happy birthday to our queen b

It is hard to believe that our queen B turns 8 today!  It seems like just yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting her arrival, and now our baby girl is no baby at all.  She is such an amazing young lady full of wonderful talents and gifts.  She is the best big sister around.  She is becoming a fabulous babysitter for her beloved cousin, Dane, along with a few other special friends.  She is a loyal and true friend to several lucky ladies.  She is a sweet and precious granddaughter and great-granddaughter as well.  And most of all she is an unbelievable daughter who is a true blessing from God.  We are so grateful for you Berkley and love watching you grow and mature each day.  You have such an obedient heart, you are filled with such a nurturing spirit, and there is a pure joy that radiates from your smile.  We love you so much.

And with all of this love for our sweet Berkley, we needed to start celebrating her first thing this morning.  So, we woke up extra early today so we could head to Chick-fil-a for breakfast.  (The birthday girl's request.)  Of course mommy had to bring along a candle to stick in her breakfast.  After all, your birthday should always begin with a chance to make a wish!!

And of course, you can never make too many birthday wishes...

Beckham and Brenner did a great job singing happy birthday to their sister.  They know who takes care of them!

After the birthday breakfast, there was time to have a little fun before we had to head to school.

I'm not sure who ended up having the most fun either.  

I

But I'm pretty sure our queen B had a good beginning to her birthday.

Of course the party didn't end there.  Our next celebration was lunch at Austin Elementary.  Berkley loves to get a special lunch brought to her at school, so this was definitely a birthday treat that she requested.  And to make it even more special, mommy and daddy both got to come, along with Brenner.  (Not to worry, Beckham didn't get left out either.  Now that he is at Austin this year, we brought him lunch too.)  Berkley greeted us as soon as we got there, proudly showing off her birthday ribbon.    

Lunch with our queen B was a special treat, and I am so glad that it is still a treat for her too.  I will cherish that as long as I can.

Daddy enjoyed lunch with his sweet girl too, but baby B had about had enough of his cafeteria time.  After all, he had already sat through an entire lunch with Beckham and was on his second round with the birthday girl.  His lack of enthusiasm was understandable.

As an added surprise, one of Berkley's best buddies, Kaitlyn, got to join us for lunch too.  Her mom brought lunch up to school for her also, so they joined us at the visitor table.  I think their faces show how excited they were to celebrate together.  I'm not sure what special treat is in store for us after school today, but I'm sure queen B has something in mind.  And of course the real celebration won't begin until the birthday party tonight...

but that will be another story in itself.