the bean is a (quaran)teen!

guys.  i'm not okay.  because how on earth did we go from this (her third birthday, and the first one we celebrated in this house):

to this!

i can't.  i just can't.  ten years have gone by in a flash, and she's grown from that sweet, impish little doll into this amazing, intelligent, kindhearted, thoughtful, beautiful young woman.  she's witty, coming in with the jokes at the most opportune times that she often punctuates with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as she eyes you over her glasses.  and she's got a dry, sarcastic sense of humor - i just can't imagine where that came from.  she gives great hugs and she'll bend over backwards to make you happy, working diligently on some sort of clever surprise she comes up with and pulling it off flawlessly.  i mean, she's still a tween teenager who grumbles and groans when you remind her to do her homework or make her get up and do a workout with you.  but the grumpiness always subsides pretty quickly and before you know it she's grabbing you in a big ol' hug and giggling all over again.  we're pretty stinking proud of this little ray of sunshine of ours (wait - not so little anymore!  she's actually a good bit taller than me now!) and we love her so much, and we can't wait to see what greatness is just waiting for her in the future.

and before you ask - nope, she's not getting a new moniker.  she's gonna be the bean forever.