Lest I Forget

My sister-in-law Tiffany has been visiting from Gilbert with my 8-week old nephew, Hudson. I have repeatedly found myself looking at this little tiny baby then my two giants and thinking, "What happened to the time?" There are a few things about my girls that I don't want to ever forget, no matter how quickly or slowly the time passes.

About Kate:
All obedience in her life is due to her eagerness to please, and not due to my parenting. She is such a sweet-natured child. She has taught me to be excited about little things. For example, her first grade teacher has the same last name as us, and she just can't contain herself. She loves pink and purple. She hates it when I back-comb the crown of her hair- "Mom. It needs to be flat." This summer she decided cartoons are kind of baby-ish, so she now likes iCarly and Victorious. She is such a skinny little thing! She loves her aunts so much, and she loves to be cuddled and have her arms tickled. She surprises me with how well she can read. Kate seems so gentle and shy, but I have seen that she is tough: she is the kid who always comes through when it counts. She loves our "Kate Dates." She is a girly girl- she wants to go to lunch and get pedicures.

About Kiki:
Kiki's naughtiness is usually the star of this blog, but in her defense, many of her misdeeds can be traced back to curiousity or faulty logic and not necessarily the desire to frustrate me. She has every speech impediment known to man right now- I'm really hoping that works itself out. She loves to sing- when she is playing alone I love to sit and listen to her because she makes up little songs and sings the whole time. She is trying to sort out the calendar- she asked me, "Is is Fri-turday or Suesday?" She is an insane dresser- she loves colors of all kinds! She thinks that meal time at our house is like ordering at a restaurant. I will ask her, "Do you want cereal or toast for breakfast?" And she will say, "I'll have the eggs." Also, she thinks the natural state of an egg is hard-boiled. She will tell me that she wants a cold egg in its shell, and I will tell her that I will need to cook it, and she will get so MAD because she thinks eggs just come hard boiled. No matter what she orders when we go out to eat, when the food comes she wants what is on my plate. When you pay Kiki a compliment, her response is, "Yep."

What I Hope For Them:

Dear Girls,

Someday when you are growing up and are frustrated with me and think I don't understand you, I hope you find this and read it and know how much I love you. I worry about you in this crazy world and don't know what the future holds for you. Until you came along I didn't know that my love for you would be felt in every part of me. I didn't know that I could hold a love for another person that could be felt as a physical sensation. I didn't know that I could want so much for another person's happiness.

I hope so many things for you. I hope that you are truly happy people. I hope that you love your family and feel the connectedness that I have felt. I hope that you get as much education as you possibly can. I hope that you are kind. I hope that you are strong. I hope that you will be both warriors and peacemakers. I hope that you have good friends. I hope that I am one of those friends. I hope you find a companion who is as good as your dad. I hope that you learn from your mistakes. I hope that you feel my love for you even when you make those mistakes. I hope that you understand when I have to let you suffer the consequences of those mistakes. I hope that you love the earth and wild things. I hope that you take care of your physical and emotional well-being. I hope that you can cook. I hope you have style. I hope you love to read. I hope that you can navigate this world with confidence. I hope that you can deal with change and grief. I hope that you can recognize blessings and gifts. Above all, I hope that I can be a witness to it all.

Love, Your Mom.