During this last week, my now not-so-little girl reached double figures. Ten! Surely this can't be right.
It really doesn't seem so long ago that I walked into the maternity hospital in the very early hours of a clear, warm spring morning (I remember it as though it were only yesterday) returning home later on the same day to a slightly fuller house and a very different future to the one I had planned out for myself years earlier. This little bundle of joy arrived and turned my life around for the better.
She is stubborn, feisty, a bit of a whirlwind at times, and she is also the kindest, funniest and most generous human I know. During the last twelve months she has grown so tall, and it wont be long before she catches up with me, and it is a wonderful privilege to watch her growing in confidence and become increasingly independent as the years go by.
To celebrate, we spent the morning at a waterpark by the beach. What an amazing place. There was a wave pool, so many water slides and a huge lagoon area, although my favourite part of the morning was when Lily activated a large water cannon. The look on her face when she realised she had showered water over all the people in the pool area was priceless. Lily absolutely adores being in the water. In fact, she generally prefers being under the water - I'm almost certain she is half mermaid! It was a beautiful sunny day, so afterwards we went for a wander down on the beach and enjoyed some freshly cooked chips, followed by a chocolate ice cream. We will definitely be making a return visit.
Lily can't eat cake, but she does enjoy chocolate cornflake 'cakes', so I made some of these and tried to make them look as celebratory as possible, with the addition of her favourite M&M's and some candles.
And following on from last year's success, she has now declared this year to have been her, 'Best Birthday ever!' I wonder if next year will be just as fun?
J. X
