Happy 16th Birthday Larissa

My dearest Larissa,

Today is your 16th birthday. You were born Oct 21, 1994 weighing in at 4lbs and 7oz. You were a little thing but despite a complicated pregnancy, you were a healthy baby. You were in the hospital for a mere 10 days after being born at 32 weeks. Right from the beginning, you were a fighter. Or maybe you were just showing us your stubborness right from the beginning...lol.

You are an incredible teenager, as far as teenagers go...lol. Sometimes you are wise beyond your years. You will say things that took me years and years to learn and it amazes me. Not only do you know them already but you live by them. Maybe I rub off on you more than I admit. You can be the sweetest and kindest person that I know...except to your brothers...lol. I don't thank you enough for always being so quick to help me out with anything that I need. You can be really loud but you can be really mild tempered too. And boy can you talk !!! I admire your value of friendship. You value friendship on the same level that I do and that says a lot ot me about the kind of adult you will be too. You are a true friend in every part of the word.

I have tried very hard to always remember to be your parent first and then your friend. We have the perfect balance, I think. I am so blessed that you come to me to talk about everything, sometimes more than I want to know but then I thank God for that. I am sorry for not always having time to listen to you in the way that you deserve. You are very open with me and I love that. I have always tried to keep an open mind with you and it has certainly paid off. You have been allowed to make many of your own decisions and although some I don't totally agree with, I know that you have to learn lessons your own way...and you do.

You are beautiful beyond words, both inside and out. You are so artistic, I wonder where you get that from? Except for the singing cuz I can't carry a tune to save my life. You love theatre and painting and drawing and broadcasting. You are definately a people person and you love to be the center of attention. You have a long way to go before you know what you want to be when you grow up but you are having a lot of fun finding your way through different things. I try to encourage you to try it all while you are young because before you know it, it will be time to grow up. And the truth is that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. :o)

I am not quite sure where the time has gone. It feels like it was just yesterday that we were celebrating your Quince. Seriously though, I don't feel old enough to have a 16 year old daughter. I remember being 16 myself as if it was such a short time ago. Now my daughter is 16 and it's a sureal feeling to me. You might be 16 but you will always be my little girl. Watching you grow has given me such joy. I hope that you one day (in the distant future) get to experience the same joy of having your own daughter and watching her grown into such an amazing young lady.

Happy birthday sweetie. I love you more than words can say. I hope that all your dreams come true. I will always be here to help you along the way.

Love always,
Mom

Note to my readers : And for those of you who have asked or are going to ask....no she is not getting her license yet. She hasn't even gone through drivers ed yet so I still have some time. I can't even begin to imagine her out on the road in a vehicle where I can't protect her. Growing up is hard to do, for her and for me ! The picture above was taken a year ago but it is one of my favorite pics of her. She has changed so much since then but still as beautiful as ever.

This is the pic of Larissa this morning with her birthday cookie. She refused to look at the camera. Still got the pic though !