Megan turns 13

Our child, our sweet baby girl turned 13 in January. Megan is growing fast and is getting taller every time I turn around. She passed Rachael and is on her way to passing Emma and maybe me. She is also growing in her interests and strengths. Megan has found a new love for debating in her world cultures class and was chosen multiple times this year by her teacher to be the voice of her group, most recently she played the role of Secretary of State for Israel in mock Middle East peace talks. It is fun to see her discover strengths and passions.

We celebrated her birthday by inviting friends to play laser tag and then for a sleepover. Laser tag was a blast and Megan being her generous self, invited her sisters to play as well. While we waited for their game time they played with the crane machine and picked silly code names that they would play under. They called our group and we suited up in packs and received our instructions. It was a rowdy game and everyone came out flushed and grinning and talking loudly.

Megan and her friends all piled in the van and talked non-stop as I drove them back to the house. Bridge drove back with Ms. Shari. and Sierra, and Emma drove Rachael. When we got back to the house Jim and Johanna had pizza and snacks ready to go. Everyone was hungry and made quick work of their food. Then there was a very ridiculous reminiscence of a Dewey Decimal Rap song that they played in 6th grade and it turned into a group sing along.  Then Megan opened her gifts. Her friends all got her gifts she loved including a beautiful fuzzy blanket, earrings, and a body pillow.

We moved onto birthday cheese cake next. Jim picked up a great sampler cheesecake so there were lots of flavors and so many candles. Thirteen candles! We sang happy birthday and dished up mystery flavors of cheesecake, sherbet, and skittles. After getting them all sugared up the girls went down to the basement to set out sleeping bags and hang out. Megan and her friends worked on a 3d puzzle cat that she got as a gift and lounged around until around midnight when they began to fall asleep. I came down and since it was now the 29th, I wished her a Happy Birthday.

In the morning I ran out and got doughnuts and the sleepy teenagers roused themselves for breakfast before being picked up. Megan was all smiles.

We went to Mass and afterward Megan put her new IKEA cart together. She had the typical IKEA experience with steps forward and then a few things to undo with a better understanding of what that diagram meant. It turned out perfectly and Megs was happy with the finished product. She filled the cart with DIY project supplies inspired by youtube videos.

We gathered before heading out to dinner to have Megan open her gifts from us and from Colorado. We went to Matthew's 1600 for a yummy dinner. After dinner Jim drove Emma to TU and the rest of us settled into our normal bedtime routine. That night I said goodnight to a new teenager, a blessing and a joy.

Happy 13th Birthday Megan!