KATE IS 3!!

I cannot believe that Kate is 3 today! It seems like yesterday I was fussing at Scott and telling him that it was stupid to vacuum before we left for my planned C-Section at 5:30 a.m.!!! (He is still a neat freak, but boy has Kate relaxed him in that area!!) Most of my friends know that I had to go through IVF to get pregnant with Kate. Looking at her sweet face each day confirms 100% how much all of those shots were worth it!! She is even more adorable than I could have ever imagined when the sonogram tech told me I was going to have a little girl. She is the most unbelievable gift Scott and I could have ever hoped for & I praise God each night before I go to sleep for allowing us the privilege of being her parents.

I've always known I wanted to be a mother, but had no idea just how deep my love for a child could be. Being a teacher, I have taught/mothered some of the most precious little ones you will ever meet. But giving birth changes you for the better. I know that being a mother has made me a better teacher and having been a teacher has also made me a better mother. Not only did I always know I wanted to be a mother, I knew even more that I would give anything for a little girl. It is my mission to give to Kate the same kind of love that God extends to all His children - totally unconditional. I want to her to have life so much better than I did as a child. No matter where her path in life might lead her, I pray that she will always know that she can count on me and that I am her biggest fan.

Some of her faves these days are Elmo, Big Bird and anything Sesame Street; singing to the top of her lungs no matter where she is (I admit, I really egg her on sometimes), the book, The Napping House, and ME (she is the biggest Momma's girl on earth, and don't think I don't LOVE that!!).

I look forward to many more wonderful years watching her grow up. I hope that she will always know how much her daddy and I love her and what she has meant to us. I pray that she will be as kind as she is beautiful and always look for ways to serve others. Thank you, God, for our little miracle!

KATE'S PARTY

KATE AND HER BOOK

KATE, AIDEN, AND BRAXTON

COOPER AND SARA KENNEDY

STONE

MADDOX (HE SET THIS POSE UP HIMSELF!)

JETT (STRIKING HER POSE)

KATE AND HER UMBRELLA

All Kate wanted (or needed) for her birthday this year was a "jumping party". We had her party today at the Courthouse JumpZone. It is a room full of inflatable jumphouses and slides. Kate loves it, although she has not quite mastered climbing to the top of the slide. She probably could have done a better job if she hadn't been carrying around her latest, favorite Sesame Street book which she calls "Put Down the Duckie" - don't ask! Anyway we had several of her sweet friends and their parents there along with her Poppa D and Granna. She thinks now that someone is supposed to have a party everyday. Thank goodness our sweet friend Maddox is having one there in a week or so!! When we got home, she had the best time opening her presents. One of her favorite things was a Hello Kitty umbrella from her friend, Grant. She stood in front of the mirror for 30 minutes singing "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day." Thanks to everyone who made her big day so special!

One of Kate's favorite gifts from Christmas was a bicycle helmet and knee pads from her Mimi and Pop. On Saturday she decided to accessorize her pajamas with them - throw in giraffe rain boots and a pink guitar from Poppa D and Granna and she was in business!

THE BAG OF GOODS

THE BAG

THE CRITTERS

HER NEW FAVORITE "BOOK"

If you read the Christmas Eve post, you know about Kate's bag that she takes EVERYWHERE! Well, here is the bag and all the little critters she takes with her wheverer she goes. There are more. These just happened to be the ones that were in the bag when I decided to shoot the picture. The last picture is of a leaflet that came in a DVD Kate got for Christmas. She has started carrying it everywhere and also sleeps with it at night, except she forgot it tonight. She had her mind on other things (next paragraph). It is just a picture of Big Bird and his pals at a birthday party, but Kate thinks it is the most fabulous "book" on earth!

Good news!! We think we are on the road to separating Kate and Daisy. For anyone who hasn't seen her, Daisy is a stuffed duck attached to a pacifier that Kate has had since she was 10 weeks old. In fact, she has four of them and many others have been previously retired from overuse. Well anyway, Kate will be 3 next month and it is just now starting to bother her if we tell her something is for babies. She is not fond of babies (baby dolls, baby brothers, etc. - except baby rabbits. Who knows?) so we have started telling her that Daisies are for babies and she is beginning to put them down during the day. However, when she got in bed tonight, she insisted on having them. I told her she could only have two (she usually sleeps with all 4) since they are for babies. We were shocked that she laid down and didn't put up a fuss. Maybe she really is growing up.

Other news, she did "drive" the pink car last night! She looked like someone learning to drive a stick shift for the first time, but we all have to start somewhere!

Happy New Year! Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance! ~Jude 1:2

SANTA COMES!

Kate has been asking for a "pink car" for at least the past 4 months without end. I had to take her to see it every week at Walmart. Luckily, I convinced her that because it was hanging up on a rack, you couldn't just take one home. To anyone who has asked her what Santa was bringing her, she has replied, "pink car". Well, he brought it indeed and boy, was she excited. So excited that she only wanted to sit in it and admire how cute she looked! She has no interest in learning how to drive it right now. I'll bet Santa is glad he spent that money!! She also got a pink guitar, a harmonica, a kazoo, maracas, and a trumpet. Do you get the sense that she LOVES music. Check out the picture of her playing the guitar!

CHRISTMAS EVE

Good stuff for Santa!

Let me make sure this is good enough for Rudolph!

Smells good to me!

ENJOY!

Every Christmas Eve since Kate was born, we have gone over to our good friends, the Powells' house for food and fun. Kate always looks forward to seeing Perry and talks about it all day. The older she gets, the harder it is for me to sit back and enjoy myself for fear that she is into something she shouldn't be. This year our biggest challenge was not wanting to share. Kate has a bag of things that she likes to take with her EVERYWHERE and she doesn't want anyone other than Scott and me to mess with it. Our sweet friends the Willoughbys were there too and they have a little boy named Trey who is the same age as Kate. He REALLY wanted to see what was in Kate's bag, but she said "absolutely not!" Don't tell her that I gave him one of her things that we have 2 of. I will have to take a picture of the bag and everything that's in it so that you can see just how much stuff we have to carry and try to keep up with.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to snap a bunch of pictures that night because I was busy getting Kate out of Perry's closet (that she locked herself in!), saving her from Princess the cat, and trying to get her to share with Trey. What I did get pictures of were the Santa and reindeer snacks that Sweet Lee sent us home with. That girl thinks of everything! My dad tells me all the time, "You better hold onto her, she's a good one!" She really is the best. Kate had so much fun putting the snacks out for Santa and his reindeer. I love the picture of her sniffing the snacks before putting them on the plate. Only the best for Santa!