Happy 18th Birthday

It's hard to believe, but our sweet daughter, Kate, is 18 years old today.  Here she is when she was 1 year old.

Altogether now - ahhh - isn't she cute.  Fortunately, she was having a good hair day on the day we went to the photographers, because sometimes it was pretty much a wavy mohawk.  

I thought I would share 18 lovely things about Kate:

1.  She has her father's pretty blue eyes
2.  Her hair is long and wavy and a gorgeous light brown with lighter highlights (not blonde, though, we won't use the word blonde as Kate isn't into being blonde)
3.  She has a sweet sprinkling of freckles on her nose
4. She is an amazing canoe-tripper, having gone on many canoe trips with camp, the longest being a 15-day river trip with rapids in Northern Ontario 2 summers ago.
5.  She can speak French.  She amazes and impresses me with her skill in learning the language, working on her accent and vocabulary, and using her French when she goes over to France and to read French novels.
6.  She is very thoughtful and never forgets a birthday or anniversary.  There is always a sweet card she has made and a gift and she manages to organize some kind of family party.
7.  She is an extremely hard-worker.  This girl does her homework and then some and has great marks to show for it.
8.  She is green - as in environmentally conscious.  She may even study Environmental Studies in university.
9. She is a great photographer with a keen eye for composition.
10. Her sweet, casual, boho style looks so chic, yet so relaxed and effortless.
11.  She has excellent taste in friends - there's not one that I don't think is smart, funny, and sweet.
12.  She loves the Beatles, and everything from the 60s and 70s (well maybe not all the facial hair on the guys).
13.  She loves old movies.
14. She is completely obsessed with Lost, Alias, House, Remington Steele, and Harry Potter.  Did I forget any of her obsessions? This is a girl whose obsession had her counting down to some of the Harry Potter books starting with 300 days to go - now that's devotion.
15. She gets along famously with her brothers.  It is a joy to hear them talking together.
16. She is a seeker, thinking about psychology, philosophy, and religion.
17. She has a lovely sarcastic sense of humour.
18. She has amazing collections of sea glass, heart-shaped rocks, Beatles and Harry Potter memorabilia.

There you go, 18 lovely facts about our sweet Kate.  I'll leave you with a photo she took last summer when she was at Mont Saint-Michel, France, looking through stained glass out to one of the little islands in the tidal flats.  It's one of my favourites.

Happy 18th birthday Kate!