Our Eldest is 9 Years Old!

It's hard to believe that we have a child that is 9 years old. That's almost an entire decade!  She's blossoming into quite the young lady.  She's more into wearing athleisure-type clothing nowadays, but was also excited to pick out a dress to wear to my cousin's wedding.  She's still super stubborn and isn't a fan of change (or trying new things), but she's uber creative and oh-so-smart.  She can create almost anything out of a cardboard box (her box of choice is an old tissue box) and can memorize the lyrics of a song or the steps to a cheer in no time flat.  Oh, and just try to beat this kid in a game of chess.  She knows what she likes and likes those things passionately.  It's scary to think that in another 9 years, we'll have a legal adult on our hands.  I'm going to soak up all that I can until that day comes.  I hope that when she is an adult, she'll still want to hang out with her mama.

This birthday was special because we were flying to Rhode Island for my cousin's wedding.  Cadence hadn't been on a plane since she was 1 year old (this was Colin's first flight).  The morning of our trip, while the boys were still sleeping, the girls stopped by Tim Hortons for some birthday doughnuts.  Cadence's current favorite doughnut is the double chocolate.  She wanted to eat one there and save one for later, so that's what we did.

She wanted them all for herself.

After we got ready for the day, I made her pose for some birthday pictures.

The kids were nervous about flying (and we knew they would be) - so we reached out to Southwest prior to our flight to let them know we'd have some first time flyers (and a birthday girl) on board.  At the gate, they were given a bunch of Southwest swag (certificate, sunglasses, and a cardboard airplane craft).  It was really nice of them to do that.  Colin was nervous (and in a funk because his airplane craft ripped) while waiting for the plane, so he wasn't cooperating for a photo op at the time.

We eventually got 2 smiling kids...

That also like to dab.

All ready for takeoff!

All day (and especially on the flight), Colin was complaining of a stomach ache (on and off).  I chalked it up to nerves, but after both flights to Rhode Island and we finally made it to the hotel, Colin got sick!  He also came down with strep throat a few days later, so he was not feeling so well!

As we boarded the flight, a flight attendant asked if my kids were Cadence and Colin (they knew from the e-mail I had sent).  Halfway through the flight, they came over the intercom and asked all the people on board to close their blinds and turn on their attendant light.  They announced that it was Cadence's birthday.  Everyone sang, "Happy Birthday" to her and then she "blew out the candles" as everyone turned off their attendant light.  It was the sweetest thing and brought tears to my eyes.  It was really special.  We stayed on that same flight for a connection in DC and as other passengers were deplaning, several of them wished Cadence a Happy Birthday.  

The kids handled the first flight really well (which made all subsequent flights that much easier).  They were stoked to be in a new state!

Oh, and one of the flight attendants made Cadence a birthday crown out of coffee stir sticks and packs of pretzels.  How cool is that?!  This flight crew really went above and beyond.  I was sure to send them a nice note after our trip!