Finally the age she acts

My darling daughter is 8 today. Since about age 6, she has been pegged as an 8 year old by strangers. This is due to her size and I believe to her maturity level. She is an even-keeled, socially intuitive (a term I made up myself) young lady and she makes us proud. Having said that, lately I feel as if I'm dealing with a premenstrual teenager. We've been getting a lot of lip, slamming doors and sullen expressions. The word on the street though is that some of the boys her age are also acting this way...so maybe, just maybe, it is an age-appropriate thing we're experiencing.

Princess' day has already reached a pinnacle because her Dad surprised her with a Zune...her very own (he works for the 'mothership' who makes them). I struggle with this because I remember being 14 when I got my first walkman (does anyone remember THOSE?), and my 8 year old has her very own state of the art personal music thingy....don't children have to wait for ANYTHING anymore? I AM making her wait to get her ears pierced until she is 13 (I had to be 16). She has pointed out every friend who already has hers pierced, just in the slightest chance that I might be convinced to change my mind....I'm not budging on this one.

Anyway, our 'Do-do' (pronounced doo-doo) is getting old and I am not sure how to feel. On one hand, I am so blessed with a healthy, happy, considerate, loving human being in my life who is growing and thriving; and on the other, my baby-girl isn't little anymore and that makes me sad. Happy Birthday sweet girl!

We have a tradition in our family where we serve breakfast in bed on special days. It started when the kids were 3 and 6. My husband was in Seattle buying us a house and I was back in North Carolina with the kids. It was Mother's Day and they decided to make me breakfast in bed, that was an interesting experience both in bed AND in the kitchen (which I had the pleasure of cleaning up).