Sunday, August 05, 2012

Reanie is 10 years old today.   She is thoughtful, smart, brave, strong, beautiful, and independent.

She's certainly independent.  Well, as independent as a 10 year old can be, but she's my baby girl.  When she hurts, I hurt.  When she's happy, I'm happy.  

Especially in the last year, I've seen her grow so much.   In this last year she's really started to take control of who she is to be.  That's not to say that I'm done or even want to be done parenting.  Not at all.   But she will do her own thing bravely.  

I admire her talent in art and dance.  I respect her athletic ability, but know not to push.   But what I respect the most is when she is brave.  She'll walk into a store in Belgium, and knowing barely any dutch or flemish at all, and she'll manage to help with our shopping list, pay, and get back to our meeting point, all on her own.  

She'll carry on conversations with Italians, in italian, even though (at this point), she speaks at about a 2 or 3 year old level.  


She is the type of person who is friends with everyone, yet she's dragged around the world, and rarely gets to see anyone more than a few weeks at a time.

She's also confident.   Before she went to bed, she wanted to make sure I took a "morning" picture of her for today.  For anyone reading this blog for some time, you'll know that I usually post a birthday morning picture of whomever is having a birthday on the day.   Reanie, here you go.   Beautiful, even when you are asleep, and it keeps me from getting you are my baby girl.



1 comment:

Mom/Grandma said...

This is beautiful!! Wish I had read it sooner. Love you Reanie, and your Dad.