The Phenomenal Mama: Happy 13th to My B Girl!

Happy Birthday my sweet and strong B!

They say parents can determine their child’s personality within the first month of life. As a mother of three, I have found this to be true. I remember when B was a month old, as soon as the sun went down, her mood seemed to shift as well. She would cry incessantly for upto an hour, and no amount of cuddling, rocking, feeding, playing could distract her high-pitched cries. The doctor said that she developed colic and it would soon go away on its own. But for months on end, I was stressed from her screaming.

Fast forward to now, I still see slight remnants of colic in my newly minted teenager. But instead of screams, I see it in her strong will and the way she is purposeful when she wants something. She is strong-willed. Determined. Spirited. Brilliant. Smart. Passionate. Confident.

She is chatty and can talk endlessly, as I tell it in this post. She is really friendly and is blessed to have a handful of really tight + loyal friends, as I shared in this post.

My strong-willed child is likely going to grow into an even stronger-willed teenager. God bless me!:)

Her passion and determination can be a good thing! And she is passionate about a lot of things...

She is passionate about good food and cooking, and is my earnest kitchen helper.

She loves and excels in math, and is the only one among my kids who is begging for advanced math classes during the summer.

She has recently taken up an interest in guitar, and is taking lessons for it.

She loves reading up on history, and is at ease discussing Alexander the Great, Hitler, Cleopatra, Martin Luther King with anyone who cares to listen.

She is also into anime, Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, and could talk about those endlessly with her best friends.

She also wants to know my opinion about Donald Trump's campaign, Maria Sharapova's doping, Grace Poe's citizenship issues. She forces me to brush up on current events because of her natural curiosity about everything.

During her grade school graduation last year.

She promised her dad during the start of her grade 6 school year that she would graduate

with honors and make her dad go up the stage to pin that medal.

And she did work hard to make it come true!!

B, As you turn thirteen, I know that each day you will grow and let go of us a little more, but know that we will always be here for you. Be true to yourself and most important, always believe in yourself. Always let your amazing self shine. I admire you for always standing your ground and not allowing other people to tell you how to act or who to be.

Know that God has blessed you with everything you need to succeed in life. Be grateful for them, enjoy them, make good use of them. You dad and I will always be by your side to hold your hand, cheer you on, pick you up.

Thank you for being the sweetest! I live for your tight hugs and kisses. I love you!

* * * * *

I know B always look forward to sharing sweet treats with her friends on her birthday, so the day before her birthday, I spent the whole day baking. It's almost a tradition with her that she requests for cookies and cupcakes to share with her good friends on her special day.

When she came home from school last Friday, she was gushing as she told me that she was so happy about the surprise her best friends prepared for her. And how her friends shared the coookies that she gave them in school; batchmates who she don't even talk to her went up to her to ask her if they can buy cookies from her because they were that good daw! Ayyy! She knows how to flatter me! hahaha! Of course she always says things that makes my heart so full.

The carrot cupcakes were for her best friends in school. The girls loved it so much! And even J's friends were raving about it that she's thinking of baking another batch to bring when she has a sleepover later in the month.

I remember I have some old DIY decors hiding in our third floor storage, so I had it brought down. I woke up extra early on her birthday and decorated our dining room with re-purposed decor to surprise our little miss.

Through the years, she has made numerous requests, and I always try to give in whenever I can. She has always preferred homemade over store-bought cookies, just like me. I have always showed the kids that something homemade, something made with our own hands is more valuable than anything that can be bought from the store because we gave up something so precious to make it... we gave up our time.

She has, in previous years, asked me to make cookies in the shape of evening gowns:

There was that one year that she was crazy over kokeshi dolls and she asked for a kokeshi-themed party. And I made her birthday wish come true! Shempre, #bestmomever lang ang peg!