I turned nineteen! Happy Birthday to me!!!

He said

Well after the surprise and delight of finding out Valiant secured a bid to compete at IASF Worlds in Florida at the end of April, things started to move very quick and it got very real in a hurry. It started with their first practice Wednesday where they got their first place medals and jackets for winning at Feel The Power (where they also got their World’s bid). So, at practice they allowed the team to have a little bit of a celebration together since with the weather that last weekend moved the awards ceremonies to virtual. But very quickly the parent talk moved to fundraising planning and travel accommodations. It is a couple of months out but I am sure it will be here in no time flat.

But very quickly, the conversation shifted to the other big milestone for Emelia this week, as Monday was her nineteenth birthday! Aside from the usual: presents & blanketing her room with her age amount of balloons, we had planned to take her out for dinner (at a place of her choice) and where we could her first, proper legal adult beverage. Of course she chose East Side Mario’s as it’s a favourite of hers as a creature of habit. But the best part was that all her besties were also able to make it out for dinner to celebrate with her and us.

Danielle and I chose to let them have their own table and for us to sit at our own table at a comfortable distance to be able to take it in, but let them have their own space to enjoy this adult moment. The food was great, there was a lots of laughs and the girls surprised Emelia with flowers. But, their big night of really celebrating it was on Friday this week at our house with her core friend group as well as a much larger group of friends she is still close with from high school. Danielle and I sequestered ourselves up to the bedroom level and let the girls, laugh and have their fun on the main floor and to her bedroom in the basement. And from all the laughter, it was clear they did just that. They wrapped up some time after midnight or later, but Danielle & I were long slumbering by that point.

And the other big milestone for Emelia and her friend Marley who also recently turned of legal age, was to go out for a night at the bars on Richmond St. Initially we thought they would chose Delilah’s as it is the popular place to go, but in true Emelia fashion they decided that was too popular and opted for The Ceeps a classic for university kids and adults alike. By all counts, she and Marley had a blast—they even managed to make their way to a couple other bars in the same strip, and run into some other friends as well. She was home just after 2am and was delighted with her first bar experience.

It’s hard to believe that our little bundle of amazingness turned 19 this week, but she did. I’ve had the luxury of front row seats for her entire journey and been her biggest fan as she has become this funny, smart, caring and beautiful woman. As much as it feels like it’s gone WAY too fast, it’s been my absolute pleasure to watch it unfold. Happy Birthday Boo! Love you more!

She said

What a week of celebrations we had! It started coming off the high of Emelia’s team earning their bid to World’s in Florida. By Monday one of the parents on the other team had already started making hotel plans to ensure both teams could be stay at the same resort. By day end on Monday all the athletes had changed their original tenative plans and moved to a resort close to Disney. The best part of this resort is that they are mini apartment styles, huge rooms with kitchens and a massive resort for the kids to explore in safety. This group reservation certainly made Worlds even more real. Booking our hotel for World’s certainly was not the biggest event of the week, the biggest event was Emelia turning 19!

On Monday Emelia woke to the traditional room full of balloons we started when she was a toddler, and I love that even at 19 she loves this tradition. For the most part the day was normal, Emelia had school and then she had to go to her job as a gymnastics coach. After work we met up with her group of besties to have a quiet dinner with just her, us and the girls. The girls had a great time, Emelia was able to have her first legal drink and celebrate with her favoruite people. We were thrilled that Bri, Belle, Ashley and Marley were able to meet up with us to celebrate.

The rest of the week was more about school and cheer. On Wednesday, Emelia and her cheer team finally got to celebrate together this incredible milestone. Not only did they place first in the competition but they got that important bid to Worlds and long before they ever imagined. Honestly we thought it might be the last competition of the season before the girls would get this but they worked so hard all season and were able to bring it home much earlier. The girls got their medal and champions jackets and have a quiet celebration before getting back to training and upgrading some stunts to elevate their difficulty where they could.

Before we knew it, it was the weekend and the big event was upon us. For weeks Emelia has been planning her 19th birthday with her girlfriends. Since not all of Emelia’s friends are of age she wanted to have a party at our house so all her friends could be here. As always Emelia’s core group of friends were here but also some of her closest friends from high school that she is still really close to. In the end there was about 15 of Emelia’s closest friends her, partying until well after midnight. Emelia woke the next day telling us that she had an absolute blast—she was tired but happy. But the celebrations were not over, the big event to be honest for any teenager turning 19 is being able to not only go to the LCBO to get their own booze but also to go the university bars. Of Emelia’s core group only one is of age currently but thankfully for Emelia a bunch of her girlfriends she is still friends with from high school also have January birthdays. So Emelia and Marley along with one of Marley’s friends all made plans to head out to the bars and meet up with Emelia’s friends from high school. By all accounts Emelia had a blast, she banged into a few people from high school and had a great time. So I would say her 19th birthday celebration was a big success.

My final thoughts for the week are for Emelia – in a blink of an eye here we are, it seems like yesterday Emelia you were born. The saying the days are long but the years are short is never more true than being a parent. As her parents we are so honoured to be front row to see her life every day, to see this incredible woman she has become. She is compassionate, fierce, stubborn, loving, loyal and beautiful. She is everything we could have hoped for the day we found out we were expecting her all those years ago. Emelia, we are so proud of you. Being your mother has been the biggest joy and forever the best accomplishment of my life. You are our purpose, you are our love and our reason. We love you more than words could ever express.