Taylor is Twelve

My baby girl turned 12 yesterday. Holy moly! Next year she will be a teenager. I can hardly stand to think about that. Watching her grow is like watching running water. I try to grasp the water but it slips through my fingers. Taylor has grown and matured so much in the past 12 months. It is really crazy to me how much I look at her as a young adult instead of a child now. I certainly expected that I would feel this way when she is 14 or 15 but certainly not at age 11. 

I have so many things to share about my girl. I hope I can capture most of it in my notes below. 

• Taylor is absolutely gorgeous. Maybe I am biased, but I think she is the prettiest girl in her school. She has beautiful, thick long hair, a slender figure, blue eyes, and straight teeth. She's had a little bit of acne here and there over the past year, but nothing abnormal.
• Taylor had her last baby tooth pulled by her dentist last summer. Twenty teeth gone! She is ready for Round 2 of braces (oh goody!). We are shopping this around with a few orthodontists because I think $5,500 - $7,000 is crazy expensive for a second round of orthodontia.
• At 11 years and one month old, Taylor started her period. We were shopping at Costco when she discovered it. I am so grateful that she and I were together (and without her brothers) when we went into the bathroom at Costco. I always worried that I would miss that moment in her life but I am grateful it worked out perfectly.
• Last year, on my birthday, I showed Taylor how to shave her legs. Her leg hairs were long and dark. It was time. I taught her with a real razor and I have yet to hear of any major cuts.
• I watched Taylor getting ready for bed last night and smiled to myself. She was wearing these cozy camo sweatpants and a super soft t-shirt. I watched as she brushed her luscious long hair and then wrapped it up into a pony with her sleep mask attached to it. I laugh that she sleeps with a sleep mask but it is her thing. I think she's adorable.
• After many years of battles at bedtime, Taylor is easy to tuck in now. I usually put the boys to bed first and then swing by her room. She is usually snuggled under her covers reading a book. We have a quick chat followed by a big hug (sometimes a prayer) and I say goodnight. I remember the years and years when it was an absolute battle to get her to bed, so I am grateful for how far we've come.
• Despite remote learning, Taylor has rocked her transition to middle school. She made the honor roll her first trimester of middle school. She had straight As with the exception of an A- in Advanced Language Arts. I am super proud of her for excelling in such an adverse environment.
• She is moody moody moody. Sometimes I freeze when I hear her walk downstairs in the morning because I never know which Taylor I am going to get. Will she be in a good mood? Will see be pissed about something? Will she be pissed at me? It doesn't help that Covid has been oh so stressful for all of us. 
• Taylor is a slob. Last week, she spent two nights with Grandma and Pop Pop (she was having a rough week so they had her over for a change of scenery). While she was gone, I took the opportunity to clean her room. Ohmigosh, it was so so so gross. There were wrappers everywhere, bags of half-eaten cheetos in her desk drawer, dirty underwear under her bed, and crap everywhere. I picked up pens, markers, paper scraps, hair ties, single socks, lip gloss, nail polish, and more from her floor. I truly cannot understand how she spends so many hours a day in her room with it looking that way. Yuck.
• Taylor has the loudest hiccups ever. Ever!
• T's favorite food is bread. She loves carbs! I watch her eat a loaf of bread with envy. During Covid, Tommy started baking bread for fun, and Taylor just loves to scarf them down. He made a couple of loaves for her birthday last night. So sweet! Taylor also loves avocados, yogurt, and candy. Strangely, you do not like chocolate or donuts. 
• Taylor's favorite restaurant is Tapatio. Our good 'ole standby. We can hardly wait to eat there in person again.
• Her best friends are Julia Keyes, Ella Cousins, Harper Brown, Olivia Burdick, Taylor Crumpacker, and Lauryn Brown. Last weekend, we had a sleepover with Julia, Ella, Harper, and Olivia. It is a long story, but I borrowed my friend Ruthie's empty house for the sleepover since our rental house is not really ideal for extra girls. The girls are all super cute together. I just love watching them interact. 
• I can't decide if Taylor is an introvert or an extrovert. She exhibits both qualities. She is extroverted with friends and in social settings but shy around people she does not know.
• A few months ago, I took Taylor's iPad and perused through it. I've told her that I have the right to take her iPad at any time to see what she has been looking at, who she has been messaging, etc. Anyways, I saw a video of an online quiz Taylor did. One of the questions was, "What is most important to you?" Her answer? "My mom." 
• T's favorite color is teal.
• When Taylor grows up, she's talked about being a teacher or an interior designer. One thing is for certain, Taylor wants to be a mom! She adores children and tells me all the time that she can't wait to have a baby. When I tell her she needs to wait for many many more years, she asks if I'll have another one. I just laugh and reminder her that I am too old!
• Our recent TV obsession has been Kobra Cai and The Greenhouse Academy. I just love when the five of us find a show that we all look forward to watching.
• Sadly, Taylor quit dance last week. The online zoom classes did her in. She started dancing in a hybrid mode last fall, and she scaled back to only taking jazz and contemporary. Well, fast forward to November, and the Covid restrictions required the studio to cancel all hybrid classes and move all of them to remote only. Well, Taylor hated dancing on zoom. She started showing anxiety days before her dance class and it just became too much of a battle. She started negotiating with me which classes she could skip, and I finally drew a line in the sand - I am not going to continue paying for classes that she is not attending. Despite the fact that I was a dancer, I am not super upset that she quit dance. I am just upset that she put so much focus on dance for a few years and now gave it up. I pray she finds a new activity that brings her joy.
• Taylor and several of her friends signed up for a soccer training session for the next six weeks. The first session was last Sunday morning, and I took all five girls from the slumber party. I was surprised when we arrived to see even more girls from Taylor's school. It was awesome to watch them all playing together. I have no idea if this will encourage Taylor to play soccer more, but she enjoys it and has fun for now.
• Taylor joined a small group through our church/youth group. It meets weekly, or bi-weekly, this winter. I am proud of her for having the courage to join a group and put herself out there. I hope the group provides a safe sounding board for her as she navigates such strange times. 
• Recently, Taylor has become obsessed with a game called The Sims 4. She plays it on my old laptop, and she is cooped up in her room for hours playing it. I struggle so much with this - I feel like she needs to spend less time on her computer, but at the same time, it entertains her during a time when there is so little to do otherwise. Ugh. 

Taylor, I am beyond proud to be your mom. You are my dream come true. I have a daughter who is kind, thoughtful, sweet, loving, beautiful, giving, and you have a heart for Jesus. What more could I pray for? Maybe a cleaner bedroom... :) I love you beyond all measure of space and time!

Update after Taylor's 12-year well check:

Weight: 86.5 lbs, 37th percentile, down from the 53rd percentile last year.

Height: 60.5 inches, 60th percentile*

BMI: 26th

*If Taylor's pediatrician is correct, she is about done growing. :( Taylor grew 4.25 inches between ages 9 and 10; 3.5 inches between ages 10 and 11; and only 1.25 inches between 11 and 12. Because her growth peaked at 4.25 inches a couple of years ago, the pediatrician believes she'll only grow for another year to 18 months. I am still holding our for 5'5"!