Liesel is NINE!!!

Liesel's birthday photos turned out beautifully and she's such a poser, I really didn't expect anything less. Here are a few (or a lot!) of my favorites:

I don't know where this location is, but it is such a pretty spring background! Such pretty light!

I'm really glad I went with the striped shirt- it gives a little bit of structure to the natural setting.

I'm a big fan of pictures of children that are not head-on. It's so much more honest! That's totally her smile right there.

Personally I think the basket of flowers is sweet without being gimmicky. Love it.

I can't pinpoint why, but this is my absolutely favorite photo of the whole bunch. I look at it over and over. There's something in her face that captures the still-innocence of her age but you can see the maturity just starting to creep in there. She's looking sentimental, like she's thinking about something and not like she's just been ordered to smile. The way the sunlight catches the ends of her blonde hair just makes my heart sing. Even the way she's grabbing that branch above her- Liesel DOES that kind of thing!

I love it in black and white too. I just can't stop looking at it!

Those braces have been an adventure this year. She's tolerated all the pain beautifully and already her teeth look so much better. I didn't mind her wonky smile, but I don't mind her metal mouth either.

My one request was to get a good shot of all her freckles. The spray across the bridge of her nose is one of my favorite features!

Don't you just want to go to wherever this is?

The way the sunlight catches her hair... it looks like spun gold!

I'm always concerned about how confident my girls are in themselves as they grow up. Every extracurricular activity we invest in is to help them develop a strong sense of self. This photo makes me feel like it's paying off.

Again, I just love this one.

The light on that hair!!!

Like Ireland, Liesel is going strong on our chocolate challenge so Brent hunted for something that would work. Liesel asked me endlessly about what kind of cake he bought and he insisted on keeping it a surprise.

 Obviously, she was pretty happy about it, especially with the bright colors and sprinkles.

She became pretty serious when it came to blowing out the candles. I didn't dare ask what she wished for but man, she was intense!

This has been a roller coaster of a year for Liesel. I'd had some inklings she might be a touch ADD because I noticed she had difficulty focusing. Getting her out the door for school was a nightmare every morning. Ireland would be standing by, perfectly dressed with her backpack all set (including her lunch!) impatiently waiting for Liesel who was off in a dream land. Homework was always a struggle. It felt like she knew what to do, she was just being defiant, and I was ready to tear my hair out. I asked my friends with kids her same age what they thought and they all insisted she did not have ADD-- especially because she was capable of focusing on a task. Only my sister Whitney pointed out hyperfocus is actually a byproduct of ADD. It just nagged at me and I communicated my concerns to her teacher who agreed with my line of thinking. She immediately told me there were things that could be done that didn't include medication, but I'd need to talk to a doctor first. Finally I made an appointment with our pediatrician.

For that first appointment, I went alone and it took over an hour. As he asked me detailed questions about Liesel's behavior, it was like the heavens opened up and suddenly someone was completely tuned in to the battles I had been facing with her every day. I felt completely understood and I knew we were on to something. There were endless assessments and emails with her teacher and behavior modification therapy and so, so, so many tears over everything. My relationship with Liesel took a 180* as I read up on ADD and realized her brain just doesn't work the same way mine does. One book said the worst thing you can do with an ADD child is to shut them in a room by themselves and instruct them to do their homework-- that's exactly what I'd been doing! Another book said to just forget about a clean room-- again a sore point between us! I developed a lot as a mother as I learned how she thinks, how she's motivated, and how to help her.

I tried to be very careful when I told Liesel she was diagnosed as ADD. I talked about how Ireland has asthma so she has to be careful about the things that set it off. Then I told her that her body was just made a little differently and distractions come easily to her. I assured her we were going to try and help her get rid of those distractions. I was driving at the time and she said, "But Mom, it's like telling you not to look out the front window! You HAVE to look out the window!" Point taken.

Now that we have some tools at our fingertips, we are in a much better position to help Liesel and her future is looking bright. This is her final year being in the single digits but she insists she is a tween already. Our gift to her was an American Girl doll- I really wanted to get her one before she's too old to play with them anymore. The drama among her peers is definitely amping up and I'm concerned how obsessed she is with who her "crush" should be. At the same time, our conversations are getting a little deeper, and I find myself telling her about what I did at her age. I love our one-on-one chats!

We love our Liesel-Lu and are so grateful she's a part of our family!