Abigail's Birthday

Abigail turned 7 on Saturday, and our celebration of her birth included going out to eat at El Sombrero, opening presents, having an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, and going to the movie Barnyard (more about that here). Afterward, we were telling Grandpa Gustafson about the movie, and we noted that the male cows in the movie had just as prominent udders as the females. Abigail, though, referred to them as "gutters." Kyoot! Mommy was in stitches, and poor Abigail couldn't figure out what we were laughing about.

She had a good time opening her presents, which included quite a number of items from her wish list (though not a hamster). She got some fancy dresses and high-heel shoes for playing dress-up, some jewelry, a jewelry case, a new backpack for school, some clothes, several Barbie dolls and related toys . . . and probably some other stuff that I just am not remembering at the moment.

I can't believe she's 7 years old! She's getting so tall and is just as energetic and uninhibited as ever. When modeling the dress-up clothes, she walked into and out of the room with quite the sashay, like a runway model. During the closing credits of the movie (through which we always sit, not only to catch any tidbits included by the director, such as outtakes, but also to show respect to all the behind-the-scenes people who make the movie possible but get ignored by those who walk out while the credits roll) (*end of sermon*), she stood up and danced in place, swinging her hips and moving her arms above her head and singing along . . . without any regard for who was walking past her or watching her from the back of the theater.

I hope she always keeps that individuality, self-expression, joy of life, energy . . . all the wonderful stuff that goes into making her Abigail!