Kate

Now that it’s been 2 months since Kate turned 5, I figured I better get some pictures on the blog of her!

Kate is definitely the easiest one of our children to snap pictures of. She is very photogenic and loves smiling for the camera!

She also loves to be silly!  :0)

This pink poodle, naturally named “Puppy”, is still her favorite! She sleeps with her every night and has many funny conversations with her!

Kate talked about her “snowman birthday cake” for months before her birthday actually came. It was such an easy cake to decorate and Kate loved it!

Kate tried so hard to blow all the candles out…and after a few hard blows, she got them all! Good job, Kate!

Kate opened many nice presents with Grandpa & Grandma V.E. and Joey and Sherry at our house to help celebrate. It was also fun because Kurt and Valen were able to see her open them as well on Skype!

Joel and I were able to find this horse on craigslist for a really good deal. Kate was so surprised when she saw it! She absolutely loves it!

This little girl has grown and changed so much in the last year. What a big girl she is becoming. She lights up our life with her big, squeezy hugs, her belly giggles, singing songs at the top of her lungs, and so much more. We can’t be more thankful for such a precious girl in our lives.

Kate’s syndrome has created some hindrances for her, but she really is developing and making so much progress. In just one year, she has learned so much…

1.) She recognizes 18 of the 26 letters of the alphabet.

2.) Can spell her name.

3.) With wrist support she can write her own name.

4.) She is completely potty trained (day and night)!!!

5.) Know how to count to 29.

6.) Can draw a straight line and a circle.

7.) Knows all her colors and shapes.

8.) She can go up and down the stairs with one foot on each step, without assistance.

9.) Learned how to ride a bike last spring (with training wheels).

10.) Can get dressed with almost no assistance.

11.) Can follow most one step directions that you give her, and also many two step directions.

There are definitely more things, but those are the ones that I can think of at the moment.

Sometimes the way Kate memorizes things, just astounds us. We will go over a memory verse that Levi has to memorize for school, and a lot of times, Kate will have the entire thing memorized after just a few times of hearing us recite it out loud. What a joy it is to hear her memorize scripture so easily!

We treasure each day that God has blessed us with this little girl, and all of our children as well. It is a joyful and very humbling calling to be a covenant parent, and we can definitely become weary on the more trial-some days. But it is good to remember that God is always giving us the strength and grace to get through each day. It is also a wonderful blessing to know that we can always go to God in prayer during our weaker moments, and He will hear us!