Our Girl

If you were to randomly stop by our house anytime that Kaitlynn is at home, you would likely see her dressed like this:

Our girl is ALL girl. I think most girls love to dress up and play princess, but we continue to be amazed at how much she gets into the act. She has several princess costumes, but this one from the Disney Tangled movie is her absolute favorite. It's a large costume covered in glitter and with multiple petticoats, so maybe it makes her feel like the ultimate princess! We help her put it on over her clothes, and then she runs straight to the playroom to get her coordinating earrings, tiara, and princess slippers. Then she proceeds to twirl and whirl all over the house, asking each of us if we'd like to join her at the Ball.

Kaitlynn and her Daddy have such a special relationship, and she now often refers to him as her Prince. When she is dressed up in her princess costume, she will extend a hand towards Jeff and ask him to dance with her. Of course, he just eats it all up! He loves to dance with her and be her Prince. The other day, they were dancing together when Kaitlynn announced, "It's time to kiss!" So she leaned toward Jeff, tilted her head softly one direction, and then went in for a long kiss. Jeff looked up at me with an amused, startled expression, wondering how she knows so much about kissing. I think we've been watching Cinderella a few too many times, ha!

The Prince and Princess were worn out after the Ball.

Kaitlynn is very much enjoying her girly accessories these days. She always notices my jewelry and outfits, and she frequently asks for her own. She finds many creative ways to accessorize -- it's such a girl thing, I guess! And every day when I get Kaitlynn dressed, she expects an appropriate number of "oohs" and "ahs" and compliments on her appearance by everyone in the house. Ha!

The other day I told Kaitlynn we needed to run an errand quickly but she could stay in her pajamas. Before I knew it, she had added her blankie as a "scarf" and of course, her princess slippers. A girl can't leave without her accessories, ha!

Sunglasses are a necessary accessory sometimes, too.

A trip to the library in her princess tutu.

Kaitlynn had her mid-year preschool assessment earlier this year to record her academic progress. They measure her knowledge of letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and some basic vocabulary. She seems to be right on track, and she has recently been working very hard on her letters and writing. We have several writing tools (dry erase flashcards, iPad apps, etc.) and she enjoys practicing her letters, but recently when I've tried to get her to write her letters or name for me free-hand, she usually flat-out refuses. Except for the letter H -- which she can write perfectly and draws all over everything (seriously, there are H's all over her papers! -- she hasn't been interested in writing for me. I can't figure out why she's so reluctant to write letters, except she gets a little frustrated when she messes up, like she's being perfectionistic about it? I finally bribed her and told her that when she was ready to write her name for me, I would take her to get a new pair of earrings. She seems a little more willing to write now, and I finally got her to write her name on her best friend Anais's birthday card last week. For her very first "signature" I was impressed! Of course, the letters are in no particular order, ha!

And speaking of Kaitlynn's friend, Anais...if I had to admit our biggest disappointments for our upcoming move to Katy, it would be (1) leaving our home/community, and (2) leaving behind Kaitlynn's best friend, Anais. Those 2 girls were instant friends from the time they met on the playground at Mother's Day Out when they were about 18 months old. They weren't even in the same class, but they always gravitated towards one another on the playground and haven't been separated since.

Anais and Kaitlynn, two very special friends!

It breaks my heart to think of Kaitlynn in preschool next year without her best friend, Anais! But the good news is that we are already planning lots of play dates to make sure they get to see each other often during summer and on the days they aren't in school.

Anais and Kaitlynn on the playground at preschool.

Some funny things Kaitlynn has been saying lately:

• When she's excited about something, she'll jump up and down while exclaiming: "I'm so exciting!!"
• When she isn't happy about something, she will say, "Stop being mean at me!"
• She can be SO sweet when she wants to be. Her latest way of showing love is by hugging us while saying softly, "You're so perfect in my family."
• She still says "kitchen" for chicken, "slip" for zip, and "yo" for phone. "Yo" has become a family word and even some of our friends are using it now to refer to Apple devices in general. Ha!
• She eats peanut butter on wheat toast for breakfast most mornings, and she continues to pronounce it "pier" toast instead of peanut butter toast.
• When she wants to be picked up, she holds out her arms and says, "I carry you." I can't bear to correct her!

Our girl has been going through quite the "phase" (at least I hope it's a phase) lately. I'm sure she is sensing all of our emotions and just reacting to the upheaval in our lives, so I'm trying to be patient with her. I also remember Connor going through a similar tough phase at age 3, so maybe it's a combination of age and life changes. In any case, I'm ready for it to be OVER! But in between all the "ugly" moments, there are many of the "beautiful" moments and we are just soaking them in.

Love those twinkling eyes and that sweet smile.