Happy Birthday Kate!!!

(I started this post on Kate's birthday but didn't finish it until today, so don't mind the present tense!)
So my baby girl turned four today...and it makes me so sad! I can't believe she is so big, and so grown up. I was talking to my mom about being pregnant with number three, and she said, "Isn't it sad how the more babies you have, the farther and farther away your first child gets pushed?" I started bawling on the spot. In fact, the sentence only has to go fleeting across my mind and it breaks my heart.

Kate is such a sweet girl, and I can honestly say the last four years have been such a joy. She is the light of our home. She is animated, precocious, social, funny, smart, chatty, affectionate and almost always pleasant. She can be competitive and sensitive, which can be hard to deal with sometimes, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Time is stealing my baby girl, and I wish i could capture every single thing she does. She is such a good helper, and she has taught me so much about myself in the last four years. I told someone today that I found myself getting choked up all day long, thinking of her growing up, and they said, "But turning 4 isn't really even a milestone birthday!" But it doesn't matter...it still makes me sad. We love our "baby Kate", and we are so proud of the sweet little girl that she has become.

Kate came into this world a tank...9 lbs. 5 oz. with a head full of black hair. One woman in my ward told me that she had never seen so much hair on a "white" baby. Honestly, had I not witnessed her come out, I would have been convinced that she was switched at birth. But we of course thought she was darling, sumo baby and all.


Leaving the hospital, already filling out those jammies!


By age one, she had luckily lost the sumo look, and turned into a tiny little thing. She was so much fun as a toddler, and she was the center of our world.



Kate at two was just pure entertainment. She has always been a talker, and watching her learn and grow was amazing. Jim and I just laughed all the time with her in our life.


Kate at age 3, which was until all of two days ago, has been so much fun. She had a fun year with lots of first, like starting preschool, dance class, swim lessons, and regular play dates with friends. She is a great big sister. She is full of life and every day spent with Kate is a new experience.





So to celebrate her 4th birthday, Kate had a party at Scooter's Jungle. That place is a dream! I didn't have to lift a finger--it was worth every penny! Kate loves parties...every aspect of it. She said to the employee that was helping our group, "Don't forget to sing to me!" And she was hilarious opening presents--she was the perfect little hostess. She would open every present, ooh and ahh over it, and then genuinely thank whoever gave it to her ("Oh thank you Savanah!"), even if she wasn't exactly sure what the gift even was. It was darling. I know b-day parties can be a bit excessive, but the sheer joy on Kate's face makes it all worth it!






Since her party was on Thursday, we decided to take Kate to do whatever she wanted on Friday night for her actual birthday. She wanted to go to the Spectrum to ride the ferris wheel and the merry-go-round. We had a great night, and I think she felt sufficiently celebrated on her birthday. Ezra had a great time, too, and was just as much fun to "celebrate" with.







We love you Kate! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!