And just like that she is 13.
This is a big one. 13. My baby girl is officially a teenager! Granted, she has been acting like a teenager for the past two years 😆 so I feel like we already have some practice going forward in this new chapter of HBear’s life.
When HBear was born I found out what true love was. Watching her grow from a little baby that was completely vulnerable to this independent young woman has been a roller coaster ride. Just when I think I have this parenting thing down… her needs, likes, and personality change overnight.
At first I was sad, at first I was mourning the loss of the baby I took care of, the toddler I encouraged, the elementary school girl I watched with pride and now as a middle schooler enthusiastically taking on any challenge thrown at her! Now as we enter this new phase in her life I am no longer mourning, I am excited at the new prospects and changes our relationship will go through. Here are 13 things about HBear that make her special and so very loved.
1. She is introspective. She thinks about everything on so many different levels. She is not one to get angry and freak out, she likes to take it all in, think about it and come to you a few days later with a discussion, or questions, or even a solution. She thinks about things, maybe too much 😆.
2. She questions things. She questions the world around her. She is a born activist. The past year she listens to the news, reads articles and pays attention to what is going on in the world around her. Living in BC she has seen climate change first hand and the cause has become very important to her.
4. She is smart. Not book smart although she is that too but I mean big picture smart. She can critically think better than most adults I know! Somethings that people may not see are obvious to her. She can extrapolate information based on the little she knows about a subject. This will do her well in life.
5. She is dedicated to dance but it doesn’t control her life. She has taken a little step back this year in order to create balance in her life. She LOVES the emotion of lyrical/contemporary, the upbeat feel of jazz, the musicality of tap, the precision of ballet, and the dirtiness of hip hop. This year she is working on a jazz solo.
6. She has a small group of friends who she is fiercely loyal to. Changing from French to English this year was hard because of the wonderful friends she has made over the past 2 years. I have had the pleasure of meeting all these girls and they are ALL pretty amazing. They are gifted, top racers on the swim team, and soccer stars. They are all high achievers and dedicated to their sports.
7. Family means the world to her. She is a homebody and loves spending time with her family. Seeing her cousins, aunts and uncles after a very LONG year away from them made her extremely happy.
8. She puts in the work. This summer when she came to me and told me that she was having a hard time and and needed help, she mostly expressed to me her willingness to work with her family, her doctors, and with her dance/school teachers to figure out the problem and to begin to learn the tools necessary to help herself. Not once did she say, “I can’t do this“ she said, “how do we do this?“ And that has made all the difference.
9. She is creative. She loves to paint, write poetry/lyrics, and do crafts. It’s very rare to see HBear without paint smudges on her hands and splotches of non-washable paint all over her clothes 😒.
10. She loves to laugh. Her laugh can brighten a whole room. She has a great sense of humour and she enjoys movies like Spaceballs, Monty Python and Pitch Perfect.
11. She is a people pleaser. She loves to make other people smile and she cares about people enough to sacrifice her own wants sometimes to make other people happy. This is a balancing act that as she gets older she needs to learn how to deal with. She needs to learn to please herself but she came to that conclusion on her own and has been working very hard to change her mindset and love herself as much as she loves her family and friends.
12. She is musical! She can play the piano, the guitar, the trombone and has recently fell in love with the drums! She is in concert band, in a jazz combo AND early morning jazz band.
13. She is empathetic. She feels hard and she cares so much about the world around her. She can take on too much and other people’s feelings weigh heavily on her. This is something she will need to learn to balance going forward 💛.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #252: Faaaaan-Tastic HERE! We get together amid birthday chaos to discuss: jobs, pillow cases, supply shortage, gas $, donuts, cake fail, hot lunch, bday, hockey pool update, slideshows & Blur vs Oasis.
For SBean’s family birthday dinner she picked shrimp & bowties in Alfredo sauce. NO VEGETABLES! NO ONIONS! 😂 With garlic bread “not yours Mommy, the bread in the silver bag.” 😆
Buttermilk Pancakes
Adapted from Mom On Timeout
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk in the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla just until combined. Some small lumps are okay.
Let pancake batter rest for 10 minutes.
Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.
Spray with non-stick cooking spray OR brush with butter or oil.
Ladle 1/3 – 1/2 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake.
Flip the pancakes over when small bubbles appear on the surface and continue cooking on the opposite side until golden brown.
Cinnamon Syrup
Adapted from Noble Pig
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup water
In a small saucepan, combine sugars, flour and cinnamon. Stir together until well combined.
Add vanilla and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat until you are ready to use.
Mixed Berry Compote
Adapted from Little Dove Blog
4 cups Frozen Mixed Berries, Berry Medley
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cook frozen berries and honey over medium heat until fully heated.
Turn down heat and continue cooking until liquid has reduced by half. Stir in vanilla and take off heat.
