Happy Birthday to Kyla -- Sweet 16!

My sweet baby girl turned 16 on June 21, so I'm late (shocking, I know) getting these pictures up.


We began her birthday celebration with a day of shopping at various places in Bridgeport, on the Saturday before her birthday. Kyla had fun telling her dad that she got her nose pierced while we were out shopping. The fake nose rings came with a choker set that she wanted.



She is an amazingly gifted artist (talent she does not get from her mother). So, in wondering what to do to make "sweet 16" extra special, I decided to have a surprise party for her and some friends at Davinci & Dessert. 

And she was surprised -- even though her younger siblings inadvertently found out about it. :)


On her birthday, Kyla had a lunch date with her dad (because he's braver than mom) at Fujiyama where she enjoyed her sushi rainbow rolls and mochi ice cream (green tea and red bean...I know you want some. lol)

Later in the afternoon, she was wondering when we were going to have birthday cake. I just smiled and said something about not planning to have any since she went out for lunch. While trying not to giggle at her crestfallen expression, I told her she and I were going out later.

"Where?"

"You'll have to wait to find out."

"But I need to know now."

"Sorry."

"But..."

We left the house at 5:30 and she was feeling tentative, since she's not crazy about surprises (hee, hee) and she likes to be in control of everything (wonder where she gets that from??). When we pulled into the Big Lots Plaza, she says, "Oh...I know exactly where we're going." (In a not-very-excited-bordering-on-smarmy way.)

After a brief exchange regarding how it was going to be weird and lame with people she didn't know telling her what to do, we walked inside. Her friends blew on the the (lame) party horns I bought from Dollar General and pathetically yelled "Surprise!" (haha) It worked out well, though, because Kyla might have actually started crying from nerves, if they'd yelled in a more coordinated and louder fashion.





Kyla painted our lab, Daisy



The girls painted "Love Tree"


They went on to paint, eat pizza and ice cream filled cupcakes, and Kyla opened her gifts. It was a great evening -- even Kyla said so! (Those of you know that when a 16 yr old says it's good, it must be good. :)

Our beautiful, sweet Kyla is such a blessing to us. As hard as it is to look at pictures of her through the years and see how she's grown, it is equally hard to wish her to be little again, since every stage of her life is exciting to watch.

May God continue to bless you and to use you for His glory. We are thankful that He has given us the privilege of being your parents. We love you, Kyla!



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