a letter to my girl

Dear Kendall-

How can it be that yesterday marked 2 1/2 years of being part of our family? Sometimes I really wish I could stop you from growing. You are absolutely precious, and I'm so thankful God chose to make you part of our little family.

Your daddy and I are completely amazed at all the things you can say and do. There is no way possible I could write down all the words you can say or the songs you can sing. With either conversation or singing, your mouth is moving constantly! Occasionally, you will ride very quietly on the way to school in the morning, and I have to check in the rear-view mirror to see if you are okay! I was just telling someone today how I think your conversation skills have made parenting you during these toddler years not so horrible, because you can communicate very effectively with us. (That's not to say that your mouth doesn't get you into trouble, though! You definitely have some sass that comes to the surface frequently!) As far as the singing goes, we often call you the "Queen of Medleys" because you will start one song, then go into another, and then another. You also like to mix up the words sometimes and make silly songs, which is pretty funny too!

One big milestone since your second birthday was moving from the crib to a big-girl bed. I was very afraid this might be a difficult transition for you, but surprisingly it's been super easy! You started sleeping in your twin bed on January 1, and have only rolled out a couple of times. I also thought you would want to get up and down constantly, but I can probably count on one hand how many times you get of your bed without asking first. You have a very sweet bedtime routine of singing "My Only Sunshine" (as you like to call it), prayers, hugs, and kisses.

I don't know how much you weigh, but you like to step on the scale and say, "I weigh 32 pounds!" It's pretty funny. I would say you are pretty close to that, but I don't know exactly. I know you are in-between 2T and 3T clothes and I have had to try EVERYTHING on you for this season. Your shoe size is 7 1/2 or 8, again, it just depends on the brand.

You can recognize several letters by sight and know that "K is for Kendall" "E is for Evan" and "L is for Leah." You can count to 20 with help, and can recognize several shapes--oval, triangle, star, and heart. I think it's funny that you can recognize oval, but not circle, square, or rectangle. When you see those three, I say, "What is that?" and very excitedly you respond with, "It's a shape!" You still love to read books and play with your baby dolls the most. Your imagination takes you to lots of places and your daddy and I love to watch it in use.

You are certainly a social butterfly! You know all of your friends' names at church and school, and if you don't know their names you don't hesitate to ask. You also know all of your friends' moms and dads and often stand at the door to greet the parents at church. Sometimes this is funny to me because you know people in church before your daddy or I know who they are! We often hear compliments on how sweet and fun you are, which of course makes us proud. Your teachers at school call you "big-stuff" and we think it fits you perfectly.

In the last few months we have really noticed your sensitive spirit and desire to please. It seems like most of the time, you really do want to do the right thing. You don't like getting in trouble, especially with your daddy. It hurts your feelings big-time. Just a couple of weeks ago, when we were in Arkansas, you were outside with Pop-Roger playing while mommy was inside. I heard you come in the door crying hysterically, and I really thought you were hurt! You weren't though...Pop had to raise his voice at you just a little bit and it hurt your feelings something terrible! We are thankful that your heart has a desire to please and constantly pray that it will be a heart that desires to please God and not man. More than anything, we want you to know and love God and understand how great His love is for you!

Kendall, we love you so much! Even though sometimes it's a little sad to watch you grow up, we delight in being your mommy and daddy more than you will ever know!

Love,
Mommy-Leah