Kathryn Love

I thought she was going to be a boy. Not because of an ultrasound, but simply because when you look at the ratio of boys to girls on both sides of the family, boy truly wins out. When she was a baby, I called her sweet pea.This child was a momma's girl if there ever was one. Right from the very beginning she wanted only mom. She never took a soother or a bottle. I nursed her until she was 18 months.
Kathryn is my rule keeper. You lay out the rules, and she does her best to obey them. I remember one time when she was about 3yrs, we were in a busy parking lot and I was getting the baby out of the car, Kathryn started out away from me, I saw a car coming and with a bit of panic in my voice I yelled her name. She stopped, turned back and ran to me crying. She never did that again and I never had to worry about her running across the street. She will also do her best to make sure everyone else is obeying them too. Her sisters don't always appreciate this. 
Kathryn is a super helper. She has always loved to help with the baby. When Tansley was a baby she would jump at the chance to go and get what ever I or the baby needed. When Kymberly was the baby, she loved to feed her. With James now, I can always count on her to be willing to change his wet diapers. Not only does she help with the baby, but she is learning how to cook and loves to take on that responsibility when ever possible. However, because she is a rule keeper, she also feels that recipes have to be followed EXACTLY. If we don't have the exact ingredient or I suggest a different way of doing it, she nearly has a complete melt down. Before she can continue, I have to give her a lengthy explanation on why it is OK to do it a different way.
Kathryn has a tender heart. She is always very concerned about others feelings. One time when I was really sick and in lots of pain, she brought me her favorite teddy bear to cuddle with. If that teddy bear made her feel better, why wouldn't it also help mommy feel better? At school you can count on her to be a friend to the kids that is left out. At recess she will play with a younger kid if she notices that they have nobody else to play with. She is secure in herself and doesn't let what others think stop her from doing what she knows is right. She will go to nearly any length to make somebody else happy, even if that means she will have to go with out.
Kathryn is everybody's friend. Her teacher tells me that she is the cool kid, that everybody wants to be her friend.
Kathryn is smart and eager to learn. Learning comes easy to her. She loves school. When she is sick, you'd think it was the end of the world when I have to keep her home. She tends to remember every little detail and will remind me of the little things. Her teacher tells me that she does this at school as well.
Kathryn is interested in everything. She is always willing to try something new. Or learn about something new. This past week she got a book on the planet Saturn from the public library. She has read it and has started writing a report on it....just because. It isn't a class assignment. She just did it for fun.

All in all, she is a keeper. I love this big girl of mine, and marvel at time how much like me she is when I was her age, both in looks and in attitude. Sometimes that brings me to call my mother and apologize for my irrational behavior as a child.