OMG! You are
THIRTEEN!! Like, a real life teenager. I can not believe it…like, not even a little
bit. Somehow you’ve aged 13 years and I
think I’ve only aged 2 – LOL! In all
seriousness though, I am so so proud of the person you are growing up to
be. You are smart and kind and you have
a great big heart. You are still the
rule follower and the litigator of the family.
You are very much a tiny version of me.
I see it in your desire to be perfect, your desire to please…the way you
take the lead when nobody steps up to do it.
I saw it just last weekend when we were camping and I looked over at the
playground and you were organizing maybe 20 little kids to play a game. You looked like a little camp counselor and I
could tell that you were loving every minute of it.
This year I’ve watched you grow into a maturity I haven’t
seen yet. I’ve watched you start to find
yourself and feel more confident in your own skin. I’ve seen you take adversity and work through
it. I’ve watched you overcome fears and
try things you’ve not been willing to try before. I am more proud of you than I can express and
truly can not wait to see what the next year brings!
Current events:
- Trump
won the presidency in Nov 2024 and he took office in Jan 2025.
- A humanitarian
crisis in the Gaza strip and the war in the Ukraine still continues. The world outside of our little tiny bubble
is actually very scary right now.
There is lots that we need to be paying attention to and a lot of
groups of people that need us to speak out on their behalf.
- The Pope
died in April 2025 and the new Pope is actually from Chicago! There are lots of funny jokes about him
bringing Chicago style pizza and other Chicago traditions to Rome.
- It
feels like AI has taken over the world!
I’m using it almost daily now and I am really worried that we’ve
created a monster worse than social media and cell phones. I’ve been able to keep you and Hazel
away from it so far, but I think it’s only a matter of time before you
start using it and incorporating it into your life.
Are Owies still around?: They sure are! I
have no idea how much longer, but for now, they are still very much in your
every single night.
A sweet story about you:
If you asked me to pick one word to describe you for the
last year its maturity. I am seriously
so impressed with how far we’ve come since last year. This summer we didn’t have a fully time nanny
like we did last year which meant that you and Hazel were left to figure it out
for a lot of the summer. It took a few
weeks to get into it (and past the fighting) but here we are, nearing the end
of summer and I feel like you’ve stepped into responsibility with grace and a generally
good attitude. You are willing to help
your sister in ways you’d argued about before.
You are trying new things and “taking risks” in ways you never would
have before. You are able to stay home
alone (giving me and Daddy some flexibility we haven’t had in 13 years) and
your willingness to take care of Penny and embrace all things puppyhood is
something that I just can’t let go unnoticed.
You accept things you’d normally fight me on…you suggest
solutions and compromises in ways that make me want to be flexible back. You accept responsibility and accountability
in ways that I’m not seeing others your age do it. Years 10-12 were rough – we had a lot to work
through and I’m not quite willing to say “we’ve come through to the other side”
because we still have a lot of “teenage” milestones ahead but for now I’m
celebrating and recognizing how far we’ve come.
You’ve helped me become a better parent through all of it and so I owe
you a big giant thank you! You are helping
me learn and grow as much as I’m helping you.
So thank you, my first born. The
one who made me a mom and the one who is teaching me to be a good mom every
single day. We’re figuring it out
together. I love you to the moon and
back.
Current prices:
- Eggs:
$6.00 – Bird flu caused egg prices to soar over the last year.
- Gas: $3.59
– generally lower than last year.
- Plane
ticket: $350ish – AI claims that flight prices are down this year but I
don’t know that it really feels that way.
That being said, we picked up flights to Hawaii later this year for
around $450 a ticket and that felt like a STEAL!
Fashion trends:
90’s/early 2000’s style is somehow back. Wide-leg
jeans, brands like the Limited and Dehlia’s are coming back…high rise trousers,
metallics, cropped denim etc.
Things you’ve learned in the past year:
- You got your first boyfriend this year! His name is Jayden and it all became “official”
right before school ended. You’ve seen
him a few times over the summer, but I’ll be interested to see how it goes when
everyone goes back to school. For now he’s
been great for your self-confidence and for that I’ll be forever grateful. We met him and his parents at the fireworks
in town this summer and they seem really great! (photo above includes both Jayden and Evie)
- Restarted horseback riding – we’re just a few
weeks in but we’re trying out a new barn with a new teacher and I have to say
that you are enjoying it so much more than our last teacher. I think you just needed a more
positive/supportive teacher vs one who just rides you about the things you are
doing wrong. You 100% react better to positivity
than tough love.
- Did a “toilet bowl” slide – I’m honestly not exactly
sure what this means, but you were very excited about it when you came home
from the pool the other day. I’m so glad
that you are trying things that seem a little scary and finding out there is
fun in the risk!
- Passed the hardest level of rock climbing at
Girl Scout camp – Girl Scout camp was a full on success this year. You were far less stressed heading into it –
though, those little fears almost always pop up. But, you’ve learned that once you are there
it’s great and I think this year you were finally able to remember that going
into it. It sounds like you met a great
group of girls too and you’ve been keeping in touch with them over the summer.
- Learned how to dive – another win from
camp! It still needs work and practice,
but you’ve finally nailed it!
Interest rates: 4.5% - while that is down from last year
this time, it’s still very high compared to how it was 10, or even 5 years
ago. The economy has been wild
lately. Rates are high, unemployment is
high, prices are high….everything is pretty rough financially these days.
Current President: Donald Trump (blah!)
Your best friends: “Stella, Kayden, Evie and that’s
really it!”. A direct quote from you and
honestly, I agree with this statement. While
the list is significantly down from last year, I think you’re finding your
people and I love that so much.
Pop Culture:
- AI and
social media – it’s everywhere and yes, I hate it. Personally I’m no longer posting on
social media and I feel like I’m seconds away from coming off the
platforms all together.
- 90s/2000s
are back – in style, in culture, in movies…the bands are doing comebacks,
the movies are being remade or sequels are being launched. You see wide leg jeans and chokers everywhere.
- “Global
fusion” – or the introduction of things like K-pop (Korean Pop), Latin
Music, Afrobeats…as social media, online presence and unlimited access to
the internet took off, so did exposure to trends from other areas of the globe. These trends are making their way into
our house – all the way in tiny Marengo 😊
What was on your birthday list this year? This
summer we did a joint pool party/birthday with Hazel back in July so you’ve
already gotten the majority of the gifts for your birthday already. Some of the coolest things you got were
swimming with dolphins in Hawaii (Grandpa), a bow and arrow (Grandma and Papa),
a cool leather dice board for D&D (Henry and Gina), a new mermaid tail and
a nail kit to do gel nails. But…what you
don’t know yet, but will soon, is that Daddy an are “giving you your own phone”
for your birthday this year. Basically
we’re going to let you start taking your phone to school daily and I’m getting
a second “house phone” that Hazel will probably use exclusively. That’ll mean all four of us have phones now –
blah. But, I’m glad I made it 13
years! I think that’s better than most!
