Twelve Years Old - Brailey's Last Year of Being a Tween!

It is so hard to believe twelve years have come and gone. Time flies when you are having fun, I'll agree, and Brailey Shaye has not only made our dreams come true, she has given us more joy than we ever dreamed possible. It is a crying shame the years fly by so quickly. People tell you they do, but you don't truly understand the devastation of it until you experience time passing you by in the blink of an eye. We are moving into new territory, where Big Mama has to let go a little, and that is not an easy thing to do when I love them so much it hurts. However, Brailey's 12th birthday was a wonderful, beautiful day and a great celebration of who she is. Grandma and Papa started the day off by calling to sing Happy Birthday to her and then her dad did the same thing - she loved it!
One of her favorite presents was a super nice western suitcase (thank you Grandma and Papa!) for her trip to Texas. I have secretly been laughing the past few weeks as I listened to Brailey and Brady discuss which suitcase she should take, knowing my mom had gotten her one for her birthday. To say she was thrilled with it is an understatement - she was even more excited to find it full of goodies, like the gift she is holding below.
Of course I made her pose for the traditional birthday pictures. She made that little birdhouse behind her back when she was in first grade. Britt was such a good brother to her, holding her lunch bag and jacket during the photo session.
After school, we went to the movies and saw Maleficent, which was an incredible, fantastic, amazing movie! We all loved it! (I can't wait to see it again...) Then, we went to dinner at Dickie Joe's - we had never been there before, but it was super fun and tasty! She was dying to try it out, and it didn't disappoint.
Finally, we made it back home to open the rest of her presents. Her friend Isa got her this adorable backpack, which she is over the moon about. She is really in to "Americana" right now. The backpack is perfect for the plane ride to Texas and a whole lot more - she loves it!
This cake was so good! A Dairy Queen Cookie Dough. DELICIOUS! She was so excited to blow the candles out she forgot to make a wish, and I didn't even get picture, because I was filming the birthday song, but no worries! I think all her wishes have come true, anyway. And she is such a delightful, fun, good, happy, sweet, precious girl, she deserves every happiness that has come and will come her way! I'm her mom, so I get to say all those nice things about her, but if you know Brailey, then you know I am not exaggerating. So here's to our last of the tween years - may it be a magical one!