Sophie is 15!

She's had a birthday shout hurray!  Sophie's birthday has come and gone and with it, hopefully enough pomp and circumstance to make her feel special.  Since I'm a big believer in ascertaining expectations for occasions like this, I had Sophie help me sketch out a brief checklist on Friday of what needed to be done in order to make this the celebration of her dreams -- and then I set out to make it work.  And work it did!  For the most part.  The only real fly in the ointment was when Alex point blank refused to accompany the family to the skating rink for Sophie's requested "party" venue and -- since he has too much anxiety to stay home alone -- I had to stay behind as well.  It made for a rough hour or two beforehand, but I think once Sophie was at the rink with her friends and the rest of the family, everything was awesome.  

For her actual birthday day (a Monday), we celebrated by picking up bagels for breakfast on the way to school and outsourcing dinner that evening.  We saved the whole cake, presents, and party thing for Friday night and -- other than the aforementioned potential catastrophe that was Alex's refusal to tag along to the skating rink -- it was a good time!

(Sophie requested a Squishmallow for her birthday -- Jane was more than happy to oblige.)

(Sophie's requested "cake" this year was made from Lemon Oreos.  Basically I broke up a couple of packs of Lemon Oreos, scraped out the filling (which I melted to pour on top of the whole thing), and mixed it up Rice Krispie Treat style with melted marshmallows.  The heart bundt pan is one we've had hanging around for years, and -- since her birthday is so close to Valentine's Day -- we've used it a time or two in the past.)

(For some reason, it took a VERY long time to explain what exactly a "Caboodle" was to the girls.  They eventually got the picture, and I think Sophie appreciated it along with the makeup she got in her other gifts.)

(The rest of her gifts consisted of a TON of candy.)

Since Sophie is my one child whose Love Language is definitively "words of affirmation," I'll close out this post with 15 ways in which she is amazing...

1. Her writing skills are top-notch
2. She keeps an insanely long list of potential plots for movies or books she wants to write
3. She's always trying new baking recipes for the rest of us to try -- even though she usually can't eat any of them because of her food allergies
4. I can always count on her to apologize and show remorse in the aftermath of a freak out fit
5. She's a budding fashionista
6. She is a voracious reader these days
7. She's incredibly self-aware
8. And highly intelligent
9. And articulate
10. She has very decided opinions on almost everything
11. When she's on a cleaning kick, she is very thorough
12. She's conscientious about taking care of her things
13. She's awesome at showing gratitude
14. Her dimples are adorable
15. She cares about other peoples' feelings

And that's a wrap!  Happy Birthday to Sophie!!!