Macy is Five!

When I turned five, a precious lady at our church told me that I was now a whole hand big.  I can remember holding up my five fingers and thinking, wow – that IS big.

And now, my baby is one whole hand big.

On her actual birthday, we celebrated with Buddy and Cook Cook.

Rapunzel dress for present opening

And then a quick change to the Elsa dress once the presents were open.  Cook Cook made Macy her very own Elsa cape.  Amazing.

Two days later was her preschool graduation.

Congratulations Macy!

Hold your diploma up, Macy!

And then a party with her school friends

Bless Amber for grabbing my camera and taking a quick shot of the three of us – I never would have remembered!

Happy birthday, my Macy girl!

At five years old, Macy loves:

Flowers.  Picking them, organizing them, coloring them.

Anything outside.  Swimming, running, playing, sand boxes, sidewalk chalk, helping with Daddy’s garden.

Having her hair Elsa braided.  And then having it wavy for the next day.

Reading.  Favorites include Chrysanthemum, anything D.W., The Lorax, There’s a Nightmare in My Closet, Where the Wild Things Are, The Day the Crayons Quit.

Disney Princesses.  And Frozen.

Drawing and coloring.  Stickers are a bonus.

Gymnastics.

Her sisters – mostly telling Selah what to do and “taking care” of Kate.

Singing.  All the time.  Songs from Frozen, songs from the radio, songs she’s made up.

Oh – and the color pink.  How could I forget that? 🙂

I love you, my beautiful, independent, strong-willed baby girl.  Happy birthday.

Three Times a Mother

Of course, celebrating Mother’s Day will never quite be the same as it used to be.  I find it a little difficult to even be on the card aisle – my eyes can’t help but notice the “To Mother, From Daughter” section.

And so, it makes me even more thankful to have my daughters.

With three now, I thought it might be less stressful to take our “Mother’s Day” pictures on Saturday rather than Sunday.  We had nowhere to go that morning and my mother’s roses looked just about perfect for the background.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.  We love you and miss you every day.

One Month of Kate

Yay!  I’m one month old!

Newborn Diapers

Dear Kate,

Tonight I put on your first size 1 diaper.  It’s a little big, but we have run out of the newborn ones and it didn’t make sense to buy another huge box of them.  Nevertheless, it made your mommy a little bit sad.

Your daddy and I prayed for you.  We prayed for you before we even knew you were and then we kept on praying once we found out you were on your way.  I can remember the moment I knew I was pregnant with you; I ran down the stairs with a goofy smile on my face to tell your daddy.  Some people come up with creative ways to tell their spouse the good news, but I couldn’t hold it in one second longer.  We were elated to know you were coming.

When you came, you were my tiniest baby.  You looked like a baby doll.  And you hardly cried – even after being born, you only wailed for a minute and then were quiet as they checked you out.  When the nurse handed you to me, I fell in love with your sweet, sweet face.  I couldn’t believe you were finally here.

We brought you home in a teeny-tiny newborn onesie – which was too big – swaddled up in a pink blanket even though it was warm outside.  Your sisters couldn’t get enough of you and clamored for your attention.  In typical newborn style, you slept through the whole thing.

And now that you are out of your newborn diapers and through your first month of life, I already feel a little sad that time is passing by too quickly.  The next thing I know, we’ll be adjusting your car seat straps, seeing you smile, and washing your newborn size onesies and putting them away for good.  Even though I have done these milestones twice, it does not make them any less special getting to do them again with you.  If anything, it makes me appreciate you more – it makes me stop, think, and thank God that He has given you to me and that I get to experience this motherhood thing one more time.

I love you, my tiny, beautiful, perfect Kate Lauren.

love,

Mommy