Saturday, July 6, 2013

OMG! She's a (texting) teenager...

This past week, Mikaela turned 13!  Wow, where has time gone?

 It seems like overnight she went from this...

to this!



And as much as I miss that sweet little girl, it has been immensely rewarding watching her develop into a strong and beautiful young woman!

Mikaela had been anxiously awaiting this birthday for the past 364 days--for one and only one reason.  She was convinced that 13 was the perfect age for her to get a cell phone and so over the course of the past year, she spent almost every waking moment--at times it honestly did seem that way--trying to convince us that it was an absolute necessity.  In fact, she even put together a 21 page word document as well as gave Bob and I a Powerpoint presentation on why she was mature and responsible enough to get her own phone.  I have to say, her persistence paid off and so on her birthday, Bob and I took her to the Verizon store where she picked out her very first cell phone.  It's nothing fancy, just a basic phone that she can use to keep in touch with us text her friends.

We also managed to get her a few other surprises.  It turns out, one of her absolute favorite bands--Imagine Dragons--is coming to Washington D.C. in September.  I was able to score a few tickets and so I'll be taking her and one of her best friends to see the show.

Mikaela also asked if she could wear some make-up now that she's a teenager.  We told her she could wear it if it was subtle.  Since "Subtle" is not Mikaela's middle name, I decided to take her and her friend Nadia to ULTA, a local cosmetics store and had one of their make up artists teach the girls how to properly apply it.   (FWIW, I am so not a make up person, so I couldn't really teach her.  It would be difficult to show her how to apply eye liner, when I don't think I've ever worn it a day in my life. :-))






All in all, we had a great time celebrating her 13th birthday.  It was every bit as wonderful as the bright, kind and talented young woman she is becoming.  We love you, Mikaela!