Bubbles

 I guess she's outgrown the Bubby nickname that we tagged her with so many years ago--all her usernames are now bubbles or something Harry Potter.  (Everyone is in the grips of Potter-mania still around here.) 

 Animated, silly, and strong-willed, that's our Bubbles.  When she's not bossing the other kids around, she's leading them in imaginative play and other projects.  (There's definitely a fine line between "bossing" and "leading".)

 She's gifted on the guitar, but she's really been shining in the vocals lately.  She just got picked to do the solo in her chorus club for their Spring Concert.  Yay!

 Much to her chagrin, she finished the HP series a couple months ago.  We had a bonding moment talking about that post-good-book-malaise that hits.  One of the side effects of being such an invested reader...

 Chinchilla (name, not species), aka Chin-Chin, her favorite mouse.  She's forever bringing one of them to me and having me guess which one she's put on my shoulder.  Lately it's always Chin-Chin, probably because she doesn't poo all over my shirt...  (The mouse, not Bubbles.  She stopped pooping on my shirt last year.)

 A huge double strawberry, shaped like a heart that she found on Valentine's day.

 Her friend taught her how to draw anime-like girls, and she's been drawing them non-stop.  She's a pretty fair doodler and could go somewhere w/a little work & teaching.

 Rare sighting of the ubiquitous Bubbles.  She came up to me last night, told me she loved me, and gave me shy hug.  She's maturing so much, and though it can be stressful and chaotic, she's constantly trying to improve herself and make correct choices.  How far she's come in controlling her emotions is something to be proud of.

With one of her good friends from middle school, who is also in chorus club.  Although she's dealt with some bullying in middle school, she's finding some good friends to hang out with and coming out on top of the transition.