Oh dear.
It seems like I blinked my eyes and my daughter has 16 candles on her birthday cake today.
How on earth did that happen so fast?
My dad once shared, “As you get older, the years go by even faster.”

Gia on her birthday with God. We are so blessed that we had family and friends around for the celebration of your first sacrament.
When my three big kids were very little kids, I didn’t quite understand it. You have seen these poems and posts by other moms where they relish in the simple activities because they have already figured out that…
“The days are long, but the years are short.”
This quote by Gretchen Rubin couldn’t be more on point for me, today.
Because, I feel like I blinked…and here I am, the mom of a 16 year old phenomenal young lady.
I was a little emotional yesterday. We decided to have dinner out for her Sweet 16, with just the family. Gia’s dad ordered a feast for her in one of her favorite restaurants and while I may have not totally been in the moment when we sat down to order, I tried my best to be mindful of the milestone that we have been blessed with through our first born…
I said a little prayer for my little (big) girl…I shared with her how proud she makes me, and how, all those years ago when Nino and I were hoping that our first born would in fact be a little girl for us to dote on…that I never thought she would be as special as she is to us today.
GIA-with each passing year, I am more amazed of your strength of character, your intelligence, kindness, and love that you share with all of us each and every day. Thank you for being a blessing to us!
We love you, oh so much!
Happy Birthday, Gia! Continue making your parents proud of you!
Love you Gia!