Happy Birthday!!

My dearest cousin is celebrating her birthday today! (Hope ya don't mind the pic, cousin!) Both of us grew up as only kids and so we ended up forming a bond that just kept getting stronger as we got older. She is my closest family member and one of my best friends. We're separated by a lot of miles now but still as close as ever, I just miss her fiercely.
We're standing in my front yard one cold, winter afternoon in the southern California desert, a few years after she was born, perhaps just before her 3rd birthday. Now I get to watch her son grow up, too. He's celebrating his first birthday this weekend and Jimmy and I will be there for the celebrations!