And she's officially 5!

Which means I officially have a 5-year-old! Redundant, I know, but a must to give my brain enough time to let it sink in.

I have a child months away from starting Kindergarten. Three-year-old school was hard enough.

I have a child half way to double digits.

Wasn't it just a week or two ago I found out I was pregnant?

I have a child who is 5 going on 15, with a touch of Valley Girl!

And I couldn't be more proud of her.

Just the other day, our neighbor was commenting on how proud we should be of our kids and my response was, "Yep, and it all started the day she was born. All it took was for her to be. To eat, poo, cry and sleep and I felt like I had sliced my heart wide open for the world to see."

There was no turning back. I was Done. Sold. Gone forever. Amazed by the amazing-ness of our precious baby.

And here she is, growing beautifully and gracefully.

She has embraced turning 5 with much pride.

Many questions have surfaced revolving around being 5.

Timeline-type questions:
Mom, so will I still be 5 when Nathan turns 3?

Will I be 5 for next Christmas?

Responsibility-type questions:
I remember you telling me I couldn't eat gum until I was 5, but I started at 4.

You know, if you had twins, you could feed the boy baby and I could feed the girl baby, because I'm 5 now and even bigger a helper.

Her birthday party was on a beautiful Spring day.

I prayed for a Spring baby, because I love Spring time so much.

She was born less than a week after the first "official" day of Spring in 2006.

We brought her home to warming temperatures, flowers blooming everywhere and sweet orange blossom fragrances.

She is a great mix of her mommy and daddy. Stoic, yet dramatic. Head strong, yet compassionate. An observer, yet spontaneous.

She can't wait for this baby to arrive. She's anxious to help any way that she can and I know she'll be great.



Katherine, Sweetpea, Sunshine, my precious girl. You are loved and adored by so many. I tell you all the time that when you were still up in heaven as an angel, Jesus did a great job matching us up to be your parents and you, to be our daughter. We are having a marvelous time learning all about you, ourselves and Him, through you. You have opened a whole new world for us to explore and learn from. We couldn't be more proud of you.

I see speckles of myself, your daddy and brand new traits scattered throughout every single day. You are truly one of a kind.

Congratulations on another beautiful year. Keep up the great work, Punkin.

~Mama