Sydney turned 16!

 I blogged about my pregnancy and now that baby is 16. That feels so huge in this space and I'm so grateful for this little time capsule, even if my posts are getting less frequent and my stories a little less "isn't this precious." For your reference, this is the same person who drove us to school this morning: 

This girl. She is such a delight. I rarely get a picture anymore that's not of her not flipping the bird (sorry :/ ) She's so quick and witty that no one will ever win a verbal sparring match with her, and in the words of her second grade teacher that still ring true "She's always saying things that are so funny, but you know you shouldn't be laughing at them." She is also thoughtful and sweet and silly and so much fun to hang out with. She makes the best playlists and loves America (in a liberal way.) She is constantly surprising us with random new skills she's learned; handstands, sign language, driving a stick shift, the list goes on and on. I'm constantly in awe of how eloquently she speaks her mind and how she is able to stand up for herself without hesitation. One of her teachers recently asked her where she found the confidence of a six-foot man and I don't know if I've ever heard a more on-the-nose description. She gives me so much hope for the future. 

She hosted a small party for her birthday and it was so fun to watch these girls together. They went to a trampoline park (drove themselves!) and then came home to swim and grill. Her best friend made her cake and they all made sure that her pictures were perfectly composed and executed. It was exactly the party that Sydney wanted and everyone went home and she was in her pajamas snuggling her puppy by 8:00. We followed that up the next morning with traditional birthday donuts and then she spent the day at the zoo with her boyfriend friend. She'll get her license in a couple weeks and is angling for a new curfew since apparently her current curfew is "for 15 year old bacons." 

It's hard to believe that I only have a few more years with her in the house (because she is VERY quick to remind us that her plans include moving far away) and only a few more weeks of spending the mornings with her on the drive to school. I am not naive to what a gift it is to have kids that are such a joy to be around.