Growing Up

Today I had one of those mornings where I really stopped to take a minute to look at Kendle and how all of a sudden she just looks so much older to me. She is getting taller and more independent and has braces and all of these things which are just giving me a big punch in the gut that she is not such a little girl anymore. I swear I just blinked and she went from her adorable baby self to this girl with an attitude and big personality that is almost done with the third grade. Instead of quiet mornings and afternoons spent together reading books and playing, our days are now filled with sports, piano, school and church activities, driving to and fro from one thing to the next and birthday parties and sleepovers. She surfs the internet, paints her nails, turns up the stereo in her room, is a reading machine, is trying to be more helpful, occasionally plays the part of the class clown, and has a little bit more interest in clothes. She also talks back and has a very messy room, but we're working on that. :) She has muscly calves and a strong athletic body that help her play and enjoy sports and I really appreciate watching her play hard and give it everything she's got. I love her sweet little face, her deep brown eyes that always seem to twinkle with mischief, and her sprinkling of freckles across her nose. This girl is a fighter and she knows what she wants and how she's going to get there. I'm in awe of how she is the best of both her father and I. She is my only girl in a rowdy household of boys -- we have to be allies me and her.



















I just need her to stay a little girl for a little while longer.