Lily birthday

Fourteen.

It’s an even year birthday so Lily got a party with friends…a trip across town to the roller rink. Ever concerned about budget, she picked that location because we could use the B1G1 coupons we scored when we went there for Rachel’s birthday party.

Lily is, in many ways a delight to raise. Always looking the bright side, very sweet to her younger brother, easy to talk to, pretty much unruffled by what would cause most teenagers a whole lot of drama. We just love her.

In fact, after opening her presents, she promptly declared that we had scored big time. As she put it, she “got everything she wanted”. A couple of pairs of shoes and some name brand athleisure pants did the trick, apparently.

She requested my tried and true peanut butter chocolate cheesecake-requiring two days of prep/assembly. Gosh I hope the trend dies down soon so I can stop borrowing my neighbor’s springform pan and get back to making cakes in less than a day…

Happy Birthday Lily!

Fancy gift wrap and happy birthdays.

Here’s one of many examples of how presentation rests rather low on my list of priorities:

I couldn’t care less about wrapping paper.  I can appreciate a well-wrapped present, when someone else does it.  But when it comes to wrapping my own, I’d just as soon use up a few old scraps to avoid the waste.  My practical side wins out just about every time.  On the other hand, I let Jack assist me in this particular package, resulting in several errant pieces of Scotch tape.  So much for avoiding waste.

Lily didn’t seem to mind, as she tore open present after present in celebration of her thirteenth birthday.  Another teenager in the house…I’m still bracing for impact.

She spent a rather ordinary day at school, went home with a friend to watch her very first PG-13 movie (yep, we hold the line at our house right up until they turn the ripe old age of 13), and we joined together in the evening for cake and ice cream and presents.  Where I lack in gift-wrapping I more than make up for in dessert-making.  This particular beauty has become the dessert du jour at our house.

It’s been requested three times in the last year, making it our most popular model of birthday cake to date.  Pretty labor-intensive too.  Nothing says I love you like a five-layer chocolate peanut butter cheesecake, two days in the making.  (The irony of it all is that I’m currently on a refined sugar hiatus so I didn’t eat so much as a smidgen of the delicacy.)

Thirteen is a big year in our house, yielding some major benefits including a new email address, access to one social media platform, a new checking account and permission to view PG-13 movies (Lily’s personal favorite).  Hopefully Lily will assume her new “responsibilities” with wisdom and prudence.  We shall see.

Lily is an easy one to celebrate.  She never fails to express gratitude for even the small things so gift-giving is an absolute joy.  For each birthday, we all take turns telling the birthday girl (or boy) one of our favorite things about her/him.  I told Lily that I adore how she find the silver lining in everything.  For instance, I couldn’t get up to make her birthday breakfast this morning.

Literally, I couldn’t get up.  I developed a crazy crick in the neck the night before and it pretty much disabled me for almost 24 hours.  Tim was tactful enough to suggest that it was age-related.  Humph.

Anyway, my point is, Lily relegated herself to pouring a bowl of cereal without complaint.  She rarely gets ruffled when plans change and is quick to find something with which to console herself.  This morning it was Lucky Charms, no doubt.

I love that resilience and I hope it carries her through her teenage years.  And well beyond.  Happy Birthday Lily!

Twelve.

This girl is a delight.  Just look at that smile!  She’s a quirky one, for sure, asking for baby snacks for her twelfth birthday, jeesh!  Lily has an inner confidence that is astounding – she simply doesn’t care what others think.  She knows she is fantastic through and through.  (This can be problematic in the parenting department because she occasionally doesn’t give a darn about impressing her parents, but I still count it an attribute, nonetheless.)

For Lily’s birthday, she dragged a few of her favorite friends to a movie at the “real” theater.  As in, not the dollar theater… or home theater, as the case usually is for our family.  I even indulged her fancies by springing for soda and popcorn – unheard of.  We then returned for a pizza dinner and Just Dance.  Lily has been blessed with a fantastic circle of friends.  We affectionately refer to them as the Catholic, the Muslim, the Mormon and the Jew, though I’m not entirely sure as to what extent each of these friends’ families practice their religion.  They are four peas in a pod, however, and we love having them in our home.  Almost as much as we love Lily.