Happy Birthday, Brianna!

Our oldest grandchild, Brianna, turns 9 today. Nine! It just doesn't seem possible...

It is fun to watch kids grow and see them mature. Especially when you can watch from afar as grandparents! When Mom and Dad get to deal with all the unpleasantness of parenthood and we just get to enjoy all of the fun stuff.

Brianna is a very smart, bubbly, funny, vibrant child. And she's a fantastic big sister. It has always tickled me to see how she watches out for Gaige, even when he is being a PIA little brother. And she is great playing with Joey, too. I know she's been a big help to Amy.

It wasn't all that long ago that she was only 5, younger than Gaige is now, and we were getting ready for Amy's wedding.


Not that I want to dwell on her being 5, but just look how cute she looks in this picture...

It's always fun looking through pics to post on days like today. I inevitably stumble across shots like this one.

I admit, it's not a great picture. But it's one of those candid, slice-of-life shots that captures the essence of Brianna. She has a very expressive face and the picture just makes me smile.

Here she is with me doing a word search puzzle. She was beyond excited to know I like word search puzzles, too.

I like this picture, too.

She was only 6 in this shot. It wasn't long after Joey was born.

I have tons of other pics, but I need to finish this post. Because I am pretty sure Amy, Brianna's Mom, is thinking I forgot about her birthday post. I didn't, of course, I've just been having too much fun sifting through all of the old pictures.

So...

Happy Birthday, Brianna!