I can't believe this girl is 12! I very VERY distinctly remember every detail about my 12th birthday and my first young women activity. How is it possible that I already have a child that age?!
This picture below is exactly the expression I was wanting to capture when she opened her main birthday present. We had been telling her no no to the team parka for almost a year. It wasn't a team requirement and so therefore wasn't something we wanted to invest in until we knew what kind of commitment she would have to swimming. Well, this girl is a fish. She works so hard, she's been dropping times and setting new goals. She completely deserves this parka! HOWEVER...hers hadn't come in yet! AHHH! But what about that excitement on her face?! She wasn't gonna get that from looking at a piece of paper that had a picture on it of the parka she would EVENTUALLY get! We knew we HAD to borrow from a friend down the street so we could really get the full effect of this awesome birthday present!
And I got the picture I wanted! (and her parka, with her name on it, came the very next day!) :)
Kaylee had her very first activity on her actual birthday...and to make it better it was an activity with her daddy...and all the boys! The opening song was led by our next door neighbor and of course it was a primary birthday song! The youth and leaders in our ward are absolutely amazing and wonderful and perfect and fun and the best examples for my little girl (and for me). I am so excited for her to be part of it all!
While she was gone to the activity her Beehive class presidency ran over real quick to decorate her door! This was a momma's dream come true! She has been so excited for this and I just really REALLY wanted it to all be perfect and amazing for her...and it really was...
...just like it was for her momma 23 years ago! ;) It was fun to show the girls my 12 year old pictures and read my first journal entry from when I turned 12. Such great memories! :)
But quickly moving on...this is about Kaylee! :)
This girl has the greatest friends ever and they had a fun night together the weekend after her birthday! I'm always thankful for where we live and the amazing people that are such a huge part of our lives! I hope and pray that Kaylee and all of our kids will always surround themselves with good friends...good people that will always encourage each other to be good and make good choices!
Hmmm...maybe they aren't as sweet and innocent as I just raved about! What happened to them?! ;)
Of course the big highlight of turning 12 was getting to go to the temple for the first time to do baptisms. What an amazing experience, from getting her recommend to being in the temple. I wrote more about it in Kaylee's journal, but I just have to say that the spirit was so strong walking up to the temple that day with her. I can't imagine what it would be like to be inside with all of my kiddos around us!
Kaylee already has grown and blossomed so much! I see her writing in her own journal, and reading more, and listening more and taking it all in. She has always been a huge help to me and to everyone in our home...but that help and unconditional love for all of us just continues to happen. She is truly one of a kind! Someone I know I need in my life! She makes me want to be a better mother...and just a better person! We all love her so much!
Happy birthday Kaylee Elaine!
1 comment:
Isn't it amazing to see your daughter go through these milestones?
Hey, have you heard of swimoutlet.com? That's where we get all our swim stuff...goggles, suits, training snorkels (the most recent order!), everything. In fact, I get goggles every time I'm on there. Their own brand (Sporti) look just like the speedo vanquisher goggles. Anyway, I didn't want to spend the $110+ for Cody to get a team parka (I'm cheap!) so I got him one off there. It was only $65 and I had his name put on it locally for $12. I can't wait until Christmas to give it to him!
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