Lenora turns Eight!

Sweet Lenora is now eight!!! She has been looking forward to this birthday for a long time. 

First up, she was so excited to get her ears pierced. I got to take her the day after her birthday. She wasn't the least bit nervous and didn't even flinch. Lenora's such a tough cookie. She looks beautiful and so grown up! 

Lenora has also been looking forward to this birthday so she could be baptized! More on that in another post, but for now a sneak peak at her beautiful dress! 

To celebrate her special day, we started the day with doughnuts and presents. Lenora wanted cowgirl boots and a pocket knife. I'm not sure two items could more perfectly sum up Lenora and her idea of a good time.  

Lenora wanted to bake her own cake. She made an amazing three layer chocolate cake (with minimal help). She wanted it all white since she was now old enough to be baptized. 

The week before her birthday she got to celebrate with Aunt Gabby and Miles who both have birthdays the first part of January too! 

Now on to all the fun facts about 8-year-old Lenora. First up, Lenora is such a sweet little girl. She is kind and so often willing to give up things she wants if she can make someone else happy. Michael noted that she "serves with dignity." She will go out of her way to quietly help those around her - reading a book to Conrad, taking time to play a game with Orson, etc. When she does these things, it's not for attention or recognition; it's simply out of the goodness of her heart. 

When Lenora was a toddler, she was very shy. But every year more and more of her shyness melts away. She has really come out of her shell this year. She's always excited about life and learning, often to the point where now I need to ask her to quiet down. 

Now that she's not afraid to speak up and speak out, maybe Lenora should consider taking up acting. She has the most expressive face you've ever seen! Her squirrel face is a current favorite since she's missing two teeth... 

But she's full of plenty of other faces as well....

Lenora is so sweet with younger kids. They just adore her and look up to her so much. 

Lenora is our little engineer. She always loves a good puzzle and now can easily do a 500 piece puzzle by herself is just a few days. In fact, she gets a little annoyed when people help her because then there's less puzzle for her to enjoy. She's also always building and designing things. We have a set of Pentominoes, and she can solve them faster than anyone. There's one she's never been able to solve (and I can't help her because I haven't figured it out yet either). But she keeps on trying. One of these days I'm sure she'll get it. I just love how her little mind works!

Another thing Lenora loves to do is cook! In fact, she's set a goal to learn to completely cook four different dinners this year. She's off to a great start. 

We love you so much little Lenora. Thanks for filling our home with kindness, laughter, some loud conversations, silly faces, and delicious food. We're blessed to have you!