Oh Happy Day! Lila Grace turned 7!

April 8th, one of my very favorite dates of all time.  Seven years ago, we got to meet one of the kindest souls God has ever created.  From the first moment, she was so loved by all of us.  

Join me for a little trip down memory lane.

Seven year ago, Bubba was 3!  He loved holding Baby Lila for a few minutes...

and was always checking on her to make sure she was alright.

Daddy was smitten from the very beginning and even let this little peanut nap in our bed.

She was so tiny in his arms!

I had no idea that I would be able to love another baby as much as I loved Jackson, but my heart grew and I loved her just the same.  I still remember sitting in this rocker in her nursery with both of my babies.

And then, I blinked.

Poof!  All of a sudden I was staring at a 7 year old, who woke up on her birthday and got ready to play some softball.  How in the world did that happen so fast?!  She was surprised by her birthday streamers...

and so happy about all of the birthday balloons that went from her bedroom door to downstairs.

Brooklyn arrived just in time to see her open her first presents of the day.

Bubba got a her a new batting tee so that she can practice better at home--perfect!

An hour later, this girl was ready to play ball.

She started out the game at Second Base and got all kinds of action.  
I was so proud of how well she was fielding the ball.

She fielded it cleanly, threw it to First and got the out--go Lila!

The next inning, she was at Pitcher, where she was directly in the line of fire.  She missed a couple hard hit balls, but fielded the rest.

Get her, girl!  She threw out two more runners at First Base--Go Angels!

Still no luck at hitting, but I know it's just a matter of time.  

We only had 20 minutes in between softball and soccer, 
so we did a super quick change of uniforms and raced to the Bees game.

There is no doubt about it, this girl gives 100% during all her time on the field. I love it.

She runs as fast as she can to keep the ball from going out of bounds.  If she can't get there in time, she makes sure to do a quick throw in, usually to one of her amigas.

When these three girls are on the field, you know they are going to dominate.
They even practice their victory moves before they score. Gotta be prepared!

The Bees won their second game of the weekend--another good game.

They remain undefeated in a mostly 2nd grade league.  Great job, girls.

This birthday girl was smiling big after her game.

We ran home, ate lunch, and she got to open another gift.

Then, we found a baby duck in our swimming pool--a birthday surprise, I suppose!

Lila showered and put on her new clothes in time to make it to Aladdin rehearsal for the afternoon.  The rest of us went to baseball to cheer for big brother and then met the fam at dinner.

Daddy got the special spot right next to the birthday girl.

It was such a great night with all of these sweet girls.

So much personality in this photo--love them all:)

"Happy Birthday dear Lila, Happy Birthday to YOU!"

She is 7, y'all!

And loved by so many.

We missed Bubba at dinner, but were so glad to hear he pitched a great game and got the win for his team.  Our family looks so small without him!

This girl had one more giant present to open that night--the lifesize piano from BIG!  Too cool.
She felt the love all day long.  Just the way I like it.