My Little Girl!

Last week was Katie's 11th birthday, but tonight she is having her birthday party. She decided to invite 10 friends and joust "stay at home". They are here now and enjoying the hot-tub a cheap volley ball net and 170 water balloons that Katie and Jerra filled all day. They are loud and seem to be having a blast. It is very hard for me as they don't need me anymore to entertain them. They are all together eating junk food and playing and don't seem to need my organization skills. They are even a little camera shy! It seems like just yesterday Katie needed me for everything. I see her now pulling away and wanting a little more freedom. It seems as if this has just started occurring within the last month and has come on so fast.
Since the end of school she has been working for Mary Jo making $5.00 per hour working about 4 hours per week. She loves this and gets herself up in the morning and gets ready and goes down on her own. Mary Jo raves about what a good worker she is and of course I take pride in that, somehow her behavior is still reflective on how I view myself as a parent. She enjoys most things in life and really isn't afraid to get out there and do anything. She recently has opened a savings account and along with working for Mary Jo has done odd jobs for me earning money. In the past month she has earned $175.00 in her bank account. I am proud of her and want her to understand the importance of saving and of course rewarding herself for hard work.
On the other side, she loves to back talk and often times resists my authority. There has been many times when Thane has had to step in to get the point across. Thanks to him for that. I feel as if the talking back and "putting her two cents in" is just part of her getting her independence and coming up with her own ideas. That is what I want for her is to become an independent adult but also find it most important to respect her parents and siblings.
All and all she is a great kid. It just doesn't seem that long ago when we were putting a purple ribbon in her long black hair and rubbing her little back to enjoy that newborn stretch she used to have. Sometimes you blink your eye and they grow and inch and other times you think they will never grow up. I love you little girl. I love your motivation and your love for life and more than anything I hope you live to be as happy as I am watching you grow to be a young lady. Happy Birthday Katie. Love, mommy