Kaitlyn's 6th Birthday

Kaitlyn turned 6 in May.  She is in one of those stages where she is growing and changing so fast I can hardly believe it!  I feel like when my kids start kindergarten they are so little but when they finish they are just one of the big kids.  She grows so fast I can hardly keep her in clothes and she's taken off learning to read and everything else they have learned in kindergarten.

She was so excited for her birthday.  Jason wanted to take her to do something special for her birthday a couple days before when he had the day off.  The activity they picked...going fishing and then out to lunch.  She loved spending the morning with her dad.  On her birthday I took her to get her nails done in the morning before school.  We are really going to miss having mornings to spend with her next year when she goes to school all day!

We enjoyed a quite night as a family going out to dinner and presents and cake at home to celebrate.

No surprise here.  This is the doll Kaitlyn had been insisting for months was what she wanted for her birthday!

 Kaitlyn found it a bit of a challenge to blow out her candles with her missing two front teeth!

 A few days later we celebrated all the May birthdays in Jason's family.  There are a bunch of them, most only a few days apart!  Here they all are!

Here's a look at Kaitlyn at 6.

What she likes: talking (Jason asks me if she ever stops and the answer is no), singing, dancing, American Girl Dolls, getting her nails painted, running, playing with friends, making new friends wherever we go, shopping (as long as it is for her), skirts, Barbies, drawing, reading, writing, school, trying new foods, riding her bike and smiling.

What she doesn't like: getting her hair combed, sitting still, foods that are too sweet (wish I could say she got that from me!) being teased by her brothers, and waiting.

Things I love about Kaitlyn: her smile and dimples are adorable!, having a girl to do girl things with (although she can also keep up with the boys anytime), she tells me every day that she loves me and still gives me big hugs all the time, and she's outgoing, friendly and kind.

Here's a quick story to show how sweet this little girl is.  She had a girl in her kindergarten class this year that obviously had some challenges and wasn't at the same place most kindergartners were. Kaitlyn became good friends with this girl and was always watching out for her when I was in the classroom or on field trips. She told me once that some of the other kids made fun of this girl just because she was different and couldn't do the same things everyone else could.  That really bothered Kaitlyn and she told me she would never do that to anyone.  On the the day of their kindergarten graduation each of the kids stood up in front of the room full of parents and had a small speaking part they had written.  Kaitlyn was one of the first ones and didn't have any problem standing up there in front of all those people.  Some of the kids were obviously a bit more nervous and when it got to this friend of Kaitlyn's, she refused to go up. The teacher asked her if she would do if if Kaitlyn came up and helped her.  Kaitlyn was obviously a good friend to her and her teacher recognized that.  No wonder he nicknamed her "smiley!"