Thirteen!

Guess who had a birthday on January 5th!?!? Our Baby Mary is a teenager now! We had her party on Friday, one day before her big day, because, get this . . . I thought Friday WAS her birthday. That's what I get for not looking at a calendar. But it worked out fine because it was still winter break and her friends were around no matter which day we'd picked.

One thing I really appreciate about Mary is that she has great friends. They are fun and funny and nice and just good girls. She invited her closest pals over: Sara, Bella, Nikki, Taya, and Katy, who moved away to Logandale but was able to come for the party. Highlights of the evening included playing Murder in the Dark (which involved A LOT of screaming), a burping contest (which Mary won), and playing Quelf. Mary was super excited and animated so much that my every attempt to calm her or to get her to lower her voice backfired. It was one of the loudest stretches of time I have ever experienced.

Her cake and crown.

Party girls on the left: Bella, Katy, and Sara. On the right: Taya and Nikki.

She got perfect things from her friends: a Wizard 101 gift card from Nikki, candy and a journal from Taya, a little glass frog from Sara, and a blank book and art supplies from Bella. Katy is giving Mary's gift to her later on. Mary just loved Sara's homemade card to her which said, "To my good-for-nothing friend Mary. I was going to get you a gift card, but then I decided not to waste that much money on you. So I went to the dollar store, but everything cost too much...." It went on and on and Mary was dying laughing.

Only a good friend can roast you like that!

One of the many times I tried for a normal picture and she did something goofy when the camera flashed.

She was quite amused by the tiny rhinoceros snow globe I got her.

If this doesn't show you how wound up she was . . . she stood up and danced on her chair while we sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

After much coaxing she posed quietly.

But she couldn't reign it in for long!

At least she had a good time.

All the girls went home except for Katy, who spent the night. We have a no-sleep-over rule except for out-of-town guests (and cousins) so Mary was super excited to spend extra time with Katy.

The next day I took the girls to Subway (Mary's favorite) and then to see the last Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn: Part 2.  It was a nice girly afternoon. Then I had to take Katy back, and there were many weeepings and wailings. It's hard to have your friends move, even if it's only 90 minutes away.

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Do you know how much I love my Mary? She is such a wonderful, talented, beautiful, kind girl and she has brought me the greatest gift I could ever know--the love of a mother for her daughter.

Happy Birthday, Mary!