Samantha woke up to even more balloons on her birthday…

and to Starbucks, of course!

Then it was off to school on a cold day!

I then went up to school for lunch with CFA for her and cookies for her class!

While Samantha was at school I set up her very special birthday present! A cool vanity in her bathroom completed with lighted mirror! I was very pleased with the setup that GJ and I cooked up!

Samantha came home from school – with all of her friends in our cheer carpool – and was excited to see it! While I didn’t quite get the excited squeals I was hoping for, I do think she loves it. 🙂

Then it was off to cheer where they got more birthday treats!

More birthday fun to come!

Last weekend we had the most fun party for our birthday girl! One of her besties couldn’t come to the party because she was going out of town so she stopped by that morning to drop off a gift…

cuties! While Samantha was at school that day I got the house party ready…

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I think she was pleased when she got home!

She was ready for all of her friends to arrive!

The sweetest group of best buddies!

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We then loaded up to head to hibachi for dinner…but I had a surprise stop on the way!

Five Below is all the rage with this age and I can see why! So much fun stuff! I told them they could each get one thing…and we were there for 45 minutes while they all decided. The best!

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They each got one item…plus a mystery squishy because I can’t say no. 🙂

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We then headed to hibachi where we had a private room!

The private room was for the best because these girls were loud – especially when our chef, Fred, lit the volcano!

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We then headed back to the house for cookie cake and presents!

I sure do love celebrating this little girl!

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The best birthday for my favorite 11 year old! Happy Birthday Samantha!

Samantha is ELEVEN!! She is joy and magic and pure delight!

From this precious baby girl (born on her due date at 1:04pm)…

To this happy one year old….

To this perfectly perfect two year old….

To this lively three year old…

To this sweet and sassy four year old!

To this sunshiney five year old…

To this bright light of a six year old….

to this amazing seven year old…

to this so so great eight year old…

to feeling fine at nine…

to a perfect 10…

to sent from heaven eleven!!

Oh how I love this little girl! She is pure sunshine! It is SO fun to have a little girl, especially a little girl like Samantha.

She is the girliest of girly girls and loves going to Sephora and doing her makeup and hair and picking out outfits and making sure her daily fit is just right! She dances all day and is currently obsessed with making Cover Star videos. They’re pretty cute! She loves to get her nails done and try out new skincare products. She’s definitely more knowledgeable about skincare than I am I think! ha!

She might be girly but she’s uber competitive and sporty too. Cheer and tumble are her favorite along with soccer. She goes to cheer prep and tumble three times a week and plays Academy soccer. She hates to lose and is brings the hustle to both sports every time. You can always count on Samantha to give it her all – and to be pretty upset if she loses! I love her competitive spirit – she’s got grit and determination!

She spends a lot of time on her ipad making videos, learning dances, and chatting with her friends. She’s super social and has the sweetest group of best buddies. Samantha really does a good job of staying out of the drama and I am so proud of how she handles herself and the friends she has chosen to spend most of her time with. I love nothing more than to hear them all giggling together!

She makes a Starbucks request pretty much every day! She still loves mac and cheese the most.

She doesn’t know how lucky she is to have her brothers – and some days she definitely wishes they’d go away! ha! They pick and fight and she can yell at them like no other, but they are quite the trio and I am so thankful they have each other. She tolerates them – as long as they stay out of her room!

I am still her favorite person for now and I am soaking it up. She’s growing up so fast but still has some little girl in her and I wish I could freeze time. We recently went on a birthday shopping spree and it was the most fun. She has always been my dream come true and she is even better than I could have imagined.

Favorite book? War Games
Favorite TV show? Bake Squad
Favorite movie? Bring It On
Favorite color? Lavender
Favorite song? Life of a Showgirl
Favorite number? 9
Favorite restaurant? Bottega
Favorite thing to eat? Mac and cheese
Favorite friend? Frances, Jane, Emma, Violet
Favorite toy? Ipad
Favorite animal? puppy
Favorite dessert? chocolate chip cookies
Favorite sport? cheer
What do you want to be when you grow up? Interior Designer / mom

I love her so much and can’t believe I get to watch her grow up. What a privilege!

Happy birthday Samantha! We love you!!

We’re doing a little early celebrating on our almost 11 year old tonight and she can’t wait! Though I think the most fun came last weekend when we went on a little pre-birthday shopping spree…

She had the most fun…and did not like it when I told her she had to wait until her actual birthday to get all the stuff she picked out! ha! Patience is a virtue.

Make it a great weekend!