Perfect Day... Beautiful Girl...

At 4:12 p.m. on January 16th in the year 2000, Kyle, MaKayla & I welcomed a new addition into our family. She didn't come as expected...emergency c-section (another one of those, if I'd only known then what I know now situations...) and although the delivery itself & our new baby girl's first few moments were quite uncertain & scary, she was healthy all the same. Kyle named her Mallary Nicole since I was out of commission for her first few hours of life (general anesthetic does that to ya) & after a short, uneventful stay in the hospital, we brought our precious bundle of love home. There wasn't much transitioning since MaKayla remained at the hospital with us from shortly after Mal's birth until we were released. Mallary was a baby that battled colic for the first three months of her life & if you've never been around a baby with colic, just take my word that it's a struggle & could easily cause the daddy of the family to arrive at craziness...I'll leave it at that... After Mal's three-month stint of "crankiness" subsided (it left just as quickly as it came), she has been an emittance of total & absolute JOY to all those she is around & most especially to our family.

A few years back Kyle decided that he wanted to start taking the day of our birthdays off from work if they fell during the week. Yesterday was no exception... Mal was super excited when she found out Tuesday evening that her daddy was going to be home with us to share & enjoy her birthday! :)

It was a monumental one as she became a teenager...the big 13!!!

From start to finish we had a blast...

 

Yearly "spanking"... :)

 We always let the girls choose their birthday meals & much to my dismay & very much against our paleo diet plan, Mal chose cinnamon & sugar donuts. I would humbly admit that I was a wee bit cranky fixing these beauties as I was only imagining all the toxicity that we would be pouring into our bodies when we sat down to eat them...

Oil...

Canned processed biscuits... 

Sugar...

 I gulped down my crankiness & fixed them anyway...

 

 She was thrilled...

 

 I love the progression of these next pictures as you can tell by the smile on her face & the various angles that she gazes at this delicacy that she can hardly believe her mom actually fixed such unhealthy food & was actually going to let her eat them... ♥

 

 The smile gets bigger with each picture I take... :)

 

 Have to have a candle for the birthday girl...

 

 

All smiles...

 A piano lined with gifts...

Gifts wrapped to fit Mal's vibrant personality... ♥

 

Kyle decided Mal needed serenaded with his uke...

"Happy Birthday" with a Hawaiian twist... :)

 



 

 

Infamous 'Hoops & Yoyo' card specifically chosen by the male gender in the fam... ♥

 

 

Gifts that fit Mal perfectly...

 

 

Music that she has been wanting...

 Candles that she loves to fragrance her room with...

 

 

I "blinged" this package out & to no surprise it was her favorite... ♥

 

New boots (she outgrew the other ones in only a few months... Now they're mine...)

 

 



 The most special gift of all for her special 13th birthday... ♥

 

 Love her expression in this one... ♥

 

 

Pictures do often speak a thousand words... ♥

 

Kyle & I decided long ago that at some point, when we felt our girls were ready, we would gift them with a purity ring. Mal hasn't been much of a jewelry girl up until recently & as we have seen her grow & mature in the Lord so much this past year, we knew it was time... ♥

 

 

We had several rings we were choosing from but this one seemed perfect.

Mallary's tastes are very simple & specific.

We felt this would fit exactly what she would want & she loved it!

 

We all worked together to make cupcakes to take to church...

 She listened to a song on Youtube that MaKayla had sent her way... ♥

 

 

Another fave meal of Mal's...

Kyle's grilled cheeseburgers & fries...

(So not paleo...)

 

New MU jammies to match Dad's... ♥

MaKayla was just as much if not more excited about Mal's birthday than Mal was...

Love the love they share! ♥

Cupcake with HOT PINK buttercream frosting for dessert...

And since we had no ice cream, we substituted a little French Vanilla whipped cream on the side...

(So, so, so NOT paleo...)

 

A good game of Spoons & a movie to end Mal's day! 

 

It truly was a perfect day for such a beautiful girl... ♥

Our girl... ♥

 

She received texts from Uncle Mark, Bri & D & friend Vicki...

She was sent facebook messages from Aunt Marci, MaKayla, Joleen, Janet, CJ, Penny & Sherry...

She got calls from Grandpa Billy & Grandma Sharon...

 

As I woke & started a new day today, I found myself deeply thankful for Mal's life & all that God has in store for her in the coming days, months & years. I found myself thankful for those who love her & have helped to shape her into the beautiful girl she is today... She radiates the love & joy of Christ & I am blessed beyond measure to be called her momma... ♥

 

Happy 13th Beautiful One...

I. Love. You.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥