I had the best time with my favourite girls! Thank you to my amazing friends for giving me the best birthday ever!
He said
Funny, it seems like just a little while ago we had a sixteen year old and we were rationalizing that our baby girl was hyper focused on getting her driver’s permit and then her licence in the fastest way she could. And here we are this weekend with a seventeen year old who has that license and is able to drive herself to and from work! I have heard people talk about how quick it can fly by and I think we’re starting to hit those years where we really feel that all too well! I used to think time flew and stood still at the same time with her, but I can certainly see the need to really appreciate the moments and attempt to slow it all down as much as I can.
This week the focus was on two things, really: Emelia’s end of semester exams and projects; and, her seventeenth birthday on Friday. Ironically both fell on the same day: Friday. The plan for her birthday was simple: Emelia and ten of her friends would meet at the house and then head over to The Bungalow for dinner and then they would come back to the house for a low-key party. Danielle & I made ourselves scarce up in our bedroom watching TV for the night.
Judging by all the laughter and songs and the Mamma Mia sing-along, the girls had a blast. The cats of course were beside themselves having all the commotion in the house. By the time that the girls petered out for the night there were three girls sleeping in the front room, and three girls up in Emelia’s bedroom. There were air mattresses everywhere and snacks out all over. Judging by the state of the house when I left for work the next morning at 7:30am, with everyone still asleep, the birthday party was an incredible success. And the pics Emelia posted confirmed.
Emelia’s big gift this year was a new vanity for her in bedroom which she had been asking for since before Christmas. She’d outgrown the other one and found one that in partnership with my family we were able to get her, and have it arrive in time so that assembly was a project this weekend. Last night after some swear words, we finally got it sorted and put together. Thinking we would make things easier on us we encouraged her to work on it on the main level—mostly so I could watch the Leafs hockey game. But, that ended up being more of a pain as after we had the desk completely assembled, we realized it needed to be partially taken apart to get it up the stairs in her room.
Our quiet night together – just the three of us –last night was the perfect counter to her night before party with friends. Those moments together, Danielle and I really hold close more and more these days as we know they aren’t forever. We now have a seventeen year old and we’re talking more and more about university as the reality is we’re just a little over a year away from that being the new normal. So these moments when she wants to have a quiet dinner at home and spend the time with us, we will happily soak up.
Happy Birthday Boo. Every moment since we met you for the first time has been an absolute joy to see how you’ve grown, developed and blossomed into this wonderful ray of joy in our lives. Wishing you all the happiness you have brought into our lives, on this, your special day. Happy Birthday Boo!
She said
The days are long, but the years are short! Never have those words rung louder now that we find ourselves with our baby girl who is only a year from being a legal adult. This year for her birthday, Emelia really wanted something personal and pretty low key. Her friend group keeps growing and all she wanted was an old-school sleepover with all her favourite people. The girls went out for dinner down the road at our neighbourhood pub and then back here for cake, presents and ‘games’. Throughout the night they were in and out of the house in packs until we decided they should stay in our house as to not annoy the neighbours. Once in the house, the girls had the music cranked and there was a lot of laughs coming from the main floor. Emelia spent the night with her girls and by all accounts will be another birthday she will not soon forget. So thank you to – Anna, Grace, Bree, Belle, Shay, Neeka, Nour, Alexis, Carys and Sienna for being her best friends, thank you for loving her with all your hearts and for being amazing friends. Emelia has grown so much this year, she has grown in confidence, self esteem and we know that these girls are big part of it.
Today, Emelia’s first focus was getting back to the cheer gym working hard with her teammates to keep cleaning up their routine. The team had to revamp the entire routine immediately after the holiday break with little chance to perfect it before the comp last weekend. We are two weeks away from Ontario Championships and the coaches were working hard today to crisp up the stunts, work hard on timing of their jumps and tumbling. They were worked hard today and we can already see some big improvements. The girls are really hoping for a top three result that weekend so all this work is really important to achieve that.
For Emelia the remainder of the today has shifted gears back to getting Emelia studying for her first term finals. She has her biggest exam tomorrow and as I write this she and two of her friends are in her room crash studying for the big exam tomorrow.