Celebrating our Ten Year Old

So for some reason, January is whizzing by...it is sooooo cold and snowy and school is cancelled yet again today...but I am looking at the calendar and realizing this is the last week of January.  And Jordan's 10th birthday was actually 2 weeks ago, so I want to get some things recorded about this spectacular girl and her big day.
Our celebrations actually started the night before with a pre-birthday dinner and brownies.  We also make some oreo treats for school.

The next morning, she was up early to open up a birthday sweatshirt and get ready for the day.  It was so fun to have the whole day just to celebrate my girl.  I love birthdays for that reason...I love to think back on my baby's birth and the joy and happiness surrounding their lives.  I was pregnant with Jordan when we moved to Iowa 10 years ago!

This year was one of the warmest January 13th days I can ever remember.  Blue sky and melting snow...gorgeous.
We snapped a few pics before school.

Tod was really sick (someone is always sick on Jordan's birthday!), but it worked out because I got to take her to lunch all by myself.  Time alone was priceless.  This girl is so fun to be with...she has the best sense of humor and is such an interesting conversationalist.

After our feast at Burger King (her choice!), we went and picked out some new tennis shoes.
After school, we had her traditional birthday present treasure hunt...different presents in each room of the house and lots of help unwrapping things.

Jordan was her usual good sport with her scatter-brained mother...I had been on the hunt for a certain lego set...there was a mix up and it wasn't going to arrive until a few days later.  She was so sweet about it though and reassured me that she didn't mind!  (A picture of her reading the note I had made explaining the situation!)

What's a birthday this year without a rainbow loom?

For dinner, Jordan chose homemade pizza and special guests were our wonderful neighbors whom Jordan adores.  Jordan had requested that Krystin decorate sugar cookies as softballs and snowmen.  They were so cute!

 The babies that are only 4 days apart!

It was a wonderful, wonderful day spent celebrating a wonderful girl.
Here she is a few days later when her Lego house arrived.

And then a week later we had her birthday party at the bowling alley...bowling on Martin Luther King Day is getting to be a birthday tradition for Jordan..it was lots of fun.  She has the cutest group of friends...they are  her teammates, class mates, and neighbors and they all get along so well.  Of course, we had to have her doughnut cake.  It was a fantastic, simple party.

Some things about Jordan at age 10:
- I do not know how I would have survived this past year without my Jordan.  Hands down, she has been my best helper with Luke.  She is so patient with him and has such a special touch.  When he is especially fussy, she can calm him down, and she has so much confidence with him.
-Speaking of confidence, this girl has got it!  I love 10 years old...they are still the best in their own eyes, they love their parents and live life with such zest and fun.  Oh, may she somehow keep that with her through the next years.
-Jordan loves to play school.  She has a classroom set up in her bedroom and loves all types of school supplies.  Her lesson plans are amazing and rival the plans of any seasoned teacher.  When she and her friend started their recycling club this year, they went into several classrooms to teach mini-lessons about their ideas.  The teachers couldn't believe how well these girls could handle the class.  I totally credit Jordan for Regan's success with reading.
- Lest you think this girl is perfect...don't even touch her stuff without asking, and even then she is a little uptight.  She has an inventory of all her things and cannot stand clutter or disorganization.  I drive her a little nuts in this way.  Occasionally, she has a bit of her dad's honory streak in her, too...especially when she is tired or sick of people.  She loves her alone time.
-Jordan loves her sports and being active!  Right now she is playing indoor soccer, basketball, and practicing softball indoors.  She tries so hard...her biggest challenge is being a perfectionist...she thinks you should make all your shots, block all the goals and only throw strikes.  She is one tough cookie, and we love to watch her play and improve.
-Jordan is always willing to do better...at the beginning of the year, she was struggling just a little bit with math, but she made up her mind to work even harder.  Now she is acing all her tests and excelling even more.  She often asks her coaches what she can work on and improve.  She works hard at reading her scriptures and understanding and applying Gospel principles.
-Jordan is good at thinking of others.  She is a good example to me in this way.  For her birthday, Cole had insisted on getting a certain banner at the Dollar Store.  It was a little boyish, but he was just sure that Jordan would love it.  When I explained the situation to her, she was so cute making him feel important and like he had just picked out the perfect thing for her.  She is good at putting others feelings first.

-She is just fun to have around...a great sense of humor, a shrewd understanding of sarcasm, and a kind and helpful spirit make this girl one of a kind!