Sweet Sixteen

Oh, this is a hard post to write!  Our sweet Brooklyn turned sixteen on the sixteenth.  If I refuse to blog about it, can we pretend it never happened?

In some ways, it kind of feels like Brooklyn has been sixteen for a while.  She possesses a depth of maturity and wisdom that belies her years.  She's one of the first people that I turn to when I'm looking for insight and advice.  A sparkling combination of intelligence and enthusiasm, she is fun to hang around.  Even more, she is responsible, motivated, and caring.  A natural leader, this gal is already changing the world in great ways.  Plus, at this very moment she's downstairs cooking dinner, without being asked.  I am awestruck by my daughter.

Celebrating your sweet sixteen is really hard during a pandemic. We felt uncomfortable gathering with friends indoors, and being December it was too cold to do anything outside. While we would have loved to throw Brooklyn an epic golden birthday party, we had to settle for food and family.

The good news is that Brooklyn really enjoys a good meal, and family nearly as much.  We were lucky to have NomiAnn and Papa Kay drive all the way from Nebraska to celebrate with us.  We started off the morning with overnight baked french toast, a birthday favorite ever since we ate it the morning after Annie was born.  Even better, we let Brooklyn open a couple of presents.  After sixteen years, Brooklyn finally got a phone!

She's been waiting for a while.

Aw, I miss those chubby baby cheeks.  Back to my grown-up gal, she got this intriguing box from the Wilhoits.

Surprise!  Funnest cake ever. 

After breakfast, NomiAnn and Brooklyn headed out for a little shopping.  Fortunately they had taken time the day before to make homemade ricotta.  Um, yum!

The ricotta was the star ingredient in our homemade manicotti.  Another decadent win.

The pièce de résistance was our carrot cake supreme.  By this point, I could scarcely move for gluttony.  Brooklyn indulged in the rest of her birthday presents, including some AirPods.  It's hard to imagine a happier teen.

The very happiest of birthdays, beautiful Brooklyn!  

We love you more than our carrot cake is sweet, and hope your birthday was still golden.

***

Addendum:

Here are a few more photos from NomiAnn and Papa Kay's visit.  Low-key and relaxed, we primarily holed up at home pandemic-style.  Good thing Papa Kay brought the fun to us!  (We texted this picture to our friend, Bruce Richards.)

Decorating Ugly Sweater cookies.

Picking up a few last minute Christmas treasures with NomiAnn.

Sharing food, games, stories & puzzles, these days were the perfect way to kick off the season.  

Just glad we kept the Covid to ourselves.