Renee celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday on the nicest day of the year so far. Warm temperatures and a sunny sky set the scene for a memorable spring birthday here in Sweden. We carried on with our tradition of breakfast in bed for the birthday girl.
Renee opened her presents from Kris and I with her usual thoughtfulness. She exclaimed excitedly over the polar bear card and took her time to read what we had written. Each gift was enjoyed and by her reaction, we gave her just what she wanted! 
Renee had a hard time convincing her teacher at school that it really was her birthday...the curse of being born on April Fools Day! She felt that the day had gone by too fast. Renee is looking forward to celebrating her birthday later in the month with her friends from school. Baba and Poppa are bringing a copy of the Beverly Hills Chihuahua movie with them and Renee plans to invite her friends for pizza and a movie. Renee has made some lovely friends from school and she has moved past the difficult early days. She enjoys going to school and has recently started soccer with another group of nice Swedish girls her age. The girls from her soccer team speak only just a little English, but they are a lively group and they get together outside of soccer practice for fun activities like movie nights and baking parties. Renee also really enjoys playing outside with our two neighbours, Sophie (age6) and Samuel (age8). They have a great time running around our two yards and they manage to communicate with each other just fine. Renee is blossoming into a lovely girl and it is wonderful to watch her gain confidence and pose.
