Ah, twelve. The end of the age of innocence. And the beginning of growing up and taking on more responsibilities. Or at least it was for our household this year. Over the last few years, for persuasive writing assignments, Emma has learned to do an excellent job of researching and persuading us to take a second look at things. Case in point: Emma has wanted a hedgehog for over a year. In an attempt to get us to take a second look, she gathered her pluses and what she anticipated to be our minuses (before we stated them) to bring to us the idea of getting one for Christmas. While we were definitely willing to listen, we told her that she needed to prove to us that she was responsible enough to handle the extra work. And although she didn't make that happen by Christmas, we could tell she was well on her way. So, for her birthday, we told her that we would help foot the bills and she could get one. To say she was excited is a massive understatement. Since hedgehogs are nocturnal, we met Blossom the hedgehog later in the evening on the weekend before her birthday. Emma had already spent some serious time getting the right set up and then spent the rest of that weekend starting to bond with Blossom.
A few days later, a couple of Emma's previous classmates meet us at an outdoor ice skating rink in St. Louis. It was a perfect space for the girls to skate - and with less than 20 people there the entire time! As a bonus, the weather had been warm for days, and it was a mild 50 degrees, making it a lovely afternoon to be outside. Of course, by the time the sun set, the chill had returned and reminded us that it was still February in the midwest.
Emma's birthday morning meant getting the new hedgehog out and trying to make her more comfortable. What we knew—but weren't really prepared for—was how persnickety hedgehogs really are. Emma continues to work on getting her out of her defensive mode, but it's certainly a long process.
And of course, birthday day means opening birthday gifts. Since the big gift was the hedgehog, everything else was pretty low-key, but Emma enjoyed it nonetheless.
In fourth grade, part of learning about chemistry was about the chemistry of food. The unit aligned with Emma's birthday, and she baked her first cake FOR her birthday. She really enjoyed it for two years but wasn't planning on doing it again this year. However, at the last minute, she decided to do it anyway. She does such a great job of basically doing everything on her own, and it's awesome to see how her creativity comes into play, from the flavor decisions she makes (vanilla cake with strawberry icing and coconut) to her decoration choices.
With a yummy cake all baked up, it was time to celebrate our girl one final time by eating it!! We enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening as a small group and sang her into her next trip around the sun.
I won't lie; it's a bit surreal to think that 12 years ago, this growing young lady was just joining the world. But what a beautiful path she is creating.
Until next time,
