Dear Matilda,

Happy Birthday! Today you turn 11 years old. You’ve been counting down the days until your birthday for about 20 days now and the day is finally here! Things are a little different this year on your birthday since we are experiencing a global pandemic (COVID-19), but nevertheless, we will still be celebrating our special girl (you!) today! Here are a few things I’d like to remember about you when you turned 11 years old and a few things you might like to remember about your 11 year old self……

1. You love all things NASA. You know so much about space and hope to be an Aeronautical Engineer when you grow up. And if that doesn’t work out, you want to be a Paleontologist.
2. You’ve been spending every Weds. this summer with your Grandpa (Grumpy) building rockets. You love getting to spend this time with Grumpy and work on something you love.
3. You still play piano and continue to get better year after year.
4. You’ve been playing percussion in the school band for two years and were accepted into the advanced jr. high band for 6th grade.
5. You also still love singing. You are in a choir outside of school that meets once a week (during non-Covid times) and performs several times throughout the year.
6. This year you sang again in the school talent show. You sang the song ‘Naughty’ from Matilda, the musical and you were fantastic. I’m always so surprised how comfortable you are on stage.
7. You are still shy, but only towards adults. You speak to adults a bit more than you used to, but you still get nervous answering questions to someone that you don’t know.
8. You love chicken strips, burgers and pizza. You don’t like a lot of variety of foods in your diet. Something we need to work on moving forward.
9. You got an architecture Lego set, new NASA shirt, space water bottle, a card game about space, two books you REALLY wanted and a very furry robe for your birthday. You are a happy girl.
10. You are having two friends over today (again, we can’t have large numbers of people together right now) for a small party. You are planning on going on our 100 foot slip-n-slide, doing a craft, eating pizza and having an ice cream bar instead of cake.
11. You had an amazing teacher this year, Mrs. Bak. She was such a blessing and the perfect fit for you. We will miss her next year.
12. You have a lot of good friends. You are well liked by so many of your peers!
13. You are still a Girl Scout. You have graduated to being a Cadet starting next year, so we just ordered your new tan vest and patches.
14. You and your sister, Savannah, still share a room. During the Covid-19 quarantine, we redecorated your room from pink and girly to black and white chic. It still looks feminine but way more grown up. You both love it!
15. Your favorite animal is still pigs. Although you adore our dog, Scarlette, too (for some reason you call her your ‘Smore-baby’).
16. You sleep with your big purple gummy bear nightlight on next to your bed and still like lots of stuffed animals piled on top of you. You love your weighted blanket too.
17. You are very helpful. You are the first to volunteer to help with your younger siblings or do something without asking. Thank you!!
18. You are really good with little kids and you love being around them. You are really good with our little neighbor, Luca, and he adores you.
19. You like to sing and act in the shower. I love listening to you (even though, you probably don’t realize I can hear you).
20. You are super smart. You will be in the accelerated math and reading/writing program in jr. high. I don’t think you realize how your mind operates in such a special, smart and unique way. You are going to do amazing things in life!

Matilda Jane, what would we do without you? You are such a joy to everyone around you. You are a sweet and sensitive soul who loves to snuggle, give hugs and be close to others. You bring a smile to my face every single day and we are so lucky to have you as our daughter. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

I love you from here to the moon and back again!

Love,

Mama