Cora's 8th Birthday!

Sweet Cora turned 8!

This is gonna be big!

Let's see if Cora gets everything she wished for!

Early morning presents--

CHECK!

Birthday card from Aunt Anji--

CHECK!

Moriah Elizabeth stuffy--

CHECK!

Her own scriptures with her name on them--

CHECK!

The best brothers and sisters on Earth--

CHECK!

Sterling honestly thought of himself

as a present

and kept jumping out of boxes!

The little brother Cora always wanted.

Cora has such a special personality,

and many of her dearest friends

are the empty nesters in our ward

at church.

So on her birthday,

I arranged a surprise visit

from all her favorite people

to come wish her well

and eat a piece of pie!

This isn't even half of the people that showed up

to show their love for her!

Our dear old friend Marsha,

made her put her gift on her head,

to try and guess what it was!

It was full of a baby rabbit

and loads of baby clothes to dress her up in!

Cora was immensely grateful to feel so LOVED!

She painted them each a thank you card,

and sent it in the mail!

A big milestone at our house for 8-year-old girls

is getting their ears pierced!

How quickly joy turns into anxiety!

And then how quickly anxiety

swings back to joy!

So beautiful!

After seeing the success of Mitchell's party,

Cora wanted a bowling party of her own!

We had loads of friends and cousins here for the fun!

But her bestest friends would have to be

Oakley and Poppy!

Four lanes of absolute mayhem!

She also received her baptism dress

for next month's baptism!

It's a huge milestone for her!

Cora is so special!

She has a very quirky personality.

I sit next to her and think,

"I have no idea what she is going to say next."

Growing up as a baby

with Grandma in our home, 

she has a real tenderness

for the older generation.

And they all seem very drawn to her as well.

She doesn't see age as a barrier

to real friendship.

She is very forgiving.

Even when kids are mean to her

or even give her concussions

(on accident)

she returns eager to make amends

and begin a fresh new day!

Even in our home

she is quick to move on from an argument

or quarrel with a sibling.

She loves making jokes,

and no one laughs harder at Cora

than Cora.

She would rather be outside than

anywhere else in the world.

She will sit down for piano lessons,

but would rather be flipping upside down

off her bed or somewhere

much more dangerous.

I really worried she'll want to go sky-diving

or bungee jumping for her 9th birthday!

But she's had the least injuries

of all the kids...

*knock on wood*