Oh my little Katie bug. You are now 4 years old! I can't believe it, can you?! Where did those 4 years go? Ah....I remember.....we played, and went on adventures. We hugged and gave big kisses. We read fairy tales, and watched silly movies. We held hands and played follow the leader. We baked, and ran free at the park. We laughed and whispered silly secrets. We added a baby brother and learned what it is like to be a big sister. We shared, and had times of sadness, we learned, and sang songs. We moved, and made friends. We showed kindness, and compassion. But above all, we loved.
The past 4 years, have been simply wonderful. You alone, make every day new and exciting. You were born a leader, but with something else......you know how to step back and let others take the lead. You share more than many older kids. You are sweet, and helpful. You are giving, and kindhearted. You've made me smile more than I could ever begin to count, and made me feel a love that only YOU can make me feel.
Your unique personality, is something so special. I pray you never lose the way you are. You are so loving to everyone around you. You like to be alone sometimes. It's taken me a couple of years to understand that, that is ok. As a matter of fact, your teacher Mrs. Danelle, taught me, that we need all types of personalities in this world. We need the loud, the quiet, the sweet and the curious. You go to school and immediately become an observer. You look at people, and can see the goodness in all of them. YOU bring it out in everyone. Especially me.
You've brought so much love into our family. You're tight hugs, and soft voice, are things I simply adore about you. You may be getting older, but you will forever be my baby girl. The baby that I held up and said "IT'S A GIRL!"....the baby that sneezed instead of cried when she was born, the baby that had the most adorable line on the tip of her nose. I still kiss it. :) That line means so much to me. It sets you apart. It was the first sign to me, that you would be special. That you would really teach everyone in your life, so much. And you have. You've taught us how to slow down. To stop and listen. To love beyond words.
I'm so proud to be your mom. And I am so proud to call you my sweet daughter. Mommy believes you will have a big impact on this world. You've made a big impact on my world, and I thank you for that. Thank you for making me a good mother to you and your siblings. Thank you for giving me a hug when only you, a 4 year old child, can see I need one. Thank you for teaching your siblings to care. You don't know it yet, but I believe that YOU have been a very good bonding tool for all of your siblings.
Our life would not be whole without you, sweet Katie. I look forward to many more years of sticky finger prints, soft voices, stories about your toys, big tight hugs and lots and lots of LOVE.
I love you beautiful Katie.
Love,
Your mommy <3
Here are some pictures to show how much you've grown :)
I woke up today, like I do most day's.....running the list through my head of drop off times, pick up times, is today my volunteer day, what errands do I need to run, what am I cleaning today, how many loads of laundry do I have, and the dreaded.....what will I make for dinner?
We all have the list that we go through. Whether you work, stay at home, or whatever, its an on going "life list". Our lists leave us overwhelmed, frustrated and sometimes, or better yet, hopefully most of the times, feeling satisfied with the lives we have chosen.
My lists lately have been so long and so never ending, that I forget where to start. Making me start new lists just for my old lists :) We have 5 birthdays between now and Christmas (counting mine), Halloween, Thanksgiving, school parties, field trips, appointments, school projects, a trip for me to AZ, anniversaries, and much much more. Here I am making an entirely new list.
I have all 4 of my children, born 6 days apart from one of their siblings. Katie is September 30th and Nicholas is October 6th. Then William is December 8th, and Laura is December 15th. Sigh......why didn't we plan that better? ;)
This time of year is my absolute favorite though. I am extremely busy with all of the above and I thrive off of it. I was totally meant to be a hands on mama! I love getting birthday parties together and setting up for the holidays. I've always said I LOVE summer, but I think fall is my favorite. The weather becomes cooler, and the coffee seems to smell better :)
I hope your lives are full and happy, especially this time of year. Let's grab our coffee's, tea's, or cocoa's and enjoy the beautiful mornings together. Whether we are all near or far, smile and soak up the beautiful days.
My kitchen is literally the catch all in my home. Today I thought to myself, I'm going to take a picture of each and every object that is left on my counter, for me to magically take care of. Then I though.....nah....too much work. I'd be in my kitchen all day taking pictures. ;)
I find things from change, empty cups, SHOES, remotes, toys, backpacks, papers, mail, half eaten snacks, papers, crayons, papers, art supplies.....you see what I'm getting at. And yes, lots of papers! I'm a very organized person and I don't think my family has gotten that memo yet. I am CONSTANTLY cleaning, and feel like it has gotten out of hand with everything my family is leaving me on my counters! All day long my counters will be clean, absolutely nothing on them but my pretty plant, and a yummy smelling candle, until the rush of children come in from school.
I have all the chore charts on the fridge, my calendar for the month is on the wall near the door, and another calendar that I can write on for months in advance hangs on the end of my cabinets. I have a binder for all things for the kids schools. Papers I need to read, papers I save for them to study and so on. I have a wooden bowl that holds a memo pad and pens. My "junk drawer", is not really my junk drawer, its for my scissors, tacks, dry erase markers, bills and wax for my scent warmer thing....stuff like that. Basically my kitchen is my mommy office. Obviously my family doesn't get that. To them, its the "mom will take care of it room".
Today I found my husbands SHOES on the KITCHEN COUNTER. Really? I understand leaving your shoes in the middle of the floor, to go do something real quick, but who puts shoes on a kitchen counter? YUK! Nicholas comes home, empties his backpack and folders and leaves everything on my counter. Yes, I said my counter. They all have their rooms, I have my kitchen :)
Today I have made it clear to my family, that the kitchen is not a place to leave every thing imaginable. It's my space. I cook in there, I do school paper work, all my mommy stuff happens in there. So they are now clear that the kitchen is my office. Not their bedroom, or their closet. I wonder how long it will last??
Ahh....that felt good :)
