...Yes, the two digit midget is turning 11 today. I woke her up at 5:15 this morning just to kiss her and wish her a happy birthday before I ran out the door to work.

I don't know what I can say that's different that the letters I've written in the past to A on her birthdays. She's still a pretty amazing kid.

She's pretty tall now, all long arms and legs. I guess I shouldn't call her a midget anymore, but she likes it. She comes up to my chin, and for those who've met me, that puts her as being pretty tall for 11. Those long legs were good for running cross country this past fall, and rounding those bases last spring.

She's pretty smart - she continues to be near the top of her class, and made the honor roll for the first trimester of 5th grade. We're currently in the 2nd trimester, and she's on track to do it again. I was amazed the other night when we were discussing a paragraph that B had to write on an explorer and A started rattling off information about him at the dinner table.

She's pretty helpful when she wants to be. And she doesn't want to study for her math tests, until you really sit on her to.

She's in need of braces because she's still got a goofy happy smile. I guess I'll have to take care of that soon.

She's growing up, and it's hard to believe that I wrote my first letter in this blog 3 years ago. I read it the other day, in the search for inspiration to write something different, and realized how very much she's grown up. And how much I have changed too.

A, may you have a most Happy Birthday and a great time with your friends when they invade our house for a sleepover on Saturday. Also known as the weekend that I slowly go insane.

Know that your parents love you very much A, even as we await those teenage years that are coming up so very very fast. And we'll still love you when you've attempted everything you can to push us over the edge. Ok, when you've succeeded in pushing me over the edge, and Dad is still hanging on firmly and trying to pull me back to rational thought.

It's a great day. Grab it with both hands and get what you can out of it. That goes for everyone else reading today.