Kaylen Rose

When I dreamed of being a mommy, I could have never imagined the perfect gifts God would bless me with in my sweet girls. Miss Avery certainly gets her share of attention on this little blog, because well, putting it lightly she's always up to something isn't she? But there's another little girl in this house whose little life is certainly blog-worthy.

I've tried many times to put into words how I feel about my first born, my precious Kaylen Rose and I always fall short.



You see my friends, she's nothing short of amazing, this precious girl.



For one thing, she's a riot. She's always saying something that makes Britton and I laugh out loud. Some of her favorite phrases right now include, "Oh. Come. On. People!" "Are you kidding me?!" and "Remind me what's funny about this?" (Trust me, these sayings are so much funnier coming out of her little mouth:)

When we were in Chicago I was using the restroom and I guess I was taking longer than she thought was necessary. She kept asking me, in a loud, exaggerated whisper "Mommm! Are done yet?!" Then the automatically flushing toilet in my stall flushed and she exclaimed, "Well, its about time!" Except that it wasn't. My toilet flushed underneath me for no reason. When I told Kaylen this she said, "Uhhhh Mom? I think that's the toilet's way of saying. Get off. Your time's up!"

Oh, Kayley Rose.

You crack. me. up!



Kaylen is also a very determined little person. She works so hard at anything that she puts her mind to. She was recently asked to be a part of a junior competitive dance team. While dancing doesn't come naturally to her, she works so, so hard at it. At home she goes over and over the steps and pieces of routines that she is learning in her classes, and while she's still got a long ways to go, I'm so proud of her for her work ethic. She's the same way about school. It doesn't all come easy for her but she doesn't give up. She will write a word that she misses on our practice spelling tests at least twenty-five times without me telling her to, until she gets it right.



From the time Kaylen was very little she was a generous child. Even at two, she would offer you half of her favorite snack or the last bite of something that she clearly wanted to eat herself. She is constantly worrying about "the kids who don't have enough food to eat" or "don't have very may toys," and as a result has prompted us on many occasions to drop off donations to our local Salvation Army food kitchen, and to donate to Goodwill. She truly cares about other people and worries about them. We can't even begin to think of letting her watch the news, because if she hears the inevitable "bad news" or of a tragedy she will worry about the people involved for weeks. She worries especially about her friends. When her little neighbor friends squabble, as they often do, sometimes Kaylen comes home and cries because she can't "make everything better." She worries about one of her favorite classmates who "Doesn't have many friends mommy and I don't know why because I love her." She has such a soft heart. She hates spiders, but won't let me step on them. . . (well, unless they're really big mommy!)



Probably the thing that gets to me the most is this little girl's heart and love for her sissy. We've never told Kaylen that she needs to be "a good big sister" or to take care of Avery. She just does. She has a huge heart and is so, so very protective of her sissy. Once when Avery was little she reached up for the stove when it was on, and I automatically slapped her little hand away. Kaylen came running at me, already in tears, grabbed Avery and said "Don't ever hit my sissy! She doesn't understand!"



Last Sunday night after we tucked Kaylen in and had said goodnight, I was out in the living room picking up. I heard Kaylen kind of sniffling in her room, so I peeked my head back in and to check on her. She was lying in bed in the dark, sobbing softly into her pillow. I ran to her and asked her what on earth was wrong, and she managed to choke out, "I don't want Avery to have seizures anymore! I don't want her to have to go to the hospital. I don't want you to leave and go to California again." My heart ached for my girl as I reassured her that we were going to make things better again and I held her until she fell asleep. I could only hope that I wasn't making a promise I couldn't keep. Then I picked up the pieces of my broken heart and I left her room.

(Here is Kaylen holding Avery during the week that Avery went toxic on her meds and was miserable. She didn't want anyone to touch her, and Kaylen was the only one was able to comfort her.)



We will never know the bond between sweet Kaylen and her sister, its not like just any other sisterly bond. It goes much deeper.

I wish that I had the words to explain what an amazing precious person our Kaylen Rose is. Everything I want to say about her, seems like such a cliche, but they're all so true. She's one in a million. She's an angel on earth, the apple of my eye, and the love of my life.

Kaylen Rose, do you know what an amazing little girl you are? I have never met someone who cares about other people the way you do at seven years old. You love without holding back, you give until it hurts, and you are perfect. I can only begin to imagine the amazing things God has planned for you sweetheart. I thank Him everyday for choosing me to be your mommy and I love you more than you can possibly imagine. I will love you forever.