Our Oldest is 9!

Kaitlin had a really long birthday celebration this year!  In fact, my dad kept teasing her that it was the "never-ending birthday!"  It started on our family's spring break vacation in Las Vegas.  The next day, when grandma and grandpa got home, we had cake and ice cream at their house and they took Kaitlin on the traditional birthday "shopping spree!"

Then, the next weekend, Kaitlin had her "friend" birthday party.  This only happens once every other year and she was sooooo looking forward to it!  She wanted to take her friends to "Tangled" and since it was in the $2 theater, I thought that was a great idea!;)  We had Kaitlin (who has a dairy allergy) and a friend of hers who is allergic to gluten! Therefore, it was a bit tricky trying to come up with something that both girls could have, but I figured it out!  The cake was this cookie castle masterpiece! Super easy and so fun! It was a big hit with the girls!

Where has the time gone? I remember Kaitlin being Alli's age - little, cute little sayings and pronunciations for common words, following me around everywhere and trying to be the mom to her newborn brothers...then somewhere in there, she grew up!  It's just crazy how that happens!

Not that I can complain, because she has grown into an amazing young lady.  I often feel humbled by the opportunity I have to even be her momma.

 On a scale of 1-10, this kid is a 11!

She is such a sweetheart.

 She is a funny girl.

When I ask her what her favorite of something is...she can never decide! She loves everything! 

She loves everyone! 

She has a laugh (a really loud one) that drives me crazy, but is such a symbol of her extreme happiness in life! 

She is one of the most selfless people I know.  It is inherent in her character. 

She has a big heart and feels things and thinks things that most girls her age haven't even considered.  She is very tall for her age. 

 She has feet that are almost a full shoe size different.

She can kick the soccer ball super far and is the "go-to" girl on her soccer team.

She is a boys' girl - all the boys want to be her partner at school!

She plays soccer and kick ball at recess with the boys.

She LOVES Activity Days.

She plays the piano better than me and has only been playing for a year!

Her favorite thing to do in her spare time is to go on a date with her daddy!

She is super good at reminding us to say our prayers, especially at breakfast.

She has read almost all of the Boxcar children books! She loves to read.

If she has to pick, the following is her list of favorites:

Color: Blue, pink, white

Food: Hot dogs, Ramen, corn dogs

Favorite Restaurant: Chuck-A-Rama and Mongolian Grill

Favorite Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks, the squeakuel, The Rookie, and any princess-y movie!

Favorite sport: soccer

Favorite Primary Song: When I am Baptized

The girls had so much fun together.  I love Tangled, but it was even more fun to watch their facial expressions during the movie! They were thoroughly enthralled!  I love these girls!  Kaitlin is so blessed to have such a strong, great group of girls to grow up with...and if I say so myself, they are pretty lucky to have her too!