Dear Lulu,
You're 17! That is pretty crazy. Sometimes I miss little Lulu that would sing and dance to her own beat, but I love big Lulu that loves to try new things (like ballet!) and has figured out a lot of her anxiety. It's pretty nice to let you take the lead with homework, taking care of yourself, and even driving yourself places. Such a new world we live in now! You are fun to be with and just the kindest friend. You love hanging out with friends and laughing with them. You were excited to celebrate your birthday twice with different buddies.
The first party was a tea party. You picked out plates from the DI for your friends to use and then take home:
We had yummy desserts, itty bitty fancy sandwiches, and you made wassail:
Good times.
Then on your birthday we got donuts and sang to you:
Of course you got to celebrate with Gramma and Grandpa too!:
At 17 your favorite foods haven't changed much. We had potato chowder for dinner on your birthday. You love all sweets except brownies and chocolate cake. You also don't love the classic ham sandwich on cheap bread. Or hotdogs. And the worst of all is anything at school lunch. Apparently it's all super gross and "from a bag." I believe the only school lunch that you will eat is Orange Chicken. However, you like almost everything you could get at a restaurant and almost everything that we make at dinner. So you're not too picky of an eater still.
You're still very musical. You don't practice or play piano much, but every now and then you do just for fun. You don't practice flute much either, but that's because you say that the songs are easy. You had a few solos this year in concerts and sounded good! When it's marching season you do practice the flute quite a bit at home as well as after school of course. You have to stay after almost every day learning your part. You work hard and never complain- rain or shine, cold or hot. In other music news: you're obsessed with Taylor Swift these days. You listen to her music every day. When we get in the blue car you link your phone so that we can hear more Taylor.
You are also creative. Remember to always stay creative! There's something really special about seeing your ideas become realities, whether through music, baking, photography, painting, making Instagram reels, or writing. You are good at all of those!
You are still very good at getting your homework done on your own. You get straight A's basically every term. That's impressive! You have some hard classes and you work hard to get good grades.
You wanted to take ballet this year and found a place that has a beginner's class for teens. You drive yourself there each Monday afternoon and have enjoyed learning and getting exercise that way.
Every weekend the boys know that you'll be at Clara's house or she'll be at our house. You two love to laugh together at silly memes or weird pictures that you take of each other. She is a good friend for you. You both know the importance of working hard but also know how to have a good time. Sometimes other people hang out with you too, like Naomi or some of the boys in the group. You are still shy in groups of people that you don't know well, but have come out of your shell a lot around your friend group. You love joking around with the guys as much as the girls now too. And they're a great group of respectful boys. Most of them are in band, but not all of them. You are also still good friends with Erin and sometimes hang out with her on the weekends. I'm glad that you have her in the ward so that you are more comfortable and excited to go to activities.
You never complain about going to church, or seminary, or going with me to choir. You enjoy the socialization but also the feeling at church. I'm glad that you recognize that feeling of peace and of feeling at home, both at church and especially at the temple. You love to do baptisms. It isn't easy to get a time to go any more though. We go as often as I get us a family time or when the Young Women get a time. Feeling peace and love in the temple will bless you through your whole life and I hope that you will always fall back on it when you are feeling a little down or discouraged.
Lately you haven't been super excited about going on trips with us. You used to like planning them with me. Each time I plan a trip you lately though say "Ugh, I don't want to go anywhere." I think that I know why. You are such a creature of habit that you don't like sleeping anywhere other than your bed and with your routine. You're like me where sleep is really important to our health and mood. Once we get somewhere cool on our trips though you appreciate the beauty and enjoy being with us. It was funny a few months ago day Dad said to you "Mom's planning another trip," and you said "...to where..." not super enthusiastically, and Dad said "to Europe." You responded to that answer with a big smile saying "Oh! Ok!!" You are excited to see all of the cool things in such a historic and beautiful place as England. It will be here before we know it!
Your hair is very curly when you let it do it's thing right out of the shower. I love your beautiful thick blond curls. You are lucky because you also have darker eyebrows that you don't even need to touch, great skin, and dark lashes. The day that we took your pictures your hair had been pulled back in a bun, which is also cute, so when we took some pieces out for the pictures they weren't as curly as they sometimes are. But look how cute they turned out. You're such a natural beauty:
Lulu, you are a great teenager. You are respectful, kind, fun, diligent, excited to learn new things, faithful, and snuggly. Snuggly with me, not the boys, which I'm happy about too. Haha. I know that you'll be leaving the nest soon and taking those snuggles elsewhere, so I'll take them while I can. And whoever eventually earns the privilege of your affection and snuggles will be the luckiest guy. We couldn't imagine our family without you in it. Thanks for all you do to help out and to bring joy and light to our home.
Love you!!
Mom
