Lexie's a Teenager! (13th Birthday Interview & Photoshoot}

She was born on February 22, 2007 at 4:16 PM. She entered the world with just a few quick pushes, and when everyone in the room screamed, "It's a GIRL!" the tears streamed down my cheeks. She was exactly the baby I had been praying for to complete our little family. 

13 years went by far too quickly, and our baby girl filled our lives with so much love. With each passing year, I anticipated her to pull away from us more and more, as many kids naturally do, but her love for her family is fierce. She is still as close to us as ever, and our love for her is immeasurable.

Lexie is a rare gem. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She is incredibly mature, responsible, and smart, and is one of the kindest, most compassionate human beings I've ever met. She is truly an amazing person, and I have no doubt she's going to do great things. At 4:16 PM on February 22, 2020, Lexie officially became a teenager, and the next stage of her childhood began!

All Lexie wanted to do for her 13th Birthday was have a birthday dinner feast at home with her grandparents and all of her favorite foods! She was extra lucky, because her birthday was on a Saturday, and we didn't have to worry about work or school. We swapped our favorite restaurant tradition for a huge dinner at home, but our other birthday traditions remained the same. Lexie said she had a great 13th Birthday!

Lexie's birthday started by waking up to a room filled with balloons and a new birthday outfit. She got ready for her day quickly, because she had plans for a BIG outing with Grant. Before they left we had our traditional birthday doughnut breakfast, sang Happy Birthday, and gave her one gift to use for the day!

About that big outing...our cell phone rule is that you can get one at 13 years old, but we are allowed full access to the phone, and check it regularly. Lexie had Dylan's previous iPhone ready to go, and was so excited to get a phone number. When Grant told them he wanted to add a line to our phone plan, he found out that adjusting our plan and getting her the new iPhone 11 would increase our monthly payment by only $1. It was a no brainer - we officially have a better plan, and Lexie got a brand new phone. She was absolutely thrilled when Grant told her she was getting the newest iPhone!

Back at home, we had to rush to prepare Lexie's birthday feast before the grandparents arrived. She had quite the menu planned: Steak, mashed Potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, peas, velveeta shells and cheese, crescent rolls, and ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. As you can imagine, our kitchen was very busy that afternoon!

All the prep and cooking was worth it. Our sweet girl was so happy, and loved spending the evening with her family.  We had dinner together, she opened her presents, and later, we watched a movie. I was surprised that she didn't want to invite friends over that evening, but I think it's really sweet that she still loves her family so much, and WANTS to be with us!

In the midst of the chaos, Lexie and I escaped for a few minutes, so I could take her birthday pictures. It was so nice to be able to connect with her briefly during a chaotic day. I adore my sweet daughter so much!

ALEXANDRIA ELIZABETH

Age: 13

5’4”

1. FAVORITE COLOR? Yellow

2. FAVORITE TOY? I don’t have one, but if I had to pick, I would say my cat. Can she count as a toy? I love my cat!

3. FAVORITE CHARACTER? Betty from Riverdale

4. FAVORITE SUPERHERO? Spiderman and Wonder Woman

5. FAVORITE FRUIT? NONE. I hate fruit!

6. FAVORITE VEGETABLE? Green Beans!

7. FAVORITE BREAKFAST? Every Breakfast!

8. FAVORITE CEREAL? Golden Grahams

9. FAVORITE LUNCH?  Ramen noodles, velveeta mac and cheese, or extra noodle soup

10. FAVORITE DINNER? Enchiladas! No, anything Mexican, or...I don’t even know. I like a lot of food.

11. FAVORITE DRINK? My favorite drinks are iced tea, water, and milk. That’s it.

12. FAVORITE SNACK? My favorite snack is chocolate.

13. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Taco Bell, Olive Garden, and Applebee’s

14. FAVORITE TV SHOW? Riverdale and Spongebob

15. FAVORITE MOVIE? Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief

16. FAVORITE ACTOR/ACTRESS? My favorite actor is Will Smith, and my favorite actress is Julia Roberts.

17. FAVORITE SONG? Take On Me by Aha

18. FAVORITE SINGER/BAND? I like any 80’s band, or even early 2000’s music.

19. FAVORITE BOOK? Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

20. FAVORITE BOOK SERIES? All of Raina Telgemeier’s books!

21. FAVORITE OUTFIT? Something my mom would like, because mommy always picks out the best outfits for me!

22. FAVORITE GAME? Minecraft and Township

23. FAVORITE SPORT? Soccer and Volleyball

24. FAVORITE ANIMAL?  A bunny. Or a fox. 

25. FAVORITE PLACE TO GO? Nina and Papa’s house. I like going anywhere with family!

26. FAVORITE THINGS TO DO? Relax with my family.

27. FAVORITE SUBJECT? At the moment, I’m going to say ELA.

28. FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL? BunBun

29. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Friday, Saturday, or Thursday

30. FAVORITE MONTH? July and December

31. FAVORITE SEASON? My favorite season is winter. And summer!

32. FAVORITE HOLIDAY? My favorite holiday is Christmas, but all the other holidays have really fun things that go with them.

33. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? Aubrey and Lexi!

34. WHO DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH? Mom, I don’t really play. I like to hang out with all my friends and family.

35. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?  Hanging out with family.

36. WHAT SCARES YOU? Death. And clowns. And wind.

37. WHAT MAKES YOU SAD? When my family or friends are hurting.

38. WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR? I wish for a guinea pig!

39. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY? My favorite memory is when I was maybe 3 years old, and you were getting my hair ready in two pigtails. You were pulling so hard that my hair was really TIGHT. (Me: Why is THAT your favorite memory? Lexie: I don’t know. I just like it!)

40. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? A makeup artist, a chef, or a doctor.

41. DISLIKES?  All fruits, bad people, and toxic friends

42. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY AS A 12 YEAR OLD? Being able to see Coen born!

43. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PRESENT THIS YEAR? My cell phone and all the makeup I got!

44. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR? Spending more time with my friends and family!

When I wrote this post right after Lexie's birthday, we had no idea social distancing was going to happen. We thought we would be celebrating Lexie and Coen's birthdays with our friends and family in a few weeks, but that got put on hold.  If you follow me on social media, you know that we just had a lot going on. Liam was diagnosed with the flu the day before her birthday, and a few days later, Coen followed. As if that wasn't enough, Coen was hospitalized for a few days, because he was having fainting episodes (and still is). I will share more about that in a separate post, but needless to say, all of our plans got pushed back! Lexie also wanted to have a fun afternoon with her closest friends instead of having a birthday party, and the plan is to go to lunch and a movie. I feel so bad that Lexie and Coen's celebrations got put on hold, but on a positive note, they will be able to celebrate their BIG birthdays again when this ends! Looking back, I'm so thankful we got to have this wonderful day of celebrating our beautiful baby girl! I can't believe she is officially a teenager!