Happy Birthday

So the holidays are crazy and stressful enough. Now imagine having a birthday smack before Christmas.

Middle Child does. Today. She turns 9.

She was supposed to be a New Year's baby but popped out early, much to my husband's delight. "Tax deduction!" was what was on his brain. Can you tell he doesn't have to plan the birthday parties during the most hectic time of the year and when a lot of classmates leave town?

Interestingly, all the adults clucked their tongues and lamented the fact that her birthday is so close to Christmas. I figure, it's all how you spin it. So far, she doesn't feel the least bit slighted.

Her birthday is the prelude to the Big Day. It's the happiest, most exciting time of the year for the kids, and the other two practically turn Hulk green — they're so jealous that Middle Child's birthday is close to their favorite holiday.

These photos sum her up best: devilish, exuberant. Can you tell that she got ahold of the camera for that second shot?

She's a tough one, definitely lives up to her birth order. She has a lot of challenges, so consequently, so do all of us. A friend once described her as being like lightning because she's got such an electric personality. She adds such a charge to a room. That's the image of her I hold closest to my heart.