The Young and the Restless

Fifteen

So this happened. My baby girl went and got all grown up on me. Sometimes I look at her and am in awe that I birthed such a beautiful specimen. But she's mine and I am eternally grateful for that. A few weeks ago she convinced me to let her skip school since it was a half day and go birthday shopping together. She didn't have to beg too hard. I always love our days together. Then on her birthday she somehow convinced me to let her skip school again and I gave the motherly lecture about the importance of school, all while knowing full well I would end up giving in. Because honestly I look forward to it just as much as her. Whoever said that the teenage years are rough knew exactly what they were talking about, but they also failed to mention how fun they are too. She's one of my favorite people to be with and each year just keeps getting better and better. Her birthday wouldn't be complete without her traditional strawberry crepes. After a slow morning we headed to lunch, of course she had to create her own birthday playlist with every song that ever mentions the word "birthday" in it, we were singing along and waving our hands in the air all the way to Liberty Market where we enjoyed a delicious lunch on the shaded patio until a bird pooped on her leg. 

I don't know when the tradition started, but here she is 6 years ago on her 9th birthday. Same bed, same room, same strawberry crepes.

And then she introduced me to Dutch Bros which has the coolest staff, the best drinks and ginormous free shakes on your birthday.

We found a cool alley way that we had to stop and take some pictures in. I say that as if we just happened to stumble upon it. Really it involved stalking instagram posts, google searches and u-turns, but we eventually found it and had a fun little photo shoot, pausing ever so casually as people strolled by.

And then of course we had to do a REAL photo shoot that evening because next to the crepes it's her favorite tradition. We always have so much fun doing these and spend most of the time laughing about awkward poses and double chins. This girl is so fun. And so beautiful, I can't narrow it down to my favorite picture. But at least I narrowed it down to my favorite 11 out of 111.

Jason took her out to Joe's Farm grill for a quick dinner before dropping her off at dance while I spent all afternoon making her favorite homemade chocolate layered cake with mint chocolate chip frosting covered with chocolate ganache. Yes, I included the full description just so you can appreciate this cake and all it's time consuming glory. It's a labor of love, but she looks forward to it every year and was excited for me to bring it to the studio to share with her friends. I was a sweaty hot mess from spending hours in the kitchen but made it to the studio just in time, only to open the back door to find the cake had completely fallen apart. And I had even splurged on the fancy candles. Uggggg.  She was sweet and was grateful I tried. And then we spent the next three days nibbling on crumbs and pulling out fuzz. And that was her birthday. And now comes the list of reasons I love her, which is constantly growing. She has so many funny quirks that I love about her, like how she has a phobia of sitting on the end and will do anything to sit in the middle. Or how she eats crescent chicken rolls at 5:30am for breakfast whenever we have leftovers because they're her favorite. Or how Vampire Diaries is her life right now. Or how she thinks she can do magic spells to win at Aggravation. Or how she wants to marry this kid Jameson because his last name is Savage. Or how she never knows how to pronounce the word "doth" and it's always in the verses when it's her turn to read scriptures. Or how she has THE best most embarrassing story involving her underwear a swimming pool and her hilarious black guy friends. Or how she gets so excited for food, like when we were roasting hot dogs at my brothers house while she was at dance and I promised to bring one home for her and forgot and she legit had tears running down her cheeks because she had been dreaming about eating it the whole time she was at dance. But she doesn't like chocolate. Or chocolate chip cookies. I take pride in my chocolate chip cookies. I try not to take offense. But she will eat tomatoes like apples. She'll eat them whole or sliced up with salt, but is repulsed by them when they're diced. There are just so many "classic Kylie's" that I can't even list them all. Her and her friend actually have a whole instagram devoted to them and it's my daily entertainment.  All I know is that she makes me laugh almost every day (when she's not too busy hating me). I'm so proud of all the hard work and dedication she puts into her dance (and most of the time school work too). I am so proud of the decisions she has made in life, especially when she's put in tough situations. She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in and isn't one to give into peer pressure. She has an amazing light about her and a strong testimony, it made me so happy when she said that seminary is her favorite class. And I don't think it's just because her and her friend sit and draw faces on goldfish crackers. You just keep doing you, Kylie, because what you've got going on is pretty amazing! Love you, happy birthday baby girl!