Our eldest granddaughter turns 11 today. And she inches ever closer to that magic 13 number…or is the magic number 16? Whatever the number she is growing up and is an adorable girl. She loves music, gymnastics, riding her bike, reading, and drawing.

She is smart, outgoing, and attractive with the wonderful gift of making friends easily. She loves being with her friends! Maybe that’s most girls her age but she seems to really get along with others.

When she was about 1 I took this video which became a very popular video on YouTube and currently sits, as I write this, at over 1.5 million views.

I think one of the advantages of being a grandparent is having the long view of things – you’ve worked through your own youth, your own early starts with family, finance, and feelings of uncertainty to see your children repeat that process. And with that insight, you do sense that there is a rhythm to life that, while not making this easy, is the path to maturity and character development.

Watching Rachel, the first of six grandchildren is fun and today we celebrate her and her gifts.

I thought it would be fun to post two other videos of other times in her life. The last of course is the most recent and is of her, with her grandmother, walking in the neighbourhood following the storm that brought down so many trees.

The next video is of Rachel riding her bike with training wheels along the sidewalk near their house in St. John’s NL… and yes it’s windy!

Happy birthday to Rachel!