Kaitlyn's Bitrthday

It doesn't seem like it was that long ago I had her. She was such a precious gift to us. Only 5 lbs. and 5 oz. and nearly 32 hours of labor, Kalityn arrived at 5:48 in the evening. After spending a month in the hospital and 3 more weeks on oxygen, we were able to take our tiny bundle with us to Oklahoma City. I was a seasoned pro with having Clarissa, so this was going to be cake.... so I thought. Little did I know that this feisty 2 month old was going to give us a run for our money.... literally.Now 12 years later and who knows how many hundreds and thousands of dollars later, our sweet litte girl turned 12. She has been such a pleasure to have in our home. She is an example to me and helps keep the peace..... welll, except when she's teasing her siblings. I remember when she was about 4 or so, she would call her sister a Pootalolli or a Putate. Don't ask me what they mean, but she LOVED to tease Clarissa with those 2 names. It would send her in a tissy and she would yell, "THAT IS NOT IN THE ENGLISH DICTIONARY!!!!" She still likes to joke with her daddy and can still send her sister in a Tissy.
For her 12th b-day we went to Denny's. Why Denny's? Apparently is has become a tradition of some sorts. When Clarisssa turned 12, I was pregnant with Karly and going through a rough patch of morning sickeness. Clarence was somewhere in the forest hunting, and I had handle the birthday party by myself. After only a few friends showed up and I had one distraught girl, I decided the easiest thing to do was load them up and take them to Dennys. The hamburgers that were supposed to be grilled could wait for another meal. And so we did. The waitress and employees sang happy birthday and she got to have her cake and eat it too. She dubbed it the best birthday ever. And so you can see...... a new tradition. Except THIS time Clarence wasn't hunting and I an NOT pregnant.

So we loaded Kalitlyn and a couple of her friends in the van and headed to Dennys. The girls had so much fun giggling and laughing at.... well, I'm not entirely sure what they were laughing at. Girls. Silly girls. Anyway, the waitress and the other employees came out and sang happy birthday and she did get her cake and eat it as well. It was a success.

Afterward we cam back here and opened presents and ate ice cream. Some of the girls had to go home, and a few stayed and had a sleepover. I guess I'm gettitn' too old for these, because at 11:30 I did ask them to turn the tv off and go to bed. Party pooper.


For breakfast they ate bacon, waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream..... of course all Kalitlyn's favorites. It was a great birthday, even if Kaitlyn did get sick. Poor baby.

On Sunday she was still not feelin well, but was insistant on going to church and going to Young Womens for the first time. Wait, back up..... Young Womens? AAHHH!! That's when it really hit me that she was growing up. I still want to hold her and rock her in my arms and send her to binki heaven like when she was a baby, but I can't. Instead I can hold her and talk to her and comfort her when she needs me. At least I still have that.

Happy Birthday Bug!!!! I love you, and I'm so thankful for all you do.