She's 12!

Well, our first baby certainly isn't a baby any more. We celebrated Abbie's 12th birthday on Saturday. She chose the place that she wanted to go for dinner -- one of the incredibly popular new places that is walking distance from our house -- and we were fortunate enough to get a reservation. We all shared a soft shell crab appetizer, mussels, and then Chad and I finished off with some pasta while Abbie had a steak. Emily, of course, was content with bread and butter. Of course there was way too much chocolate for dessert and the waiter surprised her with some raspberry ice cream, as well. From there, we walked home and spent the rest of the evening hanging out with the neighbors while the kids played. All in all, a pretty low-key birthday.

Celebrating with fancy drinks

The following day, we went to one of Abbie's favorite restaurants for lunch (it was not an option for her birthday dinner because evening wait times can be up to two hours). One of the fun things about this place is that there is an open kitchen so Abbie likes to watch the food being made and likes to talk to the chefs as they cook. One of our favorite dishes is the whole fish, which was a branzino yesterday. Generally the sous chef brings it to the table and asks if he can de-bone it for you. He has been coaching Abbie on the steps required, so yesterday they arrived at the table together and he let her do the honors. So fun and he was so sweet with her!

Today, it is back to camp for one more week before we head up to Niagara Falls for a few days. Abbie has Debate 101 in the morning and then Henna in the afternoon. I fully expect that she will excel at her debate class. ;) As for henna, it will be interesting to see what she comes up with. They get to make their own designs and then actually apply them on the last day of the class, so whatever she comes up with will be with us for the trip north.