Sydaleigh turns 18!

 Sydaleigh turned EIGHTEEN and to celebrate she had a Roaring '20's themed party with friends! What a sweet, sweet girl she is. She had been planning her birthday for so long, thoughtfully organizing all the details on her pinterest page, from decorations to wardrobe to the cake. She held her party on the 30th this year, as opposed to the 31st. It was such a great night! 

I made her a simple black, heart-shaped cake. I had trouble decorating it so Syd took over and finished the details. It turned out so elegant. 

We decorated the basement like a speakeasy! We bought inflatable "oozy" guns which the guys had fun shooting each other with. We placed candles around the basement to give it a club vibe. 

We had a speak easy menu and non-alcoholic drinks for the kids to mix. 

Syd had a mug shot background for pictures and everyone dressed up in 20's fashion! Fringe, pearls, hats, vests...they all looked the part!

 I bought these gross flavored sodas two years ago to bring as a gag game to Chincoteague for my mom's 70th birthday but forgot to take them out. So instead I gave them to the teens to drink and boy was it funny watching them try each one and the faces they made when the tastes kicked in!

Syd and her friends, Kelly, Jay, Troy, Will, Grady, Lilly, and Rachel all played Monopoly. We made our own "Chance" cards with funny things for the players to do during the game. So much laughter from the basement all night! Sydaleigh had a ball and was so grateful to have spent such a fun evening celebrating  with her friends.    

After her friends left for the evening Sydaleigh came and layed in my lap and shared with me all about her night. She laid there as the clock struck midnight and it officially became December 31st. I had the joy of being the first one to wish her a happy birthday.

ON the morning of her birthday she had the customary pancakes and read her "18 Awesome Things About Sydaleigh" birthday poster. 

Our favorite Bekah came to town to celebrate Syd's birthday and we had lots of girls time sitting and talking in Sydaleigh's room. How my girls love her and look up to her! 

For dinner Sydaleigh picked her favorite restaurant, Chesapeake Market and Deli, and ordered all her favorite foods...mac n cheese, grilled cheese, french fries and broccoli. Dinner was so fun. With Mimi, Bekah, and Troy with us we had very loud, hilarious, animated conversations ranging from politics, religion, and of course mermaids. Sydaleigh was captured here insisting, still, that mermaids are real. I don't think Troy realized that Sydaleigh truly is holding out hope that this is true! HA! 

While we were sitting and talking fireworks started going off across the street at Herrington Harbor right at 7:30pm, when Sydaleigh was born 18 years ago in Florida! We rushed outside to watch and take pictures! It was such a special moment. 

When we got home we opened presents and my Mom gave Syd a special Burkina notecard she had saved these last nine years. Syd knew at once were it was from and almost cried from sentiment. 

Troy got her this custom nurse lego!

I was not about to make another cake since there was so much left from her cake from just the night before. So, we hilariously stuck candles in her partly eaten cake and called it good! 

We played a Twilight board game and our new family favorite, Tapple. We died laughing so many times. 

Sydaleigh finished the night by ringing in the New Year watching the ball drop. 

It was a beautiful 24 hours celebrating our girl. So many special moments from this day. How blessed we are that she is ours. I can hardly believe I have had EIGHTEEN years with Sydaleigh Jayne. She is now a legal adult. And while the world may see her as an adult, and there are many adult things she is legally able to do...there are still so many parts of her that remain young and beautifully child-like. 

Sydaleigh at 18

She is my thinker, about everything. She is my planner and organizer. She has everything planned out. Her whole life and future is neatly organized on Pinterest! 

She loves to help people. 

She most assuredly wants to be a nurse as her career. 

She started volunteering in patient health at the hospital near the end of summer. She has gotten to know many of the nurses and become very familiar with the nurses patient routines. She has learned so much already.

She is SO excited to go to Salisbury for college! AND she just found out her best girlfriend Kelly is going there too, and they plan on being roommates. Syd told me today when she got home from school, "I'm excited to go off to college. I'm ready. I'm looking forward to starting my new life there." 

She worked for her 3rd year as a lifeguard over the summer.

Hates moths, like her sister. 

plans to run an obstacle race in the spring to challenge herself

LOVES the gym and weight lifting. Her PR for the leg press is 300 lbs! 

still loves being a big sister. Loves to boss her siblings around still. Just over the weekend when her and Marvelly went to Harris Teeter before going to Northern HS to watch the Alice by Heart play, Marvelly said Sydaleigh proceeded to boss her (in kind, just good sisterly fun!) throughout the store to get stuff to buy. Her bond with Marvelly is strong,

She drives Marvelly to school every single morning and often picks her up for me. 

Really misses her cool red convertible and thinks her new car is nice but "boring"

Started taking college classes at the community college in the Fall and already has almost 20 credits. She is SO proud of herself and gave herself a goal to try to get her first year of college done her senior year in high school. She is almost there! She has done EXCELLENT in her college courses and will no doubt be well prepared for Salisbury. 

She loves eating lunch with me when she gets home from school and watching a show together. We just finished watching the entire series of Poldark and also finished Gilmore Girls (she did not like Rory) and  Modern Family (loved Sofia Vergara's character).

still is obsessed with Robert Pattinson from Twilight

really likes watching Young Sheldon and rewatching all her old favorite children movies, particularly the Barbie movies, How to Train your Dragon, and all things princesses. 

She is incredibly disciplined when she sets her mind to something. She is currently not eating sugar in honor of lent, and she has not eaten anything with sugar, no cheating, in order to honor her commitment. I admire this quality about her so much.

She is still very ticklish. 

She loves to get her back rubbed and still tells me "underneck" when she wants me to rub her neck with my nails. 

A total girlie girl who loves to wear dresses and get dressed up but equally loves wearing oversized sweat pants and sweatshirts.

She loves all things skin care and nail care. 

loves going barefoot as she says shoes "are the shackles of society."

collects Nutcrackers and fancy barbie dolls

does not like that I don't keep the refrigerator organized

does not like the winter and is looking forward to Spring. 

after she gets married one day she wants to own a white plantation style home, with 200 acres, and a homestead, with at least five horses (all of which will be rescue horses)

Wants to have a daughter that she hopes to name Rosalee. 

is still Bailey's favorite playmate. She lets him jump all over her and bite up her hands. But def treats him like a little brother. Today in the basement she was doing the "airplane" with him. 

LOVES to read. Her current favorite genre is historical fiction but her favorite book series of all time is Delirium. 

Very sensitive and passionate.

has a great sense of humor and the best laugh

thought the movie the "Martian" was pronounced "Mar-tee-en" (2/26/24)

cries when watching Jesus movies and shows (she loves The Chosen!)

legally able to vote. 

She joined Young Republicans club at school (run by Ms. Lascerna her favorite teacher) and really wanted Vivek Ramaswamy to become our next president and was quite disappointed when he dropped out of the race. It's been very cool to see her take an interest in our country's government.