Laylah is Official-- Happy 13th!

My baby girl is a certified 13 year old teenager. Wait, what?! How do these things happen to me?! 

She turned 13 two weeks before her first year of junior high ended and it is just weird to me how much these years will shape her life. I mean, my teenage years are some of my most memorable years of my own life and she is entering into that time. It's beyond crazy to me that I have a daughter this old. But she is pretty dang great and I love her so much! I am excited to watch her learn, grow, make mistakes, and change over the next several years of teenager-ism. 

Alrighty, so onto the celebration stuff! The day I ran my half marathon was two days before her birthday. Andy had to go out of town the day before her birthday for work (oh yeah, Andy got a job! Praise the heavens! But more on that later) so we celebrated as a family on Saturday night. She chose a pizza party, and Star Wars. Only Andy had seen it, but the kids loved it. Since I was up at 3:30 AM that day and then ran 13 miles, and then went to a 7 hour conference, I was asleep within the first hour. However, what I saw of it was great. I've decided to jump on the Star Wars bandwagon after avoiding it for SO LONG. Anywho, I'm way off topic. Andy made us all milkshakes and we had lots of movie treats too. It was a fun night together.

The next day being Sunday, we had a little pre-birthday singing and birthday cake.

And traditional photo with mom and dad. Then I took Andy to the airport.

These are Andy's little brothers, and their birthday's are right before Laylah's (she's the 23rd, Ryan is the 22nd, David is the 21st). So after dropping Andy off we went to Andy's parents and had a little birthday party and cake for all of the Collette birthday's. We also played games and wished that school was out right then so we could stay up all night playing.

And the next day was (drumroll, please) Laylah's big day! We had fun that morning celebrating her and eating her yummy birthday breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon, and strawberries/raspberries, and milk. She also got to open one gift and it was her birthday outfit of jeans and a cute shirt.

My darling birthday girl

Since it wasn't her year for a birthday party, I told her she could do something small with a couple friends. She chose to go to lunch for sushi with Avery and Liberty. I checked them out of school and we went and got some yummy lunch. They were hilarious and so fun to spend the afternoon with.

After lunch we went and got Swig sugar cookies and then I took them back to school.

That evening I had asked my mom if we could have Laylah's birthday dinner at her house because both Andy and his parents were out of town, so it was just my side of the family. Laylah wanted burgers for her birthday dinner, and my dad grills a mean burger, and I wanted her dinner to actually taste good, so I was relieved when my mom happily obliged.

And those burgers did NOT disappoint! They were soooo yummy. We had all the delicious toppings, along with potato salad, brussel sprouts, watermelon, and lemonade. She chose brownies and Reese's ice cream for dessert. It was all just really yum.

Present time!

Laylah got a lot of fun stuff. She literally did not tell me one thing that she wanted, so I just got her stuff I thought she'd like. She got some new clothes, flip flops, a little purse, new makeup bag with some new makeup in it, a journal, and a cute gold alarm clock.

My mom gave her some darling decorations for her room.

And of course, money from great grandma's, aunts, uncles, etc. She also got a target gift card and money from Grandma and Grandpa Collette who were out of town, like I mentioned.

My darling Aunt Morelia was able to come to her party. She is in town visiting for the summer from Taiwan. We just love her.

We face timed with Andy while Laylah opened her gifts :)

Spoiled!

It was a fun night and I was so happy to spend it with these wonderful people. 

Laylah at 13:

I am the luckiest mom ever. Laylah has always been such a great kid. She's so much fun and so happy, and she is also pretty hilarious. She draws people to her and is just a wonderful little lady. 

Laylah does really well in school. She strives for perfection and if that doesn't happen, she is so hard on herself. During this last year she had straight A's all year, except for one term in math when she got a B+. She was SO upset and just started bawling when I looked at her report card. And did I mention it is an honors math class? I was the one calming her down and telling her that it is okay if she doesn't get straight A's, as long as she is doing her work and trying her best. She was also in an honors English class and did very well, although she is my only child who doesn't love reading. She is always talking about how she wants to get her Associate's degree when she graduates high school, and then do a year of college, go on a mission, and then come back for another year of college and graduate with her Bachelor's. I'm glad she has a plan and I encourage her all the time. She wants to be a nurse, as of right now. She is always changing her mind though :)

While Laylah is smart and does great in school, her true passion is dance. She LOVES dancing. She did pointe this last year and has grown and improved so much. She would love to go to a competition studio, but unfortunately we just can't afford it. So she will just have to continue doing her best at her current studio and practicing all she can. Which she does. The girl is constantly dancing everywhere she goes. She is always spinning, twirling, jumping, and dancing around the house. 

Laylah also loves clothes and shopping and all things girly. She loves make-up, loves doing her hair, and she is just such a darling little thing. She is obsessed with FRIENDS and wants to be with them all the time. She has so many groups of friends. Different groups at school, a group in the neighborhood, a group with young women, etc. etc. She also has all ages of friends. One of her favorite friends is 17 years old and it's just so funny to me that they get along so well. 

One of the hard things Laylah has been faced with this year is drama. 7th grade has been a little difficult with changing friends and friends who aren't loyal, and friends who stab you in the back. But it's also been a good lesson for her to learn on how to be a good friend to others. I remember talking to her about all of this at the beginning of 7th grade and just worrying about it so much. And while she's had her sad moments, I am proud of how easily she's gotten over things and moved on.

Laylah loves food and eats a ton, and she isn't picky at all. She has grown a lot this year and is almost as tall as me. Her feet size have passed mine. She's about a 9.5 now. I know she will grow for another couple of years, most likely. While she eats a lot of healthy food, she also has her fair share of treats. She is a treat lover, like her mom. As she has grown and matured, I have tried my very hardest to instill healthy eating habits without being forceful or pushy. I have also tried to explain what happens as we grow older and our body changes so that she never has negative body image. It's hard being a mom of girls!

Just like any teen, Laylah loves social media and her iPod. She has an Instagram account and we are always having talks about safe online practices and stuff like that. She started texting a lot this year, including with boys, and I check her iPod often just to make sure she's being appropriate! She is also the beehive president of her young women class and I know she does a great job being kind and welcoming to everyone. She really is such a light in my life. She is a wonderful big sister and loves her siblings (most of the time :) She is fiercely loyal and the most helpful child her age I have ever known. Her dad and I love her so and we are so lucky she's ours.

Happy 13th, Laylah!