Miriam Alayna is 8 years old!

Our oldest baby is 8 years old! It's so surreal that I've been a Mother for 8 years; it seems that I've just started on this journey and here she is turning 8 years old on me. Miriam was and is a dream come true. By the time I was 10 years old my biggest desire was to be a Mama. I remember thinking so many times over the years how long it was taking to grow up, get married, and have a baby...and now I've blinked and my baby is 8 years old.
I'm looking forward to celebrating my girl's big day. She's decided that we'll go to Discovery Place Kids in the morning and she has requested a steak dinner with edemame and mac n cheese followed by dirt cake for dessert. We'll be heading out for a day at the Great Wolf Lodge the following day to finish her celebration. Later this month, after softball ends she'll be getting her ears pierced.
What a joy our Miri is. We are so blessed to have her in our family. Watching her grow up is wonderful and sad all at the same time. She is turning into a lovely young lady; I am so proud of her. At the same time I'm saddened that the time is going by so quickly, I want to dig my feet in and slow time down just a bit so I can enjoy her longer. She is everything one imagines the oldest daughter to be: kind, responsible, helpful and a bit bossy. Each year she amazes me with her growing maturity and her academic leaps. I know the next year with her will be a blast!