Sixteen?!?! It can't be!

I'm sure that it was just a month or two ago that her preschool teachers remarked on her cute little rolls of leg fat and told me that they all wanted to just sit in a rocking chair with her and snuggle her like a baby. To which I replied, "I dare ya to try." LOL

At only 3 years old she was soooo independent. She rarely allowed anyone to help her put on her shoes or coat which made for a very extended exit where ever we went.

And if we should leave the house and not take her with us there was a very intricate goodbye ritual that we had to follow.
Kiss. Hug. Kiss. Hug.
Then she would say, "Bye! Have a good day! Have a nice good day!"
And you had to repeat it back to her just the same way.

The very first song that she would really sing along with on the radio was this.
And her very favorite line was...
"She can kiss the ground in the winter time
And make a flower grow.
Let me tell ya now,
friend, ("FWEND" very loudly!)
Don't take her she's all I got...."

When she was about 6 years old her greatest ambition was to "Work at McDonald's or drive the ice cream truck."

When I was pregnant with Emily she and I would watch "A Baby Story" together and we would both cry while we watched the new babies being born. She has always LOVED babies.

When Emily was born we had to establish a rule that Kenzie couldn't be within 3 feet of the baby while any of her older sisters was holding it. You wouldn't believe it if you saw the way they fight now. LOL

Now, just a blink of an eye later, she is sixteen years old. She wants to be a midwife and is already taking classes in school to help her achieve that goal. It still takes an eternity to get her out the door. And now that she won't be getting an allowance anymore maybe she can realize that Golden Arches dream at last. ;) She has a boyfriend and will soon have her drivers license.

She invited a few friends over for a RockBand Party last night and they had a good time. It was fun to see her enjoying herself with her friends (and a couple of siblings).
My friend, Misty made her this awesome guitar cake. Jaxon was so impressed by it that, upon seeing it, he immediately attempted to strum the thing! Ooops! We should have held his hands I guess. I tried to repair the damage as best I could. Kenzie just laughed and said it was going to get eaten soon anyway. She's my even tempered one.
Roger's Mom always used to comment that, "Mackenzie is so quiet you never even knows she's on the place."

My supply of birthday candles was pretty pathetic so, at Kaylee's suggestion, we used some "special math" and put a 7 and nine 1's on the cake. LOL

I hope she gets her wish.
I think.
I mean she IS a teenager. Ugh!
How did this happen?
I insist on holding her and rocking her right this minute!

Seriously tho, she's intelligent, funny, beautiful, talented and all around AWESOME. I hope she knows how much I love her and how proud I am of her.
Happy 16th Birthday Kenzie!