Yes, we saved these red Keds that were her favorite when she was about two years old. Here, they have salt stains from frolicking in the shallow waters on the beach…
…at the end of fifth grade and roughly 10 years old, she stepped onto the school stage to leave grade school and enter middle school, here wearing a self-designed dress (made by a Tita G’s seamstress), a custom-designed belt with shells, and some flat sandals…
…for her confirmation ceremony, a pair of age appropriate brown flats with polka dots.
A couple of years later, during a Thanksgiving trip to New York, she displayed a proclivity for boots in cold weather, here with Dad on a stroll through fallen leaves in Central Park…
…at age 13, she picked out a Vera Wang, very Audrey Hepburn-ish ensemble with snakeskin pumps, HERE to mark her graduation from 8th grade. It was the first time she appeared in public in heels. Unbeknownst to readers, this was also the year she decided to go off to boarding school for high school, one of the most gut-wrenching experiences for her parents to endure. :(
We took a trip to Paris and Venice that summer, and she alternated between preppy penny loafers with bright socks…
…and self-styled converse sneakers with Hermes ribbon laces.
While at high school in the frigid Northeast, she acquired a pair of snazzy leather boots, paying for half of them with her saved allowance, and Dad/Mom paying for the other half. They were purchased at 60% off the original price.
For her graduation from high school in June this year, she wore some casual platform shoes, good for walking in grass.
And recently, a pair of black pumps at a ritzy reception for a family business venture.
Today is the Baby’s, Kid’s, Teen’s, 18th birthday. Yes, the baby is now most definitely a lady. But there is a part of me that will always remember her in those little red Keds up top. She smelled better then. :)
50 Responses
Happy Birthday to the Kid, Teen, Lady!!
Happy bday!
This is heartwarming. I’m off to find my 6-yo’s baby shoes
Happy birthday to Mademoiselle MM!
Interesting point of view you have there, MM, in observing/documenting your daughter’s transitions. We’re kinda in the same boat about having erstwhile baby girls blossom into young ladies right before our very eyes.
=(
Happy 18th Birthday to the Lady (the Kid, the Teen)! Looking at the Keds red shoes I do remember my daughter’s Keds red shoes when she’s just 1. Oh, how time flies and now she’ll be 14.
Aww, you’re such a sweet dad. Happy 18th Birthday to your Teen.
I have always found it heartwarming to see love through a father’s eyes. The love you have for your daughter shines through your words on the computer screen :).
Happy birthday to the Teen!
Happy birthday to The Teen! She’s technically still a “teen” but already a blossoming lady at the same time.
MM, you made me teary-eyed! I am humbled by the love that you have for her. May He continue to bless you and your whole family with everything you need.
Teen: Having both your parents with you I think is the best gift that you can receive.
Happy 18th birthday to the Teen er…ah….I mean the Lady! I like her dress on the last photo. She has good styling!
MM, is that a favorite shoe style on the 2nd, 4th and last photos? And no socks on last photo? Just teasing! :)
Happy 18th Birthday to the teen..you are a classy lady!
Thank you all for the kind greetings. Betchay, sharp eyes… The shoes in the second and last photo are the same pair, they are roughly 9 years old. I almost only wear two types of shoes — a horsebit style loafer first made popular by Gucci and copied by almost everyone else, a brown suede pair in the fourth photo also 9 years old, and driving shoes. I had lots of traditional leather lace-ups when I worked full time but my definition of a successful retirement is to be in shorts as often as possible and almost never to wear socks unless at a formal event or in temperate weather… :)
Happy Birthday to the Kid/Teen/Lady!! Oh my golly. Ive been reading your blog for so many years already. I still remember the earlier posts with her friends :)
Happy birthday to the kid who has turned into a teen and now a lady.
Aw! I still remember her as a little kid! How time flies…Happiest of birthdays to your little lady! :)
Happy Birthday!!!! regular readers like me feel as if you have grown with us. our collective blessings on your birthday!
must be the because of the flu i’m suffering from now, but i found myself getting sentimental over this post. happy birthday to the Lady (hmmm…isn’t that what they call Aung San Suu Kyi?), who definitely has her style spot-on! and how is she celebrating her grand 18th?
Happy Birthday to “The Lady”!
Wow MM, old readers of your blog sure have seen how “the kid” moved to become “the teen” and now “the lady”.
I can truly relate with you as my “baby” also turned to “a lady” as well last year.
And yes, they smelled a lot better then! hahaha
Happy birthday to the Teen/Lady!
My daughter turns 18 this month as well.
Time moves faster than we’d like and every age seemed the perfect age, don’t you think? Happy Birthday.
This is so nice. I wish i had saved the baby shoes my boys wore. One day you wake up and they are all grown up. How time flies. We need to cherish every moment we can with them. Oh and I must say she has wonderful taste in shoes.
Happy birthday to The Lady! I have a habit of rereading your posts thanks to the “Random” archive at the bottom. I enjoyed reading the entries about her birthday parties, and seeing her “defend” you in the comments in your Rant posts. :) Will you be blogging about the details of her 18th as well?
Happy Birthday, Teen! May you pursue your dreams and all the best! :)
The Teen had a quiet dinner with parents and a few friends on her birthday, then joined her friends for a night out on the town. No debuts and no fancy parties…
Happy birthday to the new Lady of your house MM. I wish her all the best in life — good health, happiness and much success.
lol!!! that last sentence might cost you. hahaha. it was nice to have followed some part of her growth through your blog. you have a wonderful kid, and a great family. congratulations!
Awwww, MM! I got the sniffles! I am the second of four girls and definitely a Daddy’s girl. Ang kulang na lang, yung pangkasal! A speaker at a seminar I once attended said, one of the most painful things that happens in a father’s life is seeing your little girl, all grown-up, reach for a man’s hand – but she prefers someone else’s to yours. Sorry. Father-daughter stories really get to me. Happy birthday to your fine young lady.
Happy Birthday Teen/Lady!
Hard to believe that this is the same kid who jumped into the pool with her friends and the chocolate labrador during the filming of the Bobby Chinn show.
Happy Birthday! God bless and keep her safe always.
Happy Birthday to a stylish Teen/Lady!
Love the polka dots shoes!
Happy, happy birthday to one special and very lucky lady! You will always be a baby in your parents eyes hihihi
Happy birthday to the Lady! (Love the black boots, great sense of style, this lady, huh!
This made me miss my Daddy even more…
Happy birthday to your stylish young “Lady”; all the best!
Ha! Such sweet fatherly love. Love how you chronicled her milestones via shoes.
Belated Happy Birthday to the young Lady. May she continue to make you and Mrs. MM proud.
We share a similar story in saving those special shoes. I had my daughter’s ballet and son’s runners forever entombed in a glass case. They are so cute and tiny. It brings back a ton of good memories, just looking at them. :)
Happy Birthday to the Teen/Lady!
We also just celebrated our daughter’s first birthday on October 12.
I’m not sure about the Keds but I’ll probably be keeping something similar for nostalgia.
My daughter used to have a pair of red keds shoes, too!
She’s now 20 and still wears red shoes! Happy birthday to The Teen/ TYL-
The Young Lady. Congratulations to you MM and The Mrs!
I believe the salutation is Lady (nee’ Teen).
To the then Kid, The Teen, and now The Young Lady…All the best wishes for you.. To MM and Mrs MM, congratulations too…. reading the love through the lines made me reminisce my childhood as well…My Mom still have our first complete set of baby clothes hanging in her closet (for the four of us : green,blue,pink and white) which I could not help but look in wonder at the wonderful memories these old keepsakes evoke…When I was in grade school I cannot comprehend why she kept those, now I know better :) …
Happy birthday, Young Lady!
Happy birthday, Ms. B!
Congratulations!! This made me teary-eyed..You must be so proud of her, of what she accomplished, of what she become over the years and what she is going to overcome in the future ahead! Cheers to that! Happy Birthday to your one and only “baby girl” :)
I hope all is well with your family, the crew and everyone in Cebu, keep safe all!
Awww…what a tribute to a very nice young Lady, `formerly the Teen’ and yet still the Baby!
Belated birthday greetings to her. She is blessed with such wonderful parents!
Happy 18th birthday to the Teen!
MM, hope everyone in Cebu is ok, just read the news about the earthquake.
Aww…happy 18th birthday to The Teen! Continued blessings to you and your family, MM. Thanks for sharing part of your life with us, we feel we know you and your family even though we are oceans apart and have never met. BTW, hope all is well with your Cebu-based family, crew and business holdings, after that devastating Visayan earthquake.
awww, that is sooo sweet! I admire parents who have raised good kids..Congratulations to you and Mrs. MM! and Happy Birthday to your young lady!
Btw, hope all is well in your cebu restaurant, as well as your crew and their families.
Belated HBD! May all her dreams come true!
I’m teary eyed!!
Time flies really really fast.. :)
i love that you kept the red keds :) (teary eyed again!)
It seemed like only yesterday that I met the Kid at your eyeball some 10 years ago..
This made me cry time really flies so fast that its difficult to notice things sometimes. Belated Happy Birthday to the teen and now a Lady. Just like our Boguy here who suddenly became a man. So sad I did not save his small shoes as we gave all to our relatives in the Phils.
Happy Birthday to your young Lady, MM & Mrs MM! May she be blessed by God, the Almighty, a thousandfold as you have graciously shared with us all the precious experiences of your lives! May she grow and blossom into the beautiful woman God planned her to be, successful, charming, and gracious as her father is!!!
Belated happy birthday, I! I can’t believe you’re in college now. I still remember you crawling around, before you’d learned to walk…
Belated Happy birthday to the”Young Lady”. You have style. MM and Mrs. MM you have one special daughter.