How we celebrated....

Bailee's birthday morning started off with breakfast in bed.  Her choice....crepes.  Didn't matter that we had just had them Saturday, they were delicious!!

She has been wanting to do something different with her hair for a few months, and she decided her 13th birthday was the perfect time.  I had made her an appointment with our favorite stylist and friend...Alicia.  She wasn't ready for anything too drastic and didn't want it short.  She decided on cutting bangs...which she hasn't had since she was a toddler.  Here is the before.....

And after {with Alicia} I think they make her face really pop!!

 After her visit to the salon, I took her on a special lunch date to the Willow Fence Tea Room.  This charming little restaurant is most definitely designed for girls....Tea party hats, antique decor and fancy dishes. Bay said she felt like she was in Alice in Wonderland.  

 It is very small {about 8 tables} and personal and is only open for lunch.  At first glance you wouldn't think much of it, but it is pretty magical inside and the homemade food is delicious.  

It was so fun to have a lunch date with my little "teen" in such a unique setting.

We relaxed a bit for the afternoon until Mark made it home for dinner.  He was actually scheduled to be out of town Monday-Thursday.   When he realized that her would be gone for Bailee's birthday, he rearranged things so he could travel home on Tuesday and then left again Wed. morning to finish his project.  All so he could be with his baby girl on her day:}

Bailee rarely asks for ANYTHING, and her birthday is no exception. The older she gets the more I appreciate this quality.  On one hand it is so nice to have a child that feels perfectly content with what they have {a true rarity nowadays}, but it sure makes it hard to figure out what to get her without just buying something for the sake of buying it:}  The ONLY thing she could come up with for an idea this year was the 3rd book from the Tennis Shoes Series {which Grampa & Grama gave her}.  They also gave her some darling lady bug accessories {because she will always be our little bug}  I am told that grampa even picked the jewelry box out himself....nice job gramps!!

We ended up giving her some cash {I hate that more than you know}, so she can use it when she decides she wants something, or more likely it will sit in her bank account so that if she ever wants anything:}  She also got a few surprises....

 

...lip gloss and a Scentportable from Kars, some new shirts and sandals.....

 Emmrey gave her a mini cake and swimsuits for her AG dolls ....wrapped all by herself and included little "treasures" taped on top:}

 We also surprised her by getting a story she wrote published into a book.  She worked so hard on this for her Faith value project for Personal Progress.

 Bay didn't want a cake this year...just ice cream  So we had a little Ice Cream Bar with all sorts of toppings.

 

We spent the rest of the night playing Clue {classic edition, of course}...another gift she received.  The girls played this for the first time at Grampa & Grama Smith's when we visited for Christmas.  You can't beat a good game of Clue!!

I made her a clothesline of all her birthdays.....I actually had to do a second line....made me happy and sad at the same time:}  Check out the message from Emmrey on our chalkboard....so cute!!

 

 Bailee was beaming all.day.long.  The simple things make this girl happy....something that reminds me she is still the same little bug....even if she is 13:}  We are so blessed to have her in our lives!!
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