She's getting so big...

My little Abbie is growing up so fast I can hardly stand it. She is such a responsible kid and has been such a helper since Jake was born. So, last week she asked me if she could go to the mall with some friends without her younger siblings. That sounded resonable to me. She deserves an afternoon focused on her. Of course she tried to see if I would just drop her off. Yea right, she is only 9! She knew that wasn't possible but she gave it a good effort!! She also gave me all the rules before hand like trying to not be right with them the entire time, and absolutely no camera. I had mentioned that maybe it would be fun to bring along the camera and she freaked out and pleaded with me not to embarress her. So, yesterday I got a babysitter and picked up two of her friends and headed to the mall. She was so cute with her friends and there were a few times I tried really hard to not laugh at loud. It totally threw me back to that age and I had to laugh (at least inside!) I tried to give them their space but Abbie was really so sweet and a couple of times even held my hand and gave me a few thank you kisses when the friends weren't looking. We got a yummy treat at Dairy Queen and then the girls proceeded to spend all their allowance at Bath and Body Works, Claires, and JCPenny's. It really was such a fun afternoon and Abbie was so grateful to have a "big girls" day all to herself. When did she get so big!!! (notice no pictures...I followed the rules!)