Through the Back Loop

Adventures in knitting, fiber arts, and family.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Happy Birthday, Baby!

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She's 13 today. It's not possible! I cannot believe that the little girl with the permanently dirty face, the little girl who spoke her first word first phrase of, "What's that?" at the age of 9 months and hasn't stopped talking since has become a teenager. I have fought this day off for years, begging her to not drink her milk so that she wouldn't grow up (of course this made her drink it, which was really the point), and refusing to let her call herself a "preteen".

Here are 13 things that make my daughter special:

13. She can cook by herself. She makes scrambled eggs, french toast, Ramen noodles, and almost anything that comes in a box. Last night she made her own birthday treats (chocolate rice krispie bars), what a treat for me!

12. She still loves to go camping. Really roughing it. Anyone who will fight with her sister to be the one who gets to go to the bathroom first so that they can dig the "bathroom hole" in the sand is a special person. Canoe camp wouldn't be the same without her.

11. She fishes in the dark. The light up bobber is too clunky for her taste, thank you very much. She will fish in the dark by feel, and claim that she can see everything by the light of the moon. She baits her own hook, and takes off her own fish, sometimes.

10. She is a smart consumer. Since our in-home test of the reliability of advertisements, she no longer "needs" to have brand named anything. I bought a named brand cereal and a generic, put them in plain containers and we had a taste test. Even though the named brand was a little bit better, the generic was still good!

9. This girl can save money! She knows what she wants, and puts her money together. I'm loving her iPod Nano myself! Rock on!

8. She is a friend to everyone. At school, she has never joined the "popular" group because she doesn't want someone else to think that she doesn't like them. She also doesn't want to have to act a certain way to stay popular. She is her own person.

7. This girl can play sports! Trust me, when she was little we thought her talents would lead to acting, dancing, and cheerleading. This would have been great. She went to many camps for dancing and cheerleading, and had a small part in a play, but sports? We thought that she would trip over her own feet. Now, this 13 year-old plays basketball, soccer, and joined swim team" just to stay in shape?" She's strong in every sport, too. Goodbye, dancing!

6. She eats Chinese food like a pro. She likes all of the same foods that I do, so going out for lunch is a breeze. Dim sum, potstickers, noodles of any kind and egg rolls. Bring them on!

5. This girl is a writer. She knows how to write something that people want to read. All of her teachers since second grade have told her this. She wants to go to college and become a novelist. As long as she buys me lots of yarn and insists that I knit while on the vacation in New Zealand, or a cruise, or on the beach that she has paid for - well, I don't care where I go!

4. She is a good sister. Even though they fight sometimes, I know that my two girls are close and will always be the best of friends, and the worst of enemies. True sisters!

3. If you need someone to draw or paint something really wonderful, this is the girl! She inherited her love of art from her father, and even though I can't understand how she does this so well, I appreciate the final product. She has been to the museums of art in London and Chicago, and spends hours upon hours just looking at the works there. Hours and hours, and we had to force her to move on. She would have loved nothing better than to take her sketch pad into the museum in London and spend the day sketching. Wow.

2. She is my chick-flick buddy. Six hour sappy movie marathon? We are on the couch in our pajamas with tissues at the ready. And for a snack we both want the same thing.

1. She is a family girl. She loves her family from the bottom of her soul, and will defend them to the bitter end. I'm so glad for each of the 4,626 days she has graced us with her life.

Happy Birthday, my TEENAGER!

2 Comments:

  • At 9:39 PM , Blogger Elaine said...

    I hope she had a great birthday. And I double hope for your sake that hormones don't make you like her less - I swear I would have killed my daughter from age 13 to about 16 1/2. Now at 19, she's my pride and joy but anytime during those years - oy vey!

     
  • At 5:07 AM , Blogger RS said...

    I was just passing through (somehow you took a peek at my blog, back in Portugal) to see this particular referral's origin and couldn't help to stay for a while. That's when I noticed your daughter's birthday. The reason I am posting this comment, apart from wishing her the best year yet, is that I was born on November 28th aswell, only I'm a little bit older, twenty-nine years older, to be exact, I was born in 1963! :)
    All the best to your daughters, your husband and yourself.
    Take care,
    RS

     

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