a 13th Birthday.

this was our FIRST teenage party!!  it was so fun.
i really wanted to do a TEEN-Y party (with all things small)...
it seemed a bit girly this time, but when Anna is 13...
we have a long, one way, driveway... i was worried it would be a major traffic jam.

so, i made this super classy, dumpster sign!

it still makes me laugh.

and, here's the gang!
i always try to take one group shot!!

 Happy 13th Birthday Jakob!

this was our invitation (made on picnik)-- jakob handed out 25, we had about 23 people come.
apparently people thought it was cool... 13 is not too old for Superman.

or pirates... i asked jakob if he thought he was too old for pirate cupcakes and he said, "no, those are cool."

(you can see our trophies-- we played minute to win it games and handed out the 3 trophies to best boy, best girl and best blow-fish!")
i had a lot of food... snacky, treaty stuff.
next time i think i'll have more real food appetizers.
i kept things VERY simple.  i think it was perfect.

jakob loves to make homemade rootbeer.

this time i ruined it.  i couldn't find club soda so i bought tonic water with quinine.

nasty. (teenage boys like to taste nasty things... so it was still fun.)

thankfully we had some sprite i could pull out!

 Daizie was the star of the show-- for most of the party daizie and the girls were watching movies in my bedroom, but they did visit a bit at the beginning.  everyone LOVED daizie.

 here are some of the minute to win it games...
their favorite was eating this nasty sour stuff that i found and then trying to whistle.

our downstairs was CUH-RA-ZEE!
lots of kids, tons of balloons, foosball, around the world ping pong...

 i loved when they would wander upstairs for a bit of calm.

 they really did play roll the ball (in our study)... i thought 13 is not so different from 3!
we sang and jakob let lily blow out his candle (he's a sweet boy).
everybody LOVED his little sisters.

our last friend left around 9:30pm... and then we opened presents.
people are so nice.

 what do most people give a 13 year old boy?
Candy and Money.
Gift cards-- to a local bakery, DQ, cold stone, subway.
and two really cool soccer balls.
Aunt Patti gave jakob some money to buy whatever he wanted at Zappos.
Zappos has free overnight shipping.
it arrived just in time for me to wrap it up and surprise him after the party.
it was cute seeing what jakob picked- basketball pants, a few basketball shirts, a hoodie, some nike socks, and a pair of gloves.
i loved watching my grown up boy opening presents.
1. he's so neat-- he immediately had a pile of cards, a pile of money, a bag for his trash, he folded each gift bag neatly... cute boy.
2.  he's not a big talker.  as he opened each gift he would whisper, "no way" or "gosh".
3.  probably 20 times during the party and at least that many since, he has come up to me and hugged me whispering in my ear, "mom, thanks for that party.  it was really fun."  cute boy.
4.  one girl had a stick through the top of her ear.  we were sitting near each other and i whispered to jakob, "is that an earring?"  he shook his head and shrugged with his eyebrows raised (like "i know") and then whispered back.  "She's very kind."
and, he was right.
i watched her the rest of the night and she was a kind girl.
he is a sweet, adorable kid.

 i'll admit something to you...
i was scared of middle school.
but, i love these kids.
they are good.
it is so fun watching my children grow up!

Happy Birthday Jakob!!  

you are VERY loved.

scout camp.

oregon is beautiful...

  and, i really, really LOVE having this guy as a 12 year old.

life is good.

the end.

scouts.

What do you call a mix between an elephant and a rhinocerous?

Elephino

growing up.

i love this kid.

and, i LOVE watching my kids grow up.

EVERY DAY i am awed by their goodness and self discipline

and,
EVERY DAY i am reminded that i am SO BLESSED.
really, aside from an occasional exhausting toddler, my kids are good.
Jakob is passing the sacrament now at church.
I can't watch him without crying (this could also be due to hormones).
He really is growing up.
And, I'm so excited to see the man he becomes.
For now, I LOVE twelve.

My bigger girls have not been fun in the mornings or the afternoons- for their whole life.
They dawdle when getting dressed and try to play instead of doing their chores after school.
My boys wake up, on their own, at 6am to get all their stuff done before school and still have time to read...
I keep telling my boys, when they whine about their sisters who are "making them late", the girls are just younger- you were the same way when you were their age.
But, sometimes I'm not sure if that is true. 
Moms tend to forget the hard parts of mothering fairly quickly.
Anyway, I've been HOPING that my girls would out grow their sock tantrums... AND, guess what?
This past week my girls have been up early and dressed and happy.
They look nice and they are ready to go, ON THEIR OWN, at least 30 minutes before Drew is ushering everyone into the car.
It's great.
And, it just happened.
They are really excited about doing their hair-- and I let them use my straightener and curling iron.
I don't help them.
(It's the tiger mom in me.)
When they whine that they don't know how to curl the back, i just tell them that if I always do it for them, they will never learn.  (Or, I tell them that maybe they are too young to be able to curl their hair-- that gets them motivated to try again!)
And, their hair looks darling.

My kids are growing up, and I love it.
THIS is why I have a big family.
They are growing up and it is joyful to watch.

ps.
Lily is as independent as my other girls...

doesn't she look pretty?

yes, i'm going crazy being 9 months pregnant.
but, i do love my life.

pps- oh my gosh!!  i just pushed post and then view blog and i looked again at those pictures of lily- under the title "growing up".
!!???!!  did you see that?  SHE is my baby!!  And she looks so grown up.
This is my lily...

just yesterday.

yesterday... blink... today... 

oh my!

i think i need to go swaddle her in her "ankie" and let her suck her thumb and play with my hair and whisper over and over in her ear... just stay little, ok?!

i do love seeing them growing- but i LOVE the yesterdays as much as the tomorrows.

I believe it IS possible to enjoy today and hope for tomorrow and still miss yesterday?

and, i hope it isn't possible for one's heart to burst from loving so many, so much.

ppps.- jakob still climbs in bed with me in the mornings and whispers that he loves me and lets me rub his back... yes,  he's twelve.  But he will ALWAYS be my baby boy.  oh, i'm crying again-- those hormones.