sometimes get bummed because the cats usually only come to hang out and lay with me. I always tell you that cats are finicky and not to take it personally. But, I just had to snap the following photos to show you that the cats absolutely do love you. Here is Pip, gently reaching out to put her paw on your hand one night while we were all snuggling.

And another snuggle picture...you, Daddy, and Suzy ~ completely zonked out together.

Of course, not all of our animals are the most snuggly. Here's the two orneriest family members. Looks like GG is keeping a watchful eye on Bun Bun.

Not terribly long after your birthday, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day. In all honesty, we didn't do much this year until you reminded me that you hadn't had your "leprechaun juice" yet. I threw some together and we donned our St. Patty's Day hats and did a toast. Immediately after this picture though, we gagged hardcore on this nasty beverage. We may look festive but it turns out that milk, green food coloring, and mint extract are not a yummy combo. Blech! 

With a slight break in the weather, you and I hit the running trail together. It was nice to get out in the fresh air and as always, the conversation with you is spectacular.

can you see my reflection in your shades?

we strong, yo

One particular day, we got a book that my friends wrote for their son, Zach, who was born with several special needs. It is a fantastic story, you liked it, and I'm happy to support them. The same day, you also came home with some really fun socks from your classmate, Micah, who has Down Syndrome. He and his family help remind us all how important it is to celebrate each other and those like Micah on World Down Syndrome Day. I am so glad to have these amazing kids in our lives.

And the picture below...well...no significant meaning other than you stole my favorite sweater. Stinker.

A little chillier, but here's another picture of more trail time with my favorite kiddo.

Here's a couple more random shots from your new phone...what a fun, cool kid I have.

silly Instagram post of yours

never a truer Snapchat

A special message from Suzy..."always create your own path".

A few more pics of us with our critters...for posterity.

not sure if you can zoom in on Suzy or not but
she looks hysterical here...mid jump/crazy face

Abby on a hillside in the sun

gangsta Suzy

ridiculous...the cats really do run the show around here
(those are the dogs' bowls)

And speaking of cute animals, Audrey had us come out to the Olentangy Indian Caverns (where she volunteers) for a special behind-the-scenes tour of the caverns and petting zoo. She was really informative about it all and our favorite was, hands down, the petting zoo with all the deer, cows, pig, sheep, chickens, goats, and even baby goats in pajamas! It was really neat.

As if all of that stuff wasn't already enough wonderful for this month...I had another surprise up my sleeve. You have been getting more into P!nk lately and are loving her music. She just so happened to be coming nearby on her latest tour and so after briefly talking about it, Daddy and I bought tickets.  You and I took a roadtrip down to Louisville to see her in concert on her Beautiful Trauma Tour! Unfortunately, Daddy had to stay behind to work but it gave you and I an amazing opportunity to have fun, just the two of us, one on one. I don't know about you, but it was one of the favorite trips of my life thus far! It was a little over 3 hours to get down to Louisville and we filled it with conversation, telling stories, learning about your life, sharing about mine, and so much singing and laughter. On the way there, you still had no idea where we were going. I told you I had a surprise for you, but you didn't know what. I wasn't sure I could pull off keeping something that big from you, but your reaction when I finally revealed it was worth it. I love being your mom and sharing in your beautiful life. You are the best. 

at this point, you still had no idea what the surprise was

Click the link below to see the big surprise revealed ~ your first concert tickets...P!nk!!!
https://youtu.be/ngH5DLopzbQ


This was the text I sent Daddy immediately after the big reveal You see, the concert arena was called the KFC Yum Center (Kentucky Fried Chicken donated the money to build this arena) and you had originally thought we were eating fried chicken with P!nk. Ha ha, You are so funny And...it kinda did make sense. Ha.

A little room service before the concert ~ shrimp and grits per your request!

Ahh...the first merch purchase of the evening! P!nk concert tour t-shirt!

Watching the opening act, The Bleachers, before we get to see P!nk! These are the faces of two very excited people!!

More merch!! Take all of my money, P!nk...a kid has her first concert only once!

And finally...P!nk has arrived!! We were sitting so close...about the 4th row on the left side of the stage. It was so cool and you even snapped the picture below and sent it to me with this text message. Gratitude with a little poop joke mixed in. A kid after my own heart.

YOU took this picture! holy cow ~ amazing shot!
(later you referred to it as "the armpit shot" - ha!)

The following links are to some fun moments from the concert...it was so cool. I'm glad I got to share it with you!

Here you are enjoying Just Like Fire.
https://youtu.be/MtBU5MU1pWc

Here you are enjoying Barbies.
https://youtu.be/XOGNFVcnTrg

Here we are being silly together.
https://youtu.be/w3cPrFCK4T8

Here is P!nk singing Blow Me One Last Kiss to our section!
https://youtu.be/C7JE0JOuJqs

Best concert...ever!! Made even better because I saw it with my favorite kid in the universe.

We were on such a high after the show that even though we were exhausted...this happened.

The next day before leaving Louisville and heading home, we tried to find donuts for you and wound up in Indiana (haha!) but then we also headed to something called the Mega Caverns of Louisville. They were secretly built during the Cold War and were supposed to serve as a nuclear fall-out shelter in the event of a nuclear strike from Russia. It was pretty cool.

our jeep tram caravan through the caverns

huge blast hole deep within the caverns

mock up of a nuclear fall-out camp deep within the caverns

Then we stopped at Frisch's Big Boy for a late lunch before heading back on the road for home. Of course, I had to have you take this inappropriate picture of me before we hopped back in the car. I'm such a good role model, yeah?

Finally, the last day of this month was Easter Eve. You attended the service at One Church with Daddy and had a great time.

Once home, we prepped for the Easter Bunny's arrival by setting out some fancy carrots for him. Yum!

The rest of our Easter shenanigans are "to be continued" since Easter fell on April 1st this year (and this is officially the March blog entry).

Ok, ok...one more funny before I go. The trees in our area are *finally* budding...the first signs of spring are upon us. Yay! You and Daddy were outside playing and when he took notice of this, he said, "Hey...the trees are budding!" to which you replied..."So am I!" Ummm...huh?

You see...your breast buds are beginning to show up and we have had a lot of conversations about the upcoming changes that will happen with puberty over the next few years. It has been eye-opening, unnerving, exciting, and curiosity-invoking for you and I am grateful to be able to have such an open relationship with you. I hope it continues. And I am so grateful that so far so good with keeping your sense of humor about these changes. "So am I"...LOL...it may have taken Daddy a few beats to understand what you were saying, but ha ha ha! Your wit is priceless.

Love you, my kiddo...my fellow concert buddy...my favorite road tripper...my ten year old...my brand new tween!
Mama