double digits

sabin turns 10 today! her father said to her yesterday morning that if there was anything she had wanted to do while she was 9, she'd better get it done. she snorted that little snort she does when she's satisfied with herself. she knew she had done an awful lot while she was 9. and at her age, you just want your birthday to hurry up and come.

my 365 project once again helped me to remember all of the things she did.  it was a busy year and a year of big changes. we moved to a new house and she moved to a new school. the transition was made very smooth by a wonderful teacher and her new class very kindly taking her under their wing. despite that, we still had moments of tears and missing all her old friends and her old class and especially her old riding school - in particular zidan, who was her favorite of the lesson horses (in retrospect, we should just have bought him).

you can see that horses were a big theme this past year (which perhaps reflects more on my obsession with photographing them than her interest, tho' her interest is pretty high). most importantly, in may, she got her own horse, matilde, a large pony of the "breed" they call danish sports pony - which means an elegant mix and not just a shetland. sabin has continued riding lessons at two different riding schools (she rides on wednesdays and fridays) and still uses the lesson horses there, since we don't have a horse trailer (yet).

since we live out in the country, sabin had to have a pet - so we got bunnies when we got back from our summer holiday in the US. we thought they were both girls, but learned (as most people do) that they were a boy and girl. happily that incestuous first batch of baby bunnies were stillborn and now we keep them in separate cages. i really can't believe what nice pets they are - well, aside from that part where they chewed 9 buttons off our of t.v. zapper.

we didn't travel much this year, due to the move, but we spent two weeks visiting family in the US and sabin and i had a wonderful trip to manila together at the end of november. this year will be exciting because it's a tradition in our family that when you turn ten, you get to decide where we go on holiday. sabin had been set on the philippines, but getting to go in november seems to have cooled that desire and now she's pretty set on new york city, tho' i believe her big sisters are working on convincing her that hawaii would be a better bet.

this fall, she started going to spring gymnastics and it's really her sport - she flips and cartwheels her way through the house - never walking normally out of the living room, but flipping over the back of the couch. we're trying to enjoy these waning years of her loving to spend time with her parents for all they're worth, as we know that the teenage years loom large. but for now, she still is at her happiest and most chirpy if she's sewing or in the kitchen with me or dictating the dimensions of a bunny cage to her father out in his workshop. 

i love watching her make her way through the world - jumping in with both feet, being curious and interested in everything around her. happy birthday, pooka.