Happy Birthday, Annaliese!

Annaliese's birthday got spread over two days because Paul was working on the actual day.

Brianna, my knitter extrordinaire, made her sister, not one, not two, but THREE lovely scarves for her birthday.

Furby was so cute. He said, "Are you ready for my present?" and when she said yes, he gave her a great big hug! I said, "I wish it were my birthday, that's a great present!" and he gave me one, too. :) Love that cuddle bug.

Here, you can see the scarves in this shot of Annaliese passing out cupcakes that a friend at school made for her.

Josiah carries her cake while we all sing. She asked for a cake with M&Ms on it. I usually let Brianna bake the birthday cakes, but she was behind on her school work, so we bought it and added PB M&Ms.

Guppyzilla is a nickname Annaliese got as a toddler. When she was a little nursling, I called her my Guppy, or Guppy Girl. When she started walking, Daddy & Zach were making a lego scene, and she tromped through it like Godzilla, hence the combo.

My sweet baby girl is 17. Over the course of the next year, she will make choices that will determine the direction her life takes. I miss that little guppy, but I'm captivated by the beautiful, amazing young woman she's become, and I can't wait to see where she goes as she spreads her wings to fly.