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.
Absolutley beautiful birthday baby! ~ Angela
Posted by: Angela | October 12, 2009 at 06:09 PM
she's like a doll..sweet kate.
Posted by: azah | October 09, 2009 at 02:26 AM
lovely pictures, yep know what you mean! we had our third child on his brothers 1st birthday - so they share the day! most unexpected! definitely not planned, but wouldn't be without him - he was meant to be - he started out against all odds and rushed into life and at 20 years, hasn't slowed down one bit...has been a great mate for his brother and they enjoy life totally. wouldn't change a thing!!
Posted by: Kim | October 02, 2009 at 08:01 PM
She is adorable! A blessing no doubt.
Posted by: Mommas Soapbox | September 29, 2009 at 09:05 AM
What a sweet, sweet post and what a sweet, sweet girl! Loved the picture of her with her hands on her hips. Such a girly! Happy Birthday!
Posted by: Janiel | September 28, 2009 at 02:51 PM
You are blessed. Love the picture of her with her hands on her hips! :)
Posted by: Sharla | September 28, 2009 at 07:28 AM
We have 15 months between our first and second, in fact Darcey wasn't even walking when her baby brother was born!. Hard work but oh, so worth it. Happy Birthday Miss Kate! We hope you have a wonderful day!!!
Posted by: Ali | September 27, 2009 at 01:41 PM
She's adorable! Happy Birthday, Kate!
Posted by: Ellen Patton | September 26, 2009 at 08:33 PM
Happy Birthday to her! I remember when you only had Grace and Russell! Yes the Lord knows best :) Lily needed a sister and a friend to play with!
Posted by: alicia.king | September 26, 2009 at 04:48 PM
These pictures of Kate are absolutely adorable! You were blessed with beautiful children!! Hope your hubby knows how to shoot a shotgun! LOL!
Posted by: Michelle | September 26, 2009 at 02:22 PM
We've had two since my husband went through with his "appointment" about 7 years ago. Luckily one side didn't take and we could never work out rescheduling. What a blessing for us!
Posted by: Jeanne Miller | September 26, 2009 at 10:48 AM
OMG she is SO SO sweet, so so cute I love the 4th picture !!!
Wow you did a great work your children are so special !
Posted by: Valerie | September 25, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Sherelle, I love your harvest pictures. My husband farms and I love it. We don't have potatoes, though. I always worked during spud break in high school and loved it. The smell of good spud dirt...love it! Your pictures bring back memories of long, hard, dirt covered days. And Kate is so cute, her pictures are adorable!
Posted by: Heather | September 25, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Wow! And I thought my kids were a surprise! But it is so true, it's sure a good thing we aren't too in charge of our lives! Kate is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I love how you can just see all her little or big for that matter personality in each picture, what a cutie!
Posted by: Ginger | September 25, 2009 at 10:03 PM
Loved this post. And I felt like the beginning of it was a glimpse into my current/future life. We "thought we were done" having kids and then when my baby was 5 months old we found out we were expecting #5! So, I'm due the end of Jan and they will be 14 months apart. Only mine are both boys. It is so true, sometimes He knows what we need so much more than we do!
Hope Russell is doing better!
Posted by: Emily | September 25, 2009 at 09:19 PM
Oh Sherelle what a sweet post! I have to say we love her too! Her sweet personality is contagious and she is one of the cutest little peanuts we know! So tell her Happy Birthday from all of us! Amanda thinks she is adorable! And as always the pictures are fantastic!
Posted by: Jen P. | September 25, 2009 at 09:07 PM