My Future Teenagers

Every now and then, I see the teenagers sitting in front of me in class, or walking down the hall at school and it hits me:  My children are going to be teenagers one day. The thought is quite frightening, really, on so many levels.  And I look at my little cherubs (insert chuckle here) and I wonder what kind of teenagers they will be.  In my classes, I see the quiet, sweet ones; the outgoing and loud ones; the ones that fade into the background; the ones that demand attention (good or bad)...and everywhere in between.

This weekend was Everly's birthday party, and today we took her to get her one year pictures taken.  Both were experiences that screamed loud and clear: our girl is a strong individual.  And by screamed, I mean, well...yeah, screamed.  And by individual...she is her own person, through and through.  And I hope for her that she will always be able to tell it like it is, make her opinion known, and show her genuine sweetness when the time is right.  I think it is especially difficult to be a teenage girl in this world.  She is going to need to be strong.

I wonder what kinds of teenagers my kids will be.  Does the fact that Everly has an obsession for shoes, necklaces, hats, and sunglasses at one year of age give insight to her future?  Will Cortlan's desire to please at three years old continue into his teenage years? Someday, I wonder if I will look back at this and say, "We should have known all along he would be this way!" or "Wow!  Has Everly changed!"  (or vice versa).

Today, Cortlan put on his suit and excitedly said, "This is what I am going to wear when I get married!"  He was pumped to get his picture taken, even though it wasn't really about him on this day.
 
Today, I put Everly's dress on her and she immediately (and loudly) tried to take it off.  (Though, she got sunglasses for her birthday that she refused to take off and, thus, wore throughout the mall.  She got a few pictures with them on, because I knew what would happen when we took them off.  I was right.)  This was her day for pictures, but she was having none of it. 

We (including the photographer) couldn't help but laugh through the picture experience, with Cortlan posing like a GQ model, and Everly screaming, snot and tears coating her face.  We were making memories, if nothing else.

I think a lot about my kids' personalities. I try to figure out what they are going to be like. But I realize I should just enjoy what they are. And they are two distinctly different, yet completely scrumptious individuals.  I have to appreciate their differences and learn how to parent them both in their own way.  (And not think of those teenage years for a while.)

Yes, my kids are different from one another.  But can you guess who was the one who made Everly smile for the one adorable picture we ended up buying?  Her brother.  (Luckily, they were able to edit out the snot.  The cheerios in her hand are just a bonus memory.)