It is unbelievable to me that my baby, the one who made me a mother, is now 16 YEARS OLD! I can hardly remember life before kids, and yet it seems like I have blinked, and here we are.
Abigail has made us so proud of the young woman she is becoming. She is smart, creative, funny and loving, and we know she will go on to have so many awesome adventures in the exciting years ahead of her!
This was the perfect time to take a little stroll down memory lane... and man did I get sucked into the many years of memories (4 days later, I'm finally getting around to posting...)!!!
Check out my highlights through the years:
Right from the start, this sweet, little girl stole my heart...
She has brought so much sweetness & energy to our life!
Her love for reading began VERY early on, and it has never died down...
And her love for learning hasn't stopped at reading...
Her first day of preschool (with freshly cut bangs by none other than... herself!)
She loved learning ballet...
Every year the first day of school was so exciting!
She loved learning about computer servers at Brian's "Take your daughter to work day"...
And she loved hanging out before I taught my classes, and showed me everything she's learned about birth from me...
Learning clarinet in middle school band was so much fun to watch...
And learning to drive scares the crap out of me (that's why Brian does most of the teaching), but she is a WONDERFUL driver, and is looking forward to getting her license in April!
She has always been goofy and fun-loving...
She has always been an amazing friend...
She has always loved cooking & is an awesome chef when she feels like doing it!
Her adventurous spirit is contagious & so much fun!
Despite her allergies to them, she has always been an animal lover!
And she is the best first daughter and oldest sister that ANYONE could have...
We love you so much Abigail, and are blessed that you are in our family!
My days-long journey of walking down memory lane, also brought up some fun video clips- some of which I barely remember, and many not often seen, and a few definitely forgotten! In 30 second clips (with only a few exceptions), feel free to step back in time with me and see Abby's journey over the past 16 years...
Now, with all that sappiness & reminiscing out of the way... here's a glimpse into how Abby celebrated her sweet 16 this year with family and friends!
We went out to one of her favorite restaurants in downtown Raleigh for the night...
And ended up with some profound fortunes!
We then came back for her favorite lemon/raspberry cake from the bakery, and a chance to share our gifts with her!
She was so excited to get her honeycomb to try from Ben...
This girl always has a book theme going on!
She may not have gotten her own car this year, but she got a new keyring & wallet, with her own AAA membership so we know she can stay safe on the roads...
My favorite gift was this light that has her birthdate, time & location so she can see exactly where the stars were in the sky on the night she was born...
We invited neighbors over for dinner, cake & a night of games...
We had fun decorating together, and it was fun to see pictures of her birthday every year!
We had awesome sparklers for her cake...
... which of course set off the smoke alarm, but luckily we have tall neighbors to fan it out!
So many friends came to join in the celebration with her, and we are so thankful for each of you!
Our good friends and neighbors always get Abby her favorite drink as part of their gift each year... raspberry lemonade... and this year they showed up big with 16 different bottles & cans of it!
We are game players in this house, so I made up a special "Catch Phrase"/Charades game all with clues from 2007, the year Abby was born. Everyone had a blast, even though some of the clues were pretty tricky!
Some of us got into the game more than others, but everyone had an awesome time! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with Abby!
Part 2 of the sweet 16 celebration was a night for her two best friends to sleepover and go see the 25th anniversary of the Titanic in the theatre! I even found some fun Titanic relics for them to go through!
What an awesome week celebrating this beautiful, smart & talented young woman! Happy birthday Abigail! We love you so much!