Kaitlyn's 9th Birthday

Kaitlyn turned nine in May.  Nine has always been a hard age for me because it's hard to believe that my kids are half way grown up.  We celebrated all the May birthdays in the family at our house on her birthday. Skyler really wanted to help her blow out her birthday candles.  We had to convince him he's get his turn in a month.  Kaitlyn's request was the raspberry white chocolate cheesecake.  It turned out tasting a lot better than it looked.  Her cousin, Winston, got to blow out the candles on his Oreo cake.

 

We took Kaitlyn shopping the weekend of her birthday for a new bike.  She picked out the perfect one but it had to be ordered in and then built.  She was very patient waiting for it but it was worth the wait!  I think it's the perfect bike for her!  She was a little scared of the bigger bike and gears at first but in no time she had it all figured out and was biking like a pro.

 

Kaitlyn chose to have her birthday party with her friends at Color Me Mine, a pottery place downtown.  The girls got to pick out a piece of pottery and paint it.  They had a great time painting, opening presents and eating cake and ice cream.  It was a fun afternoon with a cute group of giggly girls!

Here's a look at Kaitlyn at 9: She's smart, happy (most of the time), friendly, outgoing, excited about life, determined, imaginative, playful, daring, and active.  There is never any doubt about what she is feeling.  She lets everyone know!

What I love about Kaitlyn: her happy personality, her hugs (and the fact that she still likes to give them to me), her bubbly personality, and having a girl to do fun things with.  As much as I hate to see my only little girl grow up it is so fun to have her along for girls outings now.

What Kaitlyn likes at 9: Barbies, American Girl Dolls, reading (Ever After High, Gregor the Overlander, and Fabelhaven are a few recent favorites), amusement park rides (she was thrilled to be tall enough to go on all the rides at Lagoon, even the new ride Cannibal), running, biking, soccer, playing with friends, school.

What she doesn't like: practicing the piano (she really doesn't like it but she's also way too good for me to let her quit), chores, being teased by her brother, and not being able to do something (she's a bit of a perfectionist.