Would you guess than an 11 year old took these photos, edited them, and matted them for display? Am I a biased mama or does this kid really have some talent?!
So cool to see my daughter develope the gifts the Lord has blessed her with!
Anita
Last night was when we (the nuclear family) celebrated T's birthday. She LOVES seafood. This is definitely something born in her, as nobody else in our family cares much for seafood. Last year, she ate shrimp for her b-day breakfast. This year we really splurged and took her to Red Lobster. I don't know that I've ever been to Red Lobster, and now I know why! A pretty penny!
Samren gags on any sort of fish or seafood, so you can appreciate how he "sacrificed" to smile at the restaurant! ;-)
Taevy opened her gifts from us at the table. She was none too happy that her mom brought the camera.
Her b-day loot included a new pair of (green) tights with 2 new shirts, a Hobby Lobby gift certificate, 2 skeins of GREEN yarn, a crochet book of hats, a wood-handled crochet needle, and her favorite granola bars
Taevy and Daddy. With Taevy, I can really see how important the father-daughter relationship is. What she thinks he thinks of her is deeply important.
While we were waiting for dinner, Eric played with the camera and tried to get a good shot of Taevy and I. Not many mommy/daughter pics in our albums, since dad doesn't see too well!
I forgot to get a pic when the food was delivered, but Taevy and I shared salmon and shrimp (me the salmon, her the shrimp). She had never tried Lobster--actually none of us had--so we splurged for a lobster tail. Taevy loved it. The rest of us varied from "it's okay" to "Spit it out! Spit it out! Don't throw up!" (us to Samren as he gagged)
Bright and Kendi provided entertainment with their side dish of orange wedges, much to Taevy's embarrassment!
At the end of the meal, the waiter surprised us with a cute little happy face creation and a round of the "Happy Birthday" song. Again, she was *SO* embarrassed! You can see the shock on her face! LOL!
"Cherry Berry" is the big new thing here in our city. It's a frozen yogurt place where they have lots of tasty flavors and toppings. You pay by the ounce. Taevy's friends all rave about this place and she asked to go there for her b-day (rather than having a cake).
I must admit, it is SUPER yummy! As long as you don't fill up your cup and just get what you can actually eat in one setting, it's pretty affordable. It's a good thing they don't have drive-thru or I could be in serious trouble!
Eric was too full from dinner, but the other 5 of us got some. It was $12.99 for all five. Not too bad. And it's low calorie/fat too (compared to ice cream or frozen custard)! My favorite is "classic tart" with fruity pebbles on top, and "cheesecake" with graham cracker cumbs. Taevy went for "classic tart" with a variety of toppins, including strawbery soba.
Taevy's final gift was to get a Cherry Berry t-shirt. When she got home she did a little modeling. Of COURSE it is lime green! In these pics you can see how silly Taevy really is, rather than the mature-look she usually has in pics!
Oh, okay FINALLY we get a normal smile! 
Today was her actual birthday, but we had our fun last night. DAD, on the other hand, saved his fun for today! Birthday spankin's!
Get set...
Go! [Yeah, she's totally terrified of her dad--not!]
In all seriousness, I couldn't be more blessed by this child. Here are some words to describe Taevy...
Here are some of my daughter Taevy's latest photos. Our neighbors are starting to pay her to take photos! I must admit, it's really nice knowing that there is someone else in the family taking photos--and good photos too!
I love the symmetry of this one.
Great Bright profile.
She got some really great shots of Kendi one afternoon.
Taevy said she got this one when Kendi was tired of posing! Look at those guns!
I think this one is very cool because of Bright in the background. Couldn't you make up a story about this photo?
Samren is ready to conquer the world!
Ornery!
Airplanes!
But the REALLY beauty in her can't be seen by the naked eye. Beautiful Taevy makes mom breakfast in bed, on a Tuesday morning, for no particular reason (complete with rose petals and roses!). Beautiful Taevy creates an awesome Friday night party for the G kids with simple tools such as a laptop computer (aka movie screen), four dining chairs (aka the theatre), chocolate and chip cookies and pretzels (aka the snack bar). Beautiful Taevy works hard to live up to her "eldest" role in the family. We are truly blessed to see this beauty every day. She's not hard to look at either! ;-)
[Photo credit to Samren, age 9]
Despite 7 years age difference these two find lots of ways to play together. Kendi *LOVES* her big sister, and Taevy *LOVES* her baby sister. The other day they had fun setting up a back drop and making up different poses for Samren to capture. I think all of these pics are cute, but I REALLY like the top picture!
