Margaret's 7th Birthday

Our dear third born, Margaret Anne, turned seven on Tuesday!

She is a sweet girl who falls in the painful gap of being on the cusp of being one of the Big Kids, who get to go on so many trips and outings with Dad, but no longer "one of the babies!" She reads precociously, novel after novel, and is independent with about half her school subjects now. Margaret is my peace-maker, who I recognize does not like conflict between others, so she tries to smooth out hot situations. When she wants to be helpful, she is excellent at cleaning a huge mess or preparing lunch for her siblings. She can make sandwiches, fry eggs, and other such simple foods. Margaret is a tree-climber and rope-swinging monkey like her siblings, but is still more cautious in nature, and probably does more adventurous activities under their influence than she would naturally. Margaret seems to do best with one special friend at a time than being that girl who is going to lead in a social group.

Margaret's birthday was quite a bustling day, in which we started with a birthday breakfast (pancakes and bacon) and gifts, but then Chris and I left for the morning for a business meeting, so the children had the grand fun of staying with a babysitter. Then that late afternoon, they had their tennis lesson, and we came home for pizza and cake.

The most heartwarming gift Margaret received was an entire wardrobe for her beloved doll Sally (whom she has owned since she was two years old), as sewn by hand in secret over the prior week by sister Mary (9).

Swim dress, sparkly fancy dress,
corduroy dress with coordinating fur muff and pink cape, plus pillow and quilt

Margaret is an avid, daily knitter, having taught herself the craft in prior months, so her siblings chipped in to buy her a knitting bowl.

Margaret has taken up bird-watching, so Grandpa bought her binocular and bird book, in a darling bird tote.

Tears of joy

Lastly, those are tears of joy in this girl's eyes upon receiving from us a violin. She has been begging and campaigning for a year straight.

Not so easy to play violin with a fractured wrist

After tennis, we enjoyed ice cream cake! (Mama pretty much doesn't bake--not something I'm proud of.)

Happy birthday, Margaret!