I'm glad he was born....

I'm glad my husband had a birthday so that I could make and eat The Great Chocolate Cake with Ganache, accompanied (of course) with vanilla bean ice cream rolled in toasted coconut.

I'm glad I have a husband that thinks Feminism should be called Common Sense. Equal, but different -- that's how we roll.

I'm glad he brought some good looking genes into this union. Also, we have a budding scientist and an artist or two among our off-spring. Those traits came from him.

I'm glad he has a thing for pantones, Hayao Miyazaki films, jalepeños, font treatments, Winger's spicy chicken fingers, Sci-Fi/Fantasy books and aperture settings. Stuff I don't love like he does, but I certainly appreciate his enthusiasm.

I'm glad to hear funny stories of him as a kid...like how when he was a toddler, his twin sister would hide under a bed to drink her bottle because if she didn't, he would steal it from her.

The Breakdown

We took family pictures on Saturday. We are still recovering. This photo sums up how we felt afterward. I'll post some of the better photos once my in-house designer is done Photoshopping them.

great things about tweens

My girl (I've called her that since we met, eleven and a half years ago) is a tween. This wasn't even a stage when I was a kid. It was just 11 or 10 or 12. Now there are entire new stages. Here is a tip for those of you yet to embark on this exciting ride: it's fun. It is very fun. Read on.

My daughter does the following (although not everyday):

texts for me (this is especially handy when I'm driving)
laughs with me
provides endless quirks (she calls them stupid human tricks) for me to laugh at
likes to bake stuff and admits when it is less than delicious

is embarrassed for me, since I may have finally outgrown that
babysits her siblings (miracle of miracles)
fills me in on 6th grade drama
carries on normal conversations about relevant and irrelevant topics
gets excited about clothes I buy for her
is tenderhearted
reads interesting books and discusses them with me on occasion
creates wacky costumes on her little sister
plays with her little sister (notice a trend here?)
changes said sister's diaper (ok, only once in awhile)
gets excited about hair styles, nail polish and many other girly things that I wasn't all that into as a kid
works hard to learn things

still wants to be with me, go wherever I'm going
amazes me on a regular basis because she is smart and empathetic beyond her years
also forgets her math book or lunch on a regular basis so I remember she is still human.

See? There's no need to be afraid of the tween years.