A Perfect 10

I simply cannot believe it's been ten years since I first held that little pink bundle in my arms. What a blessing she has been--the best birthday present ever!

Alyssa had an early morning meet on her birthday. Though it was less than an hour from home, we decided to stay in a hotel so she could sleep a bit longer and have time to feel celebrated before having to get into competition mode. (She's a steely competitor!)

The birthday fairy (she saw right through that one) hung up a birthday banner for her to wake up to. She also tied a cute balloon to her competition bag.

After eating Froot Loops and apple juice--the breakfast of champions--she got to open up a couple of gifts.

We gave her the new scripture tote she'd asked for and a Child of God necklace. But the wallet with gift cards from Grandma and Grandpa was her favorite. It was the perfect gift and she couldn't wait to add the birthday money from her other grandparents to it.

/

We sang "Happy Birthday" then headed off to the meet. Her teammates gave her lots of birthday wishes--picked her up and swung her around. She's so much littler than they are, they sometimes treat her like a baby--but in an endearing kind of way.

Alyssa was the highest scoring gymnast on her team for the second meet in a row and improved her all-around by one tenth. She ended up finishing third in her age group. She was thrilled and we were, of course, very proud.

As soon as Alyssa's meet was over, my team's session started. I encouraged her to go and enjoy her birthday but she didn't want to celebrate without me. How sweet is that? So she and Grandma stayed to watch my team compete. The others opted to go home.

The Old Spaghetti Factory was the birthday dinner of choice. We met the rest of the family there and Jon suprised Alyssa by bringing best-friend, Linsey along.

Linsey even decided to try Alyssa's favorite, white clam sauce. "It's really good, "Alyssa told her, "but my mom's is better." How nice.

With the spaghetti gobbled and the spumoni slurped, it was time to hit the mall. Favorite meal, favorite stores and a favorite friend--Alyssa couldn't have been happier. Or more hyper.

At one point I noted, "I don't think I've ever seen Alyssa this hyper." Linsey added, "I haven't either."

We ended the night with a bitty cake--(more for the candle-blowing experience than anything.)

But we're not done yet. She's anxious to celebrate with all her friends at a party on Thursday.

After every meet we tease Alyssa that she scored a perfect ten in cuteness. We adore her and thinks she a perfect 10 in every way!

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!