Our Sweet Madi is 16!!!

Hard to believe, but our girl… our sweet Madi, is 16!  Her Birthday was a month ago and while it was a little heartbreaking for her Dad and me, it was, in all, a truly happy time!  It’s a strange combination of pride, joy, sadness and fear watching your child mature and become more and more independent.  As parents, I think we always carry around a mixed bag of emotions though.  And, I honestly think it gets worse the older they get! 

Anyhow, Madi’s special day turned into a weekend long event – as it usually does!  Madi’s friends come out to the house on Saturday, Feb. 22, to do some celebrating before we all traveled to Austin.

Her friends put together a really sweet video wishing her a happy birthday and talking about how special she is and how much they enjoy spending time with her. It was really kind and pretty funny, too! Lots of smiles and lots of tears. But, that’s a room full of fifteen and sixteen-(and one 30 something) year-old girls for ya! 

Madi’s main Birthday request was to spend a full day in Austin shopping.  So, that’s what we did – we stayed the night in Austin (the girls had their very own room which they were thrilled about!) and on Sunday, Feb. 23 (Madi’s actual Birthday) we took Madi and her friends exploring around Austin for a little bit and enjoyed some super-tasty donuts courtesy of Gordough’s on South Congress! Then, at their request, it was off to Lakeline Mall for some serious shopping.  To Jack and me, it felt like we were there for days, but for the girls – it was heaven! And, as the day was coming to an end, we convinced the whole crew to stop at a park on for some pictures before driving home.

Here are a few pictures from Madi’s Birthday weekend….

Madi's Tiffany Blue themed dessert table 

This GORGEOUS cake was made by Lily's Cakes in Harker Heights, Texas. 

I made mini cupcakes and cake balls to go along with the cake.

Instagram picture of the cake 

Sweet 16!!!!

Video of Madi opening her Nana and Papa's card - they moved to Georgia almost two years ago...she, obviously, misses them! 

Most of these pictures were taken on my cell phone - thus the granny quality. Anyway, here's the gang - Austin bound!

The girls at the Hilton Austin.

On one of the balconies at the Hilton - watching all the crazy fools on 6th street. 

We had the yummiest donuts at Gourdough's in Austin! 

I don't remember the name of the park that we stopped at, but we walked around for a little bit and took some group photos just before driving home. 

These two...

Dad and his 16 year old!!! 

First family photo with our 16 year old! 

 So, Madi got to spend her special day with good friends, doing what she enjoys most – SHOPPING!  It was the perfect 16^th Birthday for her. 

We really hope that these memories are as special to her as they are to us! It seems like just a short time ago when birthday parties were filled with little ones running around and playing games with gifts of little toys and cute stuffed animals. It’s hard to think about how few birthdays we have left with our Madi-girl before she’s grown up but, we will definitely treasure every one!!!