Whitney is 12!!!

Our Whitney Michele is now 12 years old! I have thought that this past year has been like the first year all over again because she has grown and matured so dramatically. Childhood was left behind this year and she turned into a young lady. This was the first year where she did not ask for any toys for Christmas. She said goodbye to Primary and hello to Young Womens. Developed her first case of puppy love. It is all a little bittersweet for me. There is a part of me that would like to keep her a child forever. I know that is not the natural order of things though. Watching her grow and develop has been one of my life's greatest pleasures. She never ceases to amaze me with her talents, abilities and outlook on life.

The birthday girl and her guests. Front row, left to right: Katelynn, Alexis, Whitney and Jayden
Back row: Shannan, Ayla, Tori and Czarina

Chris and I kept asking her what she wanted to do for her birthday this year and she kept saying "I don't know". Very unWhitneylike to say the least! It was driving me crazy. Finally a sleepover party was decided upon. This was the most poorly planned party she has ever had which was hard for me. Her birthday fell on a Saturday this year so Friday night her friends came over. They started out with pizza followed by the opening of gifts.


Then they made smores in the backyard fire pit.

One of her birthday requests was that she wanted giant bows on her presents. Monkey see, monkey do! Landon had to have a bow on his head too.

Next up was make over time. They took turns making each other over. I wish I had some gotten some photos of the girls with their new looks. Though I did get a picture of best/most dramatic make over of the night ...

Chris! Doesn't he look beautiful? Cake time was next. Then they watched a couple movies and finally went to sleep around 2 a.m. and woke up about 7:30. Much more sleep than I expected from them. That morning they breakfasted on chocolate chip waffles topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Sausage and of course BACON were also served. Once her guests had gone home Chris and I took just her out to lunch at Olive Garden. She also wanted to see the latest Harry Potter movie so I took them to see that while Chris stayed home with Ashlyn and Landon.

Whitney, Ashlyn, Alexis, Shannan and Tori waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive.