Mimi: Twelve

We had grand plans and high hopes for Mimi’s twelfth birthday. We were supposed to be in Edinburgh in Scotland for the weekend and were intending to surprise her with an afternoon filled with exploring the Harry Potter trail and seeking out the best ice cream in the city (according to my friend Zoe, who lives there!).

Sadly, Covid-19 got in the way, our trip was cancelled and government rules meant that we celebrated her birthday in lockdown instead, unable to spend time with friends or family and not allowed to do any of the things she would have loved to do. We were all disappointed of course, and it made me even more determined to make her day as special as possible.

Celebrations for previous years have set the bar quite high – her birthday usually falls during the May half term break from school so she has been lucky enough to enjoy birthdays in Spain & Cornwall when she was younger. Last year we were in Boston in America! It felt strange to be celebrating at home this year and I honestly had no idea what I could do to make up for not being able to be where we were supposed to be.

Celebrating her 5th birthday in Spain, back when she wore dresses and pink, in 2013

Celebrating her 6th birthday in Cornwall with Sophie and Neil’s parents in 2014

Celebrating her 11th birthday at the Airbnb we were staying at in Boston, USA last year (2019)

Of course I needn’t have worried because it turns out that all you need for a birthday to feel special is the most simple of requests and a whole lot of love.

A few days beforehand, Mimi’s best friend’s Mum sent me a message to ask if they could pop round the day before her birthday to drop off a present. Having not seen Ava for almost exactly two months I knew Mimi would be absolutely thrilled to spend time with her – even if it had to be at a distance – so we kept it a secret.

When Ava arrived she came bearing a bag full of gifts and a tin of homemade cupcakes which she dutifully left on the doorstep and stepped back to the designated two metre social distancing rules. Hearing the two girls talk and laugh together, chatting about what they miss about school and asking each other how they’re finding life in lockdown nearly broke my heart. It all still feels so weird.

The cupcakes were amazing – Ava knows that Mimi is a huge Harry Potter fan so she added hidden coloured icing into the centre of each cupcake: red for Gryffindor; blue for Ravenclaw; yellow for Hufflepuff; and green for Slytherin, with the instructions that whichever one you got when you bit into it was your Hogwarts House. So much thought went into them, it really was the sweetest thing. They were delicious too!

A socially-distanced doorstep birthday chat with her best friend

I loved these instructions that accompanied the cupcakes that Mimi’s best friend made for her

The cakes were delicious!

The night before her birthday was a late one for me as I stayed up until midnight to set up her cards and presents, a banner and balloons. I always wait until all three girls are fast asleep in bed before I do it so that it’s a surprise for everyone when they come downstairs in the morning, even though they know it’s going to be there. Because of lockdown I couldn’t get any giant helium number balloons this year like I usually do, so I felt a bit sad about that and worried that she might be upset, but actually it didn’t matter to her in the slightest – she just loves the tradition of it all and was as thrilled with the set-up as if it was the very first time all over again.

Balloons galore!

A birthday banner and her birthday cards (homemade ones from her sisters)

Mimi’s only birthday requests were for us all to play board games together (Harry Potter Cluedo, Harry Potter Dobble and Harry Potter Scrabble!) and to play in the garden in the sunshine. So simple and modest, bless her. We fulfilled her requests of course but only after she’d opened all of her gifts.

Everyone had sent such thoughtful presents – art supplies, Harry Potter merchandise, new books to read… She was so happy with all of them and really grateful for what she received. I think one of the best presents might have been the basketball that I picked up on impulse whilst doing the weekly food shop at Tesco – she’s played in the garden with it every single day since!

Opening her gifts from her best friend – I’m so glad I managed to capture this moment!

She makes the best faces when opening presents – I love how expressive she is.

Favourite photo of the hundreds I took. Got them all laughing and my heart feels happy every time I look at it.

We ended the day with Pizza Hut takeaway (another birthday tradition) and a Harry Potter birthday cake. It really is the little things that matter the most.

Last year I asked all three girls to answer each of the following questions on their birthday. I wanted to start a little tradition of asking them each year so I can document them as they change for each of the girls over time.

This is Mimi, aged twelve…

~ Favourite book: “It’s so hard to just choose one out of all the Harry Potter books! Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
~ Favourite band/singer/song: “Now United”
~ Favourite thing to do: “Playing sports, mostly football, netball and basketball”
~ Favourite film: “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince”
~ Favourite food/meal: “Sticky toffee pudding!”
~ Favourite colour: “Red. And purple”
~ What she’s into: “Watching YouTube, reading, drawing and making things”.

She’s now only three inches off being the same height as me and next year she’ll be a teenager! She knows what she wants and is 100% herself and I love that about her. As challenging as it can be sometimes I hope she holds onto her feistiness and her wild as she gets older and that she never loses her ability to speak her mind. I’m so proud of her – she’s settled into high school well and seems to be coping ok with everything that lockdown has brought. She’s a world-changer in the making for sure and it’s such a privilege to be her mama. I can’t wait to see what the next twelve months has in store for her. Keep being you Mimi, you’re awesome exactly as you are.