My baby girl is ten.
MY...BABY...GIRL...IS...TEN.
Mybabygirlisten.
No matter how many times I say it, write it, hear it from others, it still doesnt seem real or possible. To me, she will always be...
-Kaitlin Taylor, my chubby-cheeked-squinty-eyed-smiling toddler who had an air of confidence right from the beginning.
-The one who kicked me endlessly for nine months.
-The baby who wouldn't wait for the epidural.
-The baby I slept with that first night, and couldn't believe her features were so tiny and feminine.
-The newborn who had so much black hair that Jamie called her "Kim Su".
-The baby who was just so daintily beautiful.
-The one I fed breastmilk through a medicine dropper because she couldn’t latch on.
-The infant I slathered in pink, pink, pink.
-The one who slept on her tummy with one leg pulled up...and still does.
-The baby who loved to eat…anything.
-The one who watched 3-year-old Jordan’s every move…and ADORED him.
-The one-year-old who wouldn't talk...and worried us all.
-The girl who gave me such joy just by letting me brush and fix her hair in ponytails.
-The toddler who would try to ride the dog.
-The toddler who had a definite strut to her walk.
-The two year old who we thought might have a language barrier.
-The baby who stripped down naked every night in her crib.
-The one who we eventually had to duct tape her diaper into a makeshift belt.
-The girl who was so confident, yet so emotional, all in one...and still is.
-The toddler who organized all her toys in rows.
-The three year old who, once she began, never stopped talking, and astounded us with the vocabulary she had been holding in.
-The preschooler who, to her mother's horror, was the playground's self-proclaimed "Kissing Girl".
-The girl who had her Daddy wrapped from the beginning.
-The one who wrote her name all over her new bunk bed, first and last name...and later claimed, "It wasn't me".
-The preschooler who would play teacher and correct her friend's papers.
-The girl who could be destroyed when she was placed in Time Out. Still can.
-The child who could cry and laugh in the same ten seconds.
-The baby sister who gave Jordan his nickname "Jo-Jo".
-The girl who would talk to herself in her crib when she woke up…for as long as we let her. Happy as can be.
-The girl who loved to cut her own hair…and her Barbies, too.
-The girl who whispered to me, before the Kindergarten day began, sitting Indian-style in a dress: “Mommy…I’m…not…wearing…any…panties.”
-The girl who loved to snuggle “in the middle”…and still does.
-The girl who always had a way of “summing up” any situation in one profound sentence…and still does.
-The girl who loves to shop with me, and can always make the right fashion choices. For both of us.
-The girl who is developing a really wicked sense of humor...that I love.
………..The girl who changed my life.
My Katie.
She is TEN.
I can't believe she is this age, and yet I cannot fathom my life without this ten-year-old in it.
Happy Birthday, Katie.
You are my dream come true.
7 comments:
YES-first comment!!!!!!
I have been WAITING anxiously for this post and it is SO WORTH THE WAIT!!!! beautiful words and pictures and memories.
Kim Su cracked me up and Kissing Girl??? SO CUTE!!!
She is such a beautiful young girl with such a sweet heart and naturally funny dispostion. Love when i get to see her, such a sweet, sweet girl.
Your words have once again, given me chills! Love how you love your kids. I love the mommy you are:)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Katie!!!!
xoxoxo
well, whadya know...ordinary miracles is gettin' some action! ...in fact, that post took you to second base, baby! laughed so many times reading these...and love that i already knew almost all of them because you talk about your kids and their childhood and their babyhood so much, i feel like i was there. the way you remember it all...you've inspired me from the very beginning...to document, to tell their story. so that one day, when i'm a mommy of almost-grown-ups, i can be a jennygirl. katie is who she is because of you!
xoxo the other kelle
yaaaa, your keyboard is working!! Yippee!! I loved going back in time with all the things that make Katie who she is today! A bright, cheerful, smart, pretty, kind, and thoughtful little girl. I still see a 6 year old when I'm with her and have to remind myself she's 10 and almost as tall as me! But, not as tall as her "freaky uncle"! LOL!
I love you all so much and thank you for paving the way and showing me what it means to be a wonderful and connected parent!
As I was reading all the "remembers", and thinking, "yes, I love all those beautiful, cute, wonderful memories and qualities of Katies", when I suddenly realized that you could have been describing yourself as a baby/toddler/little girl! You were always emotional and headstrong and loving and cuddly, not to mention your perfectionist side. Amazing Katie is so much like her Mom. It is incredible and a really beautiful thing. I love Katie so much, just as I love you so much. You and Jamie have raised her to be a self assured very special young girl. You should be very proud. I know I am of you!
Love, Mom
what a great birthday tribute to katie!!
Thanks Jen! I have tears running down my face. So special she is a blessing. I love how you don't forget a thing when it comes to your children. You are a wonderful mother and Katie and Jordan are so lucky to have you. You inspire as a mother.
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