Any day I receive a Bobbledy birthday card with a new picture is a good day, and so I smiled when Julia’s dad emailed this to me yesterday.

Julia is also the first kid to send us a picture using our newest birthday card design, an empty hot air balloon and an empty sky to fill.

As you can see, we ask a question in the upper, right-hand corner: Who is inside this balloon? Dutifully, Julia has answered: she is.

And she seems to be smiling inside her balloon, in spite of the winds, in spite of being blown off course. And why not? It is her birthday. The sky is bright blue. A great yellow sun is shining in the sky.

I like so much about this drawing: the curlicue gusts of wind; the bold, expressive strokes of Julia’s marker, and the care she took to make sure we knew that she is both the subject and the author of this scene.

Looking at Julia’s drawing makes me know that it is going to be a very good day.

Here’s hoping that yours is just as good, Julia. Thanks so much for sharing with us, and HAPPY, HAPPY birthday!