Halina is eight

Holy cow. That seems really old. Really big-kiddish, at least.

I love this picture of you, Halina, because it captures a special day from last month: the day you learned to swim FOR REAL at grandma and grandpa's. And because it captures two things you are most about right now: joy and learning. You learned so much this year: how to swim, how to knit and loom and make a rag rug and sew a stuffy; how to use a computer, speak a little Spanish, and play a couple chords on the guitar and piano; how to play crazy eights and poker, how to write a small moment story, take care of a hamster, and sing all the songs in Frozen; how to skip a bar and flip on a bar and make a scrapbook. How to do a real leap in ballet, keep a hula hoop circling, and ride a horse (more independently). And, let's see ... what else? Oh yeah, how to read! 

Wow. Love you.

Happy Birthday.