It’s taken me 6 weeks to get Astrid’s birthday post done, but oh well, time really does fly these days. Nonetheless, despite it being a fairly quiet birthday this year, here is the traditional birthday post.

Back in June our Astrid Elodie turned 11! She is our Winter Solstice baby, and the cold and dark Canberra weather always reminds us of the longest night of the year, and my life….. the 11 years since have flown by. ‘The days are long, but the years are short’ is the motto of parenthood. Never truer words spoken!

Somehow she is very grown up now! Not quite a teenager, but no longer a little kid.

Astrid’s 11th birthday happened to be on a Wednesday. Like every weekday we had multiple after school activities, so no real chance of celebrating at a decent hour on the actual day. We’d had a meal out with grandparents the weekend prior to her birthday, before 1 set of grandies jetted off on a holiday.

On the big day though, there were of course plenty of presents! It’s always traditional to wake up to a pile of goodies.

This year there were a lot of clothes and stationary. A few of the ‘big’ presents were delayed by issues with Australia Post but she was more than thrilled with on the day loot!

It was a school day but the breakfast request was brioche French toast with blackberry compote! Inti was annoyed he didn’t get some 🙂

Then there was the official birthday ‘measuring’. Definitely catching us in height now. I’m fearful of how tall she is going to get in the puberty growth spurt. I hope her feet slow down at least as we now share a shoe size!!!

After breakfast we had a fashion show of all the new goodies and it was quickly off to school, laden with treats for class mates to help her celebrate.

Never a quiet afternoon in our house, we had swim squad for Astrid, and Soren swimming at the other side of town. So, after she had burned off more than enough energy for one day, she helped make her choice of nachos followed by a ‘biscoff sundae’ for dessert.

Soren and I had to have ours much later, no such thing as eating together most weeknights these days, but still a fun day with more celebrations to come on the weekend!

Friday night was a swimming club night, so yet another busy night while 3 were swimming and 2 officiating (yes, Anto was doing both). Luckily Granny and Zinnia were able to get some takeaway dinner organised so Astrid could come home to hot food and a Granny presents!

Then in the final part of ‘the festival of Astrid‘, it was time to celebrate with friends. No big party this year as she somehow managed to squeeze a big Paris themed birthday party in the previous year, between lockdowns!

This year Astrid opted for an outing with 2 friends. Lunch and shopping followed by pedicures. They had a ball, and managed to scam quite a few treats off me 🙂

Then it was back to our place for cake. Astrid had decided on a profiterole cake. We made a few batches of profiteroles, filled them with hazelnut cream, and drizzled in chocolate ganache and decorated with winter flowers from the garden. They were very tasty!

A few days later and Astrid was off on a big adventure. Two weeks without us to the Northern Territory with Grandma (Lorraine). A long-awaited 10th birthday present, a trip to walk the Larapinta trail with Grandma, and then more tours and walking through Central Australia – Uluru, the Olgas and Kata Tjuta.

This was going to be the longest we would have been apart, but a huge adventure for Astrid. There were some excited but nervous goodbyes the night before, followed by a pre-5am start the next day as I took her to the airport.

It turns out she did indeed have a ball. Was utterly exhausted and filthy upon her return, but trekked well over 140km, with icy cold rivers, 3am hikes up Mt Sonder and plenty of mice in campsites. Definitely an adventure….. Unlike her mother she only managed a couple of hundred photos and is still yet to do anything with them but here are couple of her efforts!

So we are now well into Astrid’s 12th year. I’m sure being 11 is going to be amazing.

We have somehow entered the tween years where you finally like to sleep (although your younger siblings don’t) and growl, stomp your foot, and give us filthy looks, head-tosses, and nasty side-eye without a second thought.

Yet, you are still the same kind, clever, determined, questioning, fierce, loving and responsible girl we have had the pleasure of parenting. You never give up, and while you love to do your best, you are happiest just being involved, whether you come last or first.

Your love of every activity known-to-man, means we run around like headless chooks with sport, music and extra-curricular activities, but Covid lockdowns taught us that is how you like it! You absolutely keep us on our toes and make us wonder how 2 highly organised people can have a child who is perpetually late, can’t organise herself and is permanently in some kind of Astrid-wonderland

We look forward to a year of adventure with you. Hopefully much more travel with us, and finishing off primary school and then adventure of High School! The years are most definitely short…..

Astrid, we glad you enjoyed your birthday and are so far loving being 11. Just stop growing up quite so quickly….. you are the same shoe size as me, have the longest legs and at least try to steal some of my clothes. It won’t be long and nothing will be safe. Kind of like the chocolate and snacks in the pantry

Even though you drive us totally mad, what a wonderful, creative, determined and beautiful young lady you are becoming……