Hide the sharp objects . . . .

. . . there's a teenager in the house. That's right - today my baby girl turns 13. She was born at 10:21 pm on a hot summer night 9 days late. The first words out of one of the nurses when they put the girl on the scale to weigh her was, "Oh my God!" Turns out my little princess was not so little. She was 10 pounds 15 1/2 ounces at birth. I joke that if Brad had taken me to dinner the night before, we could have put on that last half ounce and had ourselves an eleven pounder.

Truly, it was wonderful having a big baby. She was healthy and sturdy and didn't feel like she was going to break when you picked her up. I remember going to a breastfeeding clinic a few days after she was born and the other moms there were just amazed at the baby girl's size. She never wore 0-3 month clothes and only wore 3-6 month clothing for about the first 6 weeks. A friend of ours at church just recently had a 10 pound boy and I saw him today and it brought back wonderful memories of my summer baby girl.

Now she is a teenager and that extra size that she has carried for her whole life is more of a struggle than a blessing to her. Now we walk the fragile tightrope of working for a healthy self-image that brings about positive changes and not negative feelings. A sweeter and more loving girl, I couldn't ask for. She is so much like her dad - very relational, gets along with everyone and lives to spend time with the ones she loves. She's great about being honest with me and is quick to apologize when she knows she's gone over the boundaries too far. I love that she has inherited my love for reading and the theater. We saw "Hairspray" together last night and had fun singing the songs and talking about the movie on the way home. There are some great things about her getting older and sharing more grown-up experiences with her.

A good friend who was one of the first to visit us in the hospital after N. was born came up to me at work today and put a hand on my shoulder. With a knowing and concerned tone, he asked, "How are you doing?" (He's raised his own teenage daughter, now in her twenties and married.)

"Two arguments already and it's only 9:00 am in the morning. I think I have a teenager in my house," I said.

Happy Birthday sweetie girl! Love you tons!