SIX Years Old

 Katherine Grace, 

You are SIX years old. Although you'll always be my baby girl, you are growing into such a beautiful young lady, and I'm often surprised at your independence, wisdom, and maturity. At six years old, you are an encourager, extroverted, kind, thoughtful, sensitive, bright, determined, playful, and loyal. You are such a joy to our family. I'll never understand why I ever doubted the idea of adding a fourth child to our family, but I will always, always be grateful for the Lord's kindness in gifting you to us. 

Katherine, one of the things I've always loved most about you is the gift you have to make anyone you're around feel special. You just have a way of intentionally spending time with others in such a kind and joyful way, that anyone who has been in your presence leaves encouraged and uplifted. I pray this gift sticks with you as you grow up, because it is a special thing. 

You're also a strong, outgoing, brave girl. I think you've learned courage and bravery from being the youngest in our family. You never want to be left out of anything, and often try and succeed in tasks that are beyond your age because you are challenged by your older siblings. This Fall you began dance classes at a new studio, and you're in a multi age homeschool class. You are one of the youngest girls in the class but are determined to keep up with the older girls. When you couldn't complete a skill that the class was practicing for a dance, you came home and practiced constantly until you mastered it. You were so proud to go back to class the next week and show your teacher that you could do it. 

Another thing I love about you is your ability to talk to anyone. You're never afraid to speak to adults (even strangers). You'll ask anyone a question without any sort of fear. You also make friends so easily. Wherever we are (the park, a line, a sporting event), you seek out any child that's near and start playing with them. You also seek out younger kids and love to play with them too. I think it's fun for you to get to be the big kids sometimes. I attribute some of it to having a lot of older siblings and being homeschooled, but your ability to play with much older and much younger children or anyone is such a valuable skill. 

You are a sensitive girl. Anytime you feel like you've disappointed me or realize you've disobeyed, you burst into tears and apologize. You also can sense others' emotions and comfort, reassure, or celebrate with however they're feeling. You've been very open in processing Grammy's death. You pray for our family's comfort daily and tell me anytime you miss Grammy. We've talked about how it's a good thing to think about Grammy so much and to miss her without feeling too sad all the time. 

One day out of the blue, you told me you want to be a missionary when you grow up, and as I'm sitting her reflecting on all these special traits the Lord has given you, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the Lord leads you in that direction as you grow. 

You are fiercely loyal to our family. You adore your siblings and have an especially close relationship with Nathan. You always, always want to play with your siblings and you do play with them often each in unique ways. You also adore your Daddy. You wake up early and wave goodbye to him every single morning. You get so upset if he leaves for work before you're awake to tell him goodbye. 

At six years old, your favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, popcorn, strawberries, bacon, brownies, and ice cream. You're not a fan of any vegetables although you're willing to eat them sometimes.

Your favorite shows are Bluey, Barbie shows and movies, and Dude Perfect. You play with a variety of toys and change your favorites often. You like to play with barbies, your princess collection things where you play that you're going on a trip, duplos and legos, and stuffed animals. You also like to dress up and put on shows. You're taking dance and gymnastics classes this year, and you are always dancing all over our house and also doing cartwheels everywhere. You like to perform! You also love to play games. You went through a phase where we were playing multiple games every single day. I would always say that your love language is playing games. You catch on quickly and are easily learning some more complicated games as you mature. 

You're doing great in Kindergarten this year. It's a joy to teach you. You work hard on your reading and math every day. So far, the concepts are coming easily to you, and you love school. Co-op days are your favorite days. You get to take a fun class where you read books and do crafts and science projects, and you participate in PE and music. You can't wait to take even more classes next year. 

Your best friends are Laura, Kyla, and all the Pashkovets. You've also made several friends in your dance class and at AHG. You've been buddies with some of the little girls at co-op too.  

I call you the Cherry on Top in our family because you have completed us and made our lives so much sweeter. It's so true. You are a joy and are so loved by so many people.