Gretchen's 13

Well, we officially have a teenager in our house as of today. 

I literally have no idea how it happened, because it feels like just yesterday, I was in labor for 48 hours with her. And y'all, she has the most kind heart and such a good head on her shoulders. I literally do not know how she's turned out so good.  She's incredibly smart and beautiful inside and out. 

For her birthday this year, she decided that she didn't want any presents, but wanted to raise money for Charity Water and so far, she has raised over $500.00 for the organization. If you would like to donate, you can do so by clicking here. And, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far! It has blown our mind by your generosity. 

Gretchen is also working on creating inventory for an Etsy shop, so we're excited for that to happen this year! 

Because of COVID, we opted not to have a party for her this year. It kind of made me sad, but a lot of her friends can't do anything (and we totally respect that) so we just decided to spoil her a bit and make the weekend all about her. My parents and niece came down and we were so thankful to have them here! 

Saturday morning, she woke up to a few fun decorations. 

All of the decorations on the table are the same ones we used from her very 1st birthday! 

And balloon garlands have been so fun to make! I made one for DJ's 40th last Summer, and for our North Pole breakfast, and I just can't stop them. 

We typically celebrate birthdays with cinnamon rolls. Her sisters also insisted that we give her a candle and sing her "happy birthday"

My mom and I took her shopping in San Marcos at the outlet malls on Saturday. She picked out a few tops from Abercrombie, some things from Old Navy, and then found a big purple disk chair from Pottery Barn. 

I absolutely love my momma and how we've become best friends, and one day, I think Gretchen and I will be best friends too. There's just something special about that mother/daughter bond. 

We got home, and Adalyn's birthday present to Gretchen arrived! Adalyn logged on to my Amazon account, "searched up" "12 year old books" and found a book set for Gretchen. She even gave me the money to order it. Adalyn was so proud of herself and couldn't wait to give Gretchen her present! 

While we were shopping, we bought Gretchen a new duvet cover from Pottery Barn. I still need to find her some new throw pillows, but she's happy with how her "teenage" room turned out. 

And one quick sister-cousin picture before heading out for dinner. 

We have been wanting to take my parents to Jack Allen's (a local farm-to-table restaurant) so we found ourselves there, rather than Gretchen's traditional birthday choice of Olive Garden...... we actually ended up at Jack Allen's for her birthday last year so maybe this is our Austin tradition. 

She got a huge slice of their blondie with ice cream for her birthday dessert. 

And she was sweet enough to share!

Because we had a huge dinner Saturday night, we waited until Sunday night to have her cake. She asked for red velvet and it was delicious!

Gretchen Rose, we are so unbelievably proud of you and love you big!

Happy 13th Birthday!!!