Happy 12th Birthday Ciera!

My baby is 12 years old today!! I can hardly believe how fast she's grown and how much she has changed my life. We are both so very proud of how she's grown and the choices she has made so far. She's a very bright girl, who is not afraid to march to her own drum. She has a much better head on her shoulders than I could've ever hoped for.

This year she decided to just have 1 friend come over for a sleepover (the number has gotten smaller each year). She chose to get a manicure and a pedicure with her friend on Saturday and then they picked out movies at Blockbuster. We went to BJ's Brewery for dinner and the girls got their own table. We did the same thing last year, but I spoke with the waitress for her and 'helped out' a bit. This year she was on her own and it was so neat to see her talk with the waiter, smile, thank him, order their food and just generally deal with ordering and paying all on her own. I'm not even sure her waiter even knew we were there. They did however receive rather slow service, probably because they were kids.

The girls then spent the rest of the evening playing games on the computer and playing pool in the cold garage. They apparently stayed up until 6am and were hoping to watch the sun rise. They finally got up around 1 on Sunday and spent the rest of the day holed up in Ciera's room. The fun finally had to end around 8 pm, since everyone had things to do the next day (and both of their mother's were hoping for some daughter time).

Ciera decided that she'd like to see movies on her birthday. Her dad took the day off and they headed out at 9:15 to see Marley & Me. Logan and I joined them for Bedtime Stories and Yes Man. The two of them stayed to see Seven Pounds as well. It was a long time with little to no food, but she packed plenty of orthodontic approved snacks and had a great time. They got home around 7:30 and we all headed out to Jack in the Box at Ciera's request.

She must've worn her dad out, as he was in bed shortly after dinner. Ciera and Logan watched the new Beethoven movie on DVD and then she spent the next 30 minutes washing her face and cleaning her teeth before heading off to bed to read. She's become quite the reader in the last year and tends to prefer books that her dad recommends, rather than the average 12 year old girl books. She's currently reading The Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card, and that's after making it through the entire Ender series and Carrie by Stephen King. I love that she values his opinion so much!

She's off to sleepover at a friend's house tomorrow and will spend New Year's Eve home with us watching Disney channel shows. Saturday will be her final birthday celebration as Brian's family comes for dinner to celebrate.

Happy Birthday baby girl!!