Birthday Time

Our family had a wonderful time celebrating Whitney's 8th birthday last week.  Fist, off it was dinner at Arctic Circle, Whit's dining establishment of choice.  I have a hunch it's because they serve chicken nuggets and have an indoor playground.

Melanie did up some birthday cupcakes and had Whitney try to blow at least one candle.  But she's still working on that skill.  So after a few attempts, little brother, Liam was happy to step in and extinguish the flame.

Then it was time for presents.  Whit got a new dress, a new shirt and hair clips from her cousins and some new shoes to go with her new ankle braces.  Just like with her new iPhone case that I mentioned last time, Whitney picked out her new shoes.  Melanie took her to Payless and the two of them spent quite a bit of time finding different styles that would fit over the new braces.  By the way, black, white and pink seem to be Whitney's favorites right now when it comes to footwear.

I promised a few readers I'd try to give some info on what we found that fit well, but there was no trend where certain brands or styles fit.  Mel and Whit mainly went by trial and error until they found a couple of pairs that worked.  One thing I can say is that, as Whitney's feet have grown and the braces she uses have gotten longer in relation to their width, shoes that fit have gotten easier to find.  So for parents of younger kids, you'll have better success in your shoe search.  It may just take a few years.

Happy birthday to my little Whitney.  You're not so little any more.  Thank you for all you've taught me over the years. I can't imagine my life without you.  And I know we're in for another adventure of a year this year.