My baby is a teenager!

I can't believe the day finally came. I am the mother of a teenager. Ashley turned 13 on Saturday. Wow. Just wow.

I keep trying to tell myself that it is Ashley, that she is no different than she was a few days before, when she was 12. It's not as if I traded in a young kid and got back a teenager, this is my child, who has been growing and changing for years.

When we have children, our goal is to raise them into responsible, respectful, intelligent adults. I think that somewhere along the way we forget that there is an end goal and we look at them as "ours". We love them, we play with them, we alter our lives to give them everything they need. Then suddenly, one day, they aren't our little babies anymore. They are teenagers and they are pushing us away, they are claiming the independence that we worked so hard to instill in them.

These teen years will be trying, but the payoff will be there down the road. I hope. Enough of this philosophizing! I know you want to hear about the party! :)

The festivities started on Saturday afternoon with our annual trip to Bratfest. Me, Christopher, Ashley and my parents went. We ate some brats, listened to the Boys and Girls Club Drum Line and soaked up the sun.

The party was at 5pm at Rocky's party pizzeria. There were 22 kids (that I was able to count). The kids ate pizza, and cookies and played in the arcade. I think this will be the last year for a party like this, they are right on the edge of wanting to have organized activities and play the arcade games in a group. They did seem to have a lot of fun though and were boisterous, but well behaved.

After the pizza party, Ashley had her 8 best friend's come back to the house. At 9pm, three of the girls left and the rest settled in for the sleepover. They played "The Office Trivia Game", (one of Ashley's gifts) then decided to rip into their fishy snacks. They had shrimp, sushi and caviar. It was fun to watch the faces of the girls who were trying these things for the first time. Ashley even got fish eggs stuck in her braces!

Next, the girls decided to rock out playing Rock Band 2. Christopher and I went up to bed and let them go crazy. Until 4am we heard them belting out Journey and AC/DC and Bon Jovi. They had a blast! The next morning they were exhausted but happy.

Ashley spent Sunday with Jackie, her best best friend. They went to see Star Trek in Imax for the 3rd time! Then they helped Jackie's grandma get the pool ready for the season and ended the night sitting around the firepit with Jackie's family.

Ashley said that this was her best birthday ever, I hope that she remembers it for a long time!