i am flabbergasted to share that my dearest, darling baby girl is FOURTEEN years old today. i honestly can’t believe it. maybe because she is my youngest, i never anticipated that she would actually grow up. but in her powerful, spicy, hilarious, cheeky way she has marched ahead and become a full-on teenager, a YOUNG WOMAN even (i can’t say “lady” - she burps and swears like a sailor!) this last year has been a doozy with loads of changes and milestones both for lucy and for our whole family: her bat mitzvah, theo preparing to leave home for college, ALL of us planning a move to california this summer, lucy’s grammy worthy lashes, theo’s mustache, the sale of both of our boulder homes, the purchase of our new berkeley house and lu preparing to attend my old high school… JUICE THE JACKETS! i have already pulled out my old cheer uniform for her - maybe she will wear it for halloween?

(i was so PROUD of lucy’s poise and beautiful chanting - she does NOT get that from me! - as she led the service during her bat mitzvah)

(she wore her first pair of heels as she paraded around that humongous torah and i was worried she would topple over, but she nailed it!)

(having been through theo’s bar mitzvah, i was much better prepared to plan lucy’s… the most difficult part was finding a party dress we both liked - lucy wanted something super festive and i didn’t want her to look like she was being trafficked… we were both happy with this pink, sequined one! some favorite moments from the celebration: lucy playing trumpet with her dad and brother…)

(the candle lighting)

(lulu up in the horah chair)

(after a rain storm in new orleans, our new FAVORITE city… theo is headed to tulane!)

(she’s always had california in her heart…this is pre mascara and giant lashes)

(theo’s current mustache isn’t quite as thick as this one, but we are still impressed with it!)

(here i am in my very modest cheer outfit - it’s nearly down to my knees - with thick bangs and 80’s perm with my darling girlfriend who was pom… lucy’s new school, berkeley high, is in the background!)

i MISS my little peapod of a babela bu who would fall asleep in my arms sucking her two middle fingers or spend HOURS learning how to wink (she’s an expert now) or make outrageous faces (she still does this) but i am in AWE of her strength and inner fortitude in the face of so many changes and challenges, some great sadnesses and deeply disappointing experiences, as well as some superstar triumphs. she has a power and resilience that i am sure i did not possess at fourteen. so while i miss my baby lu, i am so EXCITED to see what new adventures she will embark on in the coming year. and i am eternally GRATEFUL to be the mother of such a ferocious, empathetic, engaging, one-dimpled, sparkly girl with a heart as expansive as a rainbow. HAPPIEST of HAPPY BIRTHDAYS my sweetest girl… i love you higher than the sky is high and deeper than the ocean is deep! x0x0xx