My Princess is 7 and some very bad news

Let us dispense with the horrifying news first.
My father-in-law, who is a wonderful person to put together a birthday photo collage for each of the 20+ members of our family... and sometimes anniversaries, too, did not know that I have been having a hard time finding the right words to tell you...
Bun Bun was murdered earlier this week.

I would like to make some ironic comment about his passing, but it was absolutely horrible. Karina was as white as a sheet when she witnessed a large gray tabby cat from the neighborhood... well. You know. Traumatic for me to even help her through, let alone the fact that she saw it.

Speedy is already here, otherwise, I would be adamant that there are NO MORE PETS allowed into this home. I think I made my case for "no more rabbits" at least.

To memorialize Bun Bun, I would like you to know that he was a really funny rabbit. He could not stand us (the adults), but loved the kids, especially JJ. He loved junk food. (he would carefully pick all of the "candy" or yummy stuff out of his alfalfa pellets)
He loved cool mornings. You could find him hopping around and playing in his yard. A couple of times I witnessed him grabbing one of JJ's trucks and flipping it into the air. He actually played with toys. This year the garden was over run with tomatoes, and we cherished every pepper that came up. Bun Bun never touched a tomato leaf, but ate every single stinkin' pepper plant to the ground. BunBun the Wonder Rabbit, you will be missed.

(See BunBun pictured above... just a few days ago)

But I digress...
Today is Karina's birthday.
She is a very special little girl.
She is the apple of our eye.
She is in first grade at an awesome school, with a fantastic teacher.
She is reading like a pro. She is in charge of reading our FHE lessons (preferably from our VeggieTales book)
She gets 100 percent on every spelling test - just like Mommy.
She is a true artist with a love of drawing - just like Daddy.
She is the best big sister that any annoying baby brother could ever have.
I would even go out on a limb and say that her baby brother is her best friend, which is truly exactly what I wanted for them.
She is so creative. Recently she designed her own earrings (looping beaded string entirely around her ear) for people that do not have pierced ears, and then wore them to Costco (SOOO opposite from me!)
She announced that she really wants to be a fashion designer like the people on the "Clothes making Show" (Project Runway). Which does make me very proud. (It may be in her genes - Tita is a trained seamstress)
Oh, and don't tell Daddy, he still dreams that she will take over the family business someday
She is a soccer player (new season starts in a few weeks)
She is too embarrassed to wear the Kai Lan shirt that I bought for her, but secretly loves watching Nick Jr. with her brother.

I think overall the most important thing about my daughter that impresses me to no end is her love for her brother. He has hit a super super annoying stage. He can be so bad to her, it is literally on the verge of torture. (that is a whole other Oprah - I THINK he misses her and is just trying to get attention - reminds me of some other ginormous baby we have living in this house. Because seriously - he is home without her all day long, with no competition and could care less about any of her toys or her art work, but the minute she walks in the door - No Holds Barred). No matter what horrible thing he does to her, (don't get me wrong... there is a LOT of crying, whining and gnashing of teeth on her part...) she loves him beyond measure. She is very brave, quick to forgive and easily forgets where he is concerned. She is always ready to stick up for him, and make sure he gets his fair dues. I don't just love that about her, I really admire her. So does her brother...

Karina is Daddy's "Princess Daughter". She may be his polar opposite most of the time. But he knows how much she adores him. She is the ONLY one that will sit still through all of his "bed time stories". She deserves a medal just for that. He is bringing home an impressive present for his princess today. She still does not know about the surprise (so don't spoil it) but he got her a new (to us) Quad... for camping. She is going to be OVER THE MOON!.

I made her a t-shirt.

Overall, I could not be more proud of our Buds. I would have ten more just like her if I could.