Today you are THREE!
It feels like just yesterday that our lives changed forever when I gave birth to a beautiful 8 pound 5 ounce baby girl.
I will NEVER, EVER forget the moment you were born at 1:58 pm on Tuesday, January 23, 2007.
When Dr. W said, "It's a GIRL!" I cried lots of tears...
Tears of relief that our baby was healthy.
Tears of thankfulness that our baby was here
Tears of joy that it was a girl!
Tears of gratitude that I was now a mommy.
{seconds after you were born}It is an honor & privilege to be your Mommy.
You have taught me so much about life & what it means to be selfless.
Everyday you make me want to be a better person & a better Mommy.
{ready to leave the hospital 2 days after you were born}When I think about you, my heart swells with pride & joy.
You are such a sweet, sweet,
sweet little girl.
You are kind to those around you & have such a gentle spirit.
(1st birthday - January 23, 2008)Your personality is fun & goofy.
You are a total spaz & ball of energy at home (or at Mimi's & Jimmy's or Papa & Grandma's houses)
But in new situations or big group situations, you are reserved & almost shy.
You definitely like to assess situations before you jump into doing something, this confirms that you are a thinker and like to take your time to warm up to new things.
(1st birthday photo shoot - January 2008)The past year you have blown me away with how much you can say & do.
You are a smart little girl, you know your ABC's, you can count to 20 & count to 10 in Spanish.
You know how to spell your name and love telling us letters different objects start with.
(2nd Birthday party - January 2009)This year you were
potty trained, You graduated from a crib to a
big girl bed, you started
dance, class with your friend Maddie , and have loved being in the yellow room at church for Sunday School. I help out in your class once a month & I love seeing you interact with your peers. I love helping in there & you love having me there. Every Sunday you ask me if I am helping in your classroom.
You are an amazing big sister. You ADORE Claire. I love how much you love her.
You get sad when she is napping. You always want to wake her up so you can play with her.
I hope you continue to love her like this. Having a sister is a blessing. I am so glad you guys have each other. Of course, you do have your "sisterly" moments and you sometimes like to steal her toys & not share, but we are working on it!
You love to color & do puzzles. Those are your top activities. You also love your doll house.
You are left handed (just like your Daddy!)
You really love to help me bake & cook. I hope you continue to be my little kitchen helper!
You are becoming very independent and like to do things "all myself" especially dressing yourself, undressing yourself & most recently picking out your own outfits.
You can also be very stuborn (gee, I wonder where you got that from....both parents!!)
At 3 years old, these are some of your favorites:
Favorite foods-pancakes, waffles, eggs, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets & sweet potato fries, pizza, hot dogs & fruit. You LOVE fruit. You would eat only fruit if I let you. And, you really love chocolate.
Favorite shows- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Backyardigans, & Handy Manny
Favorite Books - Pinkalicious, Purplicious, Fancy Nancy, The Giving Tree & the Llama Llama series.
Movie- You have only seen 1 movie & it was last Monday. We borrowed Cinderella from Tara. You are now officially obsessed with it. You aren't a princess girl, you told me that the dog, cat & mice were your favorites. (Kevin is so proud!)
Favorite Color - Purple (and then pink).
You are still daddy's girl through & through.
You will pick Daddy over me any day of the week. But it doesn't bother me. I think the bond you have with your Daddy is wonderful. You are lucky to have a Daddy who is so involved with your life & who loves you so much.
You still take a nap & we put you to bed at 7:30-8:00. But most nights, we hear you "reading" your books in bed or talking to yourself until 9:30 or 10.
You sleep in until 7:30 or 8 most mornings. You get VERY grumpy in the morning if you don't get breakfast right away (also just like your Daddy).
Your 3 year appointment is next week & also next week i will do your 3 year photo shoot (too much rain this week!)
You are very aware of your birthday this year & that on January 23rd you are turning 3!
You have been asking me everyday this week if it was your birthday.
Every time we got in the car this week you asked if we were going to your birthday party.
Well, Kate, it is here...your 3rd birthday has arrived!
I hope you know how much you are loved by me, your Daddy, your sister, your Grandparents & all your aunts, uncles, cousins & friends.
But most importantly as you grow up, I hope you know how much God loves you. He created you in his image and I hope you will always cling to that.
You are BEAUTIFUL inside and out. At times, you take my breath away by what you say or what you do. You truly are an amazing & special little girl. I have tears running down my face as I write this because of how much JOY you have given me.
It is an HONOR to be your Mommy. I am so blessed & thank God everyday for choosing ME to be your Mommy. His timing & plan are perfect and YOU remind me of that EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
Happy 3rd Birthday Katelyn Grace!
All my love,
Mommy
(or as you sometimes try and call me "Mamissa")
How cute is her dress?
How cute is her dress?
She makes all the dresses from up-cycled t-shirts & does her own screen printing! So talented!
This dress is inspired by Disney's Princess & The Frog movie.
*sidenote - The frog is also perfect because she isn't really into the Princess thing. I showed her Cinderella for the first time 2 weeks ago (the only princess movie she has seen. After the movie she told me her favorite characters were the cat, dog & mice. Kevin was so proud since he is anti-princess*
Of course, I have learned that I can't do a photo shoot with her on my own, so I begged my older sister to come with me to help make Kate smile!
Kate was surprisingly cooperative!
It has been so rainy the past 2 weeks & this week she came down with a nasty cough (and she has since given me her cold) so we have been cooped up in our house all week.
Kate loved running up the hills, it was quite the workout for me trying to keep up with her!
One of the good things about all the rain is that all the hills around our house have turned GREEN!
In order to have her sit for some pictures, I bribbed her with the promise of candy.
Kate had her 3 year check up this week.
Gotta love the pink converse!
Kate was 
We are back to lounging in our pj's & trying to get over our colds.
