I’m having a wee bit of trouble wrapping my brain around the fact that Bear turns eleven today.

Eleven.  Eee-le-ven.  Eleven.  No matter how I say it the number still boggles me.

Not so much in a she was just a tiny babe sort of way.  (Though she was.)  It’s more of a how can someone so seemingly grown ONLY be turning eleven?!

There are moments when Bear says something so strikingly insightful that BrightSide and I just blink at each other.  Where does that sort of wisdom come from?  How can she be so confused at times, yet at others be so utterly…clear?  Sometimes she demonstrates a self-awareness I find stunning in a girl her age.

My baby turns eleven today.  She says she’s officially entering the tween years, but I’d say we crossed that threshold a while ago (in all the ways that matter, anyway).  Here’s to another year of adventure on the Bear roller coaster.