The adventures of raising a daughter

When Niki* entered middle school she had this adorable look on her face:

(She was pretty excited when this photo was taken because it's when she got her first cell phone. A cell phone with a camera and she immediately started taking photos.) She adored her parents and she loved making her teachers happy. She loved learning and she loved American Girl dolls.

And then, just like that, it seems, she graduated from middle school!

Taller. More confident. (Sassier.) More responsible. (Wow, her mom looks old.) She's entertaining. ("I need to change schools RIGHT NOW. I need to change my hair color RIGHT NOW. I need to change my name RIGHT NOW. I need to pierce my lip RIGHT NOW.")

Here are just a few things I love about Zoe:

-She's creative and artistic.

-She has a great sense of style (and hopefully with a little boost in confidence she'll share it with the world).

-She's smart even if she doesn't think so. Her eyes light up and there is so much passion when she gets a spark of something new to learn about.

-She is currently watching the entire Buffy series for the 3rd time in 3 months. That girl loves some Buffy. (Really, she's so in love with Willow, Giles and Xander plus Buffy's season one body.)

-She's determined. At the beginning of the year she tried to gain weight. 15 gallons of whole milk later and she's gained 15 pounds and has truly become a woman. (Now, Niki, back off the whole milk.)

-She is great at repeating lines from movies. My favorite is from Ghost World: "I like to show it to people that I'm meeting for the first time because I feel it says so much about who I am and what it feels like to inhabit my specific skin. " Srsly. Ask her sometime to say that. Don't ask her to repeat anything from the Silence of the Lambs, though. It's disturbing.

Funny story. Last year the boy crowded around friends after graduation despite his self proclaimed anti-social attitude. This year, the girl dis-invited us to her post graduation party and then immediately came to the car w/out hanging with any friends. Okay, it's not really funny but it is. She's definitely going through a stage where she'd like to exchange old friends for new. The sooner the better. Now is a good time to do it, I suppose. I love watching her grow up (except the part about her soon surpassing me in height).

*you all remember that Niki used to be Zoe but now wants to be called Niki because Niki is a way better name and yes, my feelings are hurt.