It's no secret that she was a surprise. Lily was only three months old when I found out I was pregnant with Kate, and while we thought we were done having children (David even had the "appointment" scheduled), we now see that Heavenly Father had something else in mind for us. It's nice to know that when we think we are in charge of our lives, that He is there helping us make the decisions that will make our life the happiest. I don't know what I would do without my sweet little baby Kate. She has brought so much joy to our lives. The poor little girl was born during potato harvest, just three days before Lily's birthday, which means they are Irish Twins, and they are both three years old for the next few days. Being born during potato harvest was stressful enough, but now, she has to have her birthday right during our busiest time of year. We fixed her up and snapped some pictures of her on her birthday...but we had to do it first thing in the morning before we headed off to cook food for the harvesters...she was a pretty good sport for getting pictures at 7am.
Kate at age 3:
Miss Kate is really starting to come out of her shell. She has been quiet and gentle natured up until now, and she is finally starting to learn some bad habits from her big sis, Lily...LOL! She is still, however, a total mama's girl. She refuses to go to her class at church, and when I tried to send her to preschool with Lily this year, she would have nothing to do with it. She especially enjoys the time alone with mommy while Lily and the older kids are at school.
She loves baby dolls. She carries them around the house, and has to have them in bed with her. She makes me put a doll pillow next to her pillow, and then cover the baby with the baby blanket, and then put her covers over it as well. She loves to fix hair, and is always getting her hair or a dolls hair in a knot by trying to put multiple ponytails in. She also loves to sing. Right now, her favorite is the Wee Sing Halloween album. She know every song by heart, and she sings them to everyone. She really enjoys playing with Lily. They are the best of friends and the worst of enemies...playing in perfect harmony one moment, and fighting like cats and dogs the next, but she really does love her sister. Lily is finally growing up a bit and learning to take care of her little sister, and Kate appreciates it. She loves watching Barbie movies with Lily, and their current obsession is Babie & The Three Muskateers. In fact, grandma gave them dress up costumes for their birthday, and they wear the crowns over their eyes and tell me that they are masks for the masquerade ball.
Kate is always the first child awake in the mornings. After daddy leaves (which is usually very early), she comes in my room and crawls in bed with me. Once again, I think she loves having the alone time with mommy before everyone else wakes up. She loves to help me cook, and she has to be on the kitchen counter whenever I am making anything to eat. She also loves to clean...with a sponge or a rag. She will scrub for hours and even help me fold laundry, but she doesn't like to clean up toys she has gotten out. She whines and takes forever to pick up any messes.
She just recently got her ears pierced. She has been asking for a while. My mom pierced Lily's ears with a piercing gun, and she has been begging grandma to do hers. I kept telling her that it would really hurt, and she kept saying "I'm brave, I won't cry". I ignored her and told her she had to wait. One day, while my little sister Shelby was watching her, she told Shelby that she wanted her ears pierced. Shelby put her up on the bathroom counter and grabbed a couple of Grace's earrings. She said "Are you sure Kate, it is going to hurt"...and Kate said yes. She watched as Shelby poked regular old earrings right through her ears, one at a time, and never cried once. When I came home, she was so proud and couldn't wait to show me. She really is a tough little girl.
She loves her daddy and her grandpas. She always has a special hug and a kiss for them. She also likes her grandmas a lot. She loves to wrap herself right around their little fingers. She also likes to play with Grace and Russell. They have a lot of fun playing outside and getting dirty.
Every night when I tuck her in bed and walk out of her room she yells "Don't let the bed bugs bite". And I always have to say "You either". And the thing that she always says, that just melts my heart, is "Mama, I love you too". (even when I don't say I love you first, she always says I love you too).
We all love our Kate, and we are so thankful to have her in our lives.
