We celebrated her birthday weekend with Nana, and my nieces (Nana was watching them while my bro and SIL were on a trip). They arrived Friday evening and the girls took off in the backyard while we made pizza and relaxed on the porch.

Saturday morning started early because it was Hailey’s end of season Girls on the Run 5k! It was her first race ever and we were all excited. Since David was her running buddy, they took off first and we followed up around 8:45 with the cheering squad.

I was SO proud of Hailey’s efforts. She really has enjoyed the program so much and out of probably 40ish kids and adults, she came in 5th! Most importantly, we had a huge smile on her face. It was so much fun to see her so proud of herself.

After the race, we changed quickly and headed to the boat club. We sold our boat when we thought we were selling our house, and since then we’ve been members of a boat club, where we can reserve boats to use. We hopped on our tritoon, picked up lunch from Eddie’s, and had a boat picnic.

We floated for a bit before heading back home for an afternoon of kayaking, bonfires, and egg tosses. We had so much fun with a nothing more than a dozen eggs. We played egg toss and egg on spoon races and the girls just thought it was the greatest.

We ended the evening with the birthday girl’s request: corndogs (Field Roast sausages for the adults), cantaloupe, and mud pie!

Sunday was her actual birthday and she woke up to streamers, balloons, and what she was most looking forward to- presents!

The way she reacted to Hailey’s homemade book (that she has worked so hard on and we had laminated) absolutely made the weekend for me. Seeing their bond and love for each other absolutely melts my heart.

After playing all morning, we hugged Nana and the girls goodbye. Then we visited her Taekwondo school for a party they were having before heading the the jump park. After 90 minutes of jumping and dominating the dodgeball court, we were all exhausted.

We skipped Hibachi in favor of pajamas and pizza on the couch, watching the birthday girl’s requested movie- The Princess Bride. With more mud pie of course.

And now a few quick facts about our Kaitlyn…

She’s quite the mix of contradictions: feisty as can be with a tender heart, confidence overflowing when attempting new tasks yet surprisingly shy in some situations.

She’s smart as a whip and the vocabulary she casually mixes into daily conversation sometimes takes me by surprise. She thrives with math and is ahead of where she needs to be, but likes the challenge to keep learning new concepts.

She’s a very physical touch love language and likes snuggling, kisses, and hugs.

She’s long and lean, making it quite the challenge to find clothes that fit, but strong and athletic at the same time. Her favorite activity she does right now is Tae Kwon Do and she is not looking forward to swim team because she gets so cold so quickly.

She loves to fish and asks us to set her up with the hook quite often, and also begs to wear just a little bit of my blush and lipstick. One minute she likes to dress up as Rey and fight with a light saber and the next she’s in a fancy gown with jewel stickers all over her face being a fancy princess.

She loves to be in the kitchen and cook, especially when she can be the head chef instead of the sous chef. Her favorite food is still macaroni and cheese.

A few of her favorite gifts included: HexBug BattleBots, a pocket-sized animal print identification book, and a bed canopy with stars.

We love you so much, Goose, and love watching you grow! You make every day an adventure 💜

Kaitlyn at 6 months old
Kaitlyn at 1 year old
Kaitlyn at 2 years old
Kaitlyn at 3 years old
Kaitlyn at 4 years old
Kaitlyn at 5 years old
Kaitlyn at 6 years old