1/13/2023
Dear Piper,
Another year has gone by in the blink of an eye. You are another year older, better, and wiser. You are almost at double digits! That is the craziest sentence I have ever typed. I can't believe that I ever lived my life with out you. It seems like my life began the night you were born.
Your eighth year of life has been the year of soccer. Oh, how much soccer you have played this year. Your daddy and I feel like were are always shuttling you either to practice, games, or training. It has been exhausting! BUT, you really seem to love to play. You have made so many friends on the academy team at UFA. Your Coach is Alan. He is tough, but so are you! You have fallen in love with playing defense--which is another sentence I never thought I would type. You have become a pretty good defender, though. You do get a little sad that you don't typically get to score. In your team's winter tournament you got your first goal of the season when Coach Alan let you take a free kick just outside the box. You put it right through the wall, and in the back of the net. Then you literally jumped for joy! I almost cried I was so happy for you!
This year was also a year of travels. We took you to NYC for Spring Break and dragged you all around the big apple. You met the statue of liberty, saw the city skyline from several different rooftops, and giggled along with the genie at Aladdin on Broadway. It was a fantastic trip, and we continue to be dazzled by how easy it is to travel with you. You LOVE it, and so do we!
You also took a cruise with your bestie Rylee and her family. It was our first time cruising with friends, and we have already booked another cruise for next year. It was so much fun! You and Rylee enjoyed playing your daddies at foosball after your mommies went back to the rooms at night. You guys danced together at shows, and even swam with the dolphins together!
We also went to Disney for September break like we normally do. However, there was a hurricane that came through--so we had to bail out early on our trip. Which means we had to reschedule. I had always had this fantasy of you being in Magic Kingdom for your actual birthday, so we decided to bring you back this weekend for MLK weekend. I am so excited to hear all of the Disney workers wish you a happy birthday!
You have grown even taller. You are the second tallest kid on your soccer team and in your class at school. You weigh about 80 pounds too. And you already wear a size 4 1/2 shoe. Pretty soon you will be able to wear my shoes. I am sure you will be taller than me before I know it as well.
This year in school your teacher is Mrs. Sheppard. You made a new friend in your class named Charlee. You are excelling in math and your writing is really getting good! You love to research topics you are interested in, but don't really like to read other than that.
You are still a huge Taylor Swift fan, but you are starting to branch out into a few different artists. You like a fair mixture of your dad's and my favorites. You are still a huge fan of Boy Meets World and we are watching episodes every night before bed. You can quote just about the whole series, which is pretty impressive. You also really enjoy watching Cobra Kai--which is a remake from the Karate Kid franchise.
You had two sleepovers for your birthday. One with your soccer team mates and one with your school friends. We all had a blast celebrating you. We tye dyed shirts and played video scavenger hunts. We ate ice cream cake--your fav! It is always so much fun celebrating you baby girl!
So Happy Birthday Piper! My only baby girl, my light, my life. I hope you enjoy the next 12 months as much as the last, and that you continue to grow into the beautiful young lady that you want to be. I love you to the moon and to Saturn. No amount of time with you will ever be enough.
Love,
Mommy
