My Girl-Of Course She Is

Remember when you were a sixth grader?  Maybe your parents started to give you a little more freedom, maybe you were allowed stay up a little later at night, maybe you could talk your parents into switching from Oldies 96 to CK105.5 on the radio, maybe boys weren't quite so unappealing as they were just a year prior.  Well, I've got a sixth grade girl now, and it's a whole lot different than having a sixth grade boy.

My girl tried something new this year-ice skating.  She took a few figure skating classes and seemed to enjoy them...

but then we had the chance to try ice hockey as a family, and Emerson was hooked.

I'm still holding out hope that she'll be a runner, though.  With the bribe of having her own Instagram account, I somehow got her to train for and run a 5k race last summer.  That's right-she ran three times a week for eight weeks and kicked butt in a trail 5k race!  Check out that smile as she crossed the finish line, despite the pouring rain!  (I see ultramarathons in her future-I'm sure of it!)

My girl has a major sweet tooth.  I'm talking HUGE.  But I think her favorite thing to eat is pickles!  If she finds a jar of pickles in the fridge, she claims them as her own.  Last summer we even made our own pickles from the garden and of course Emerson was in HEAVEN.

My girl has a slight obsession.  I guess we should not try to avoid the elephant in the room.  Emerson is obsessed with cats. And not just living cats, anything cat-related is also completely irresistible to her. Cat pillows, cat pajamas, cat calendars, cat ears, cat costumes, and even visits to the Humane Society to visit the cats.

Oh, and we can't forget Gypsy, the kitten who followed us home on a run and stuck around as an outdoor cat and then became an inside cat when the temperature dipped below zero and  then had kittens and is Emerson's pride and joy, CAN WE?

Despite all of the cat things consuming her life, my girl still finds time to snuggle with chickens and dogs wherever we go.  And while all of our other chickens have old lady names, Emerson's chicken is named Tatiana.

My girl is a kaleidoscope.  She is always experimenting with makeup and clothing and hairstyles.  Sometimes her look changes by the hour.  And while she's in her room re-creating herself, she's keeping track of all of it.  She makes YouTube and Music.ly videos non-stop.  In fact, just today in Tim Hortons, I looked up to find her dancing in the aisle to a song for her next video. I started to gather my photos to post a few, but I realized I had way more than just a few.  Here's a little sampling of everything that is currently Emerson, set to one of her favorite songs...



My girl is a social butterfly.  While my other children are content with just a close friend or two, Emerson always has a broad circle of friends.  Her weekends are filled with sleepovers here or there and hanging out with other friends in between.  And if nothing is planned for a weekend, she can fill the days in an unbelievably short amount of time.  We hosted a birthday party sleepover with all of her besties last weekend, and man-oh-man do they have her pegged.  Her gifts included coffee, coffee cups, funny t-shirts and SO. MUCH. CANDY.  I'm talking six or seven boxes of Nerds PLUS many other sweets.  I love that her group of friends is so diverse-it ranges from her second grade sister, to girls in sixth grade with her, to cousins, to even me.  (I will hold on to her letting me hang with her as long as possible!)  Again, I tried to gather a few photos of Em with her friends, and came up with a zillion, so here's a little clip of what her social circle looks like...

Emerson is twelve years old today.  Instead of cake or pie or cupcakes, my girl opted for truffles to celebrate.  (Of course she did.)

It's her last year before she becomes a teenager.  She's not a baby anymore and she's actually pretty mature, if you ask me.  As I give her more responsibilities, she rises to the challenge.  I am careful not to treat her like an adult, though.  She's got a lot more living to do before she's ready for that, and I think she's happy about it.  Emerson is content to be a kid-she's not in a rush to be all grown up and moving on.

But when she does?  She's got plans.  When she goes to college, she doesn't want a dorm or apartment-she wants to design her own tiny house.  Why, you ask?  Well, it'll cost less in the long run, it'll be hers to keep for as long she likes, she can take it with her wherever she goes and back home again, but most importantly, ALL of her cats can live with her and she can become the crazy cat lady she longs to become.

That's my girl.

Happy Birthday, Em. Mom loves you.