Hallie's Sweet 16

My life is flashing before my eyes and it's majorly freaking me out!!!

When you first have a baby, all the experienced parents say, "Your children will be grown up before you know it!"

Some days the truth of that statement is kind of a nice thing! There are stages I don't really like, IE: diapers, spitting up, not sleeping through the night, two-year-old temper tantrums, the dishonesty and lying a kid tries out for a few years between age 4 and 7. I could go on and on.

On the other hand, there are stages that I want to last forever, IE: cuddling a sleepy baby, the sweet smell of a pink baby after bath-time, the chubby hugs of a two-year-old, the adoration of a 4-year-old, the funny, kind of grown-up things a seven-year-old says. I could go on and on here, too.

One thing a parent is never prepared for is the impending adult-hood of their sweet-smelling, cuddling, temper-tantrum throwing, child.

Hallie is one-step closer to the day when she will no longer need us to make her important decisions for her. Okay, we don't make all of her decisions for her, but we do help her make some decisions.

Yesterday was her birthday. *sniff*

She's sixteen, which means I am officially old enough to have a sixteen-year-old child. Never mind the fact that, technically speaking, I've been old enough to have a child that age for well on a decade (you know-if I had a baby when I was 12. Hey! It happens!)

Anyways, enough about me, the feeble, dried-up old prune of a lady.

I hope Hallie had a good day. We sure love her. And we appreciate her more than we could ever express to her.

She made us parents, something we desperately longed to be for two and a half years before she came.

And someday (waaaay far away in the future!!!) she'll make us grandparents. Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

At least we'll have a sleepy, sweet-smelling baby to cuddle with without the sleepless nights and gross diapers.