text: Morgan Kate: September 2013
  It's Tuesday and it's been forever since I last posted.
  Since that time our girl has turned five. She's five and full of sass.
  She's celebrated her birthday. Celebrated a cousin's birthday. Attended a football game. Cheered at a football game. Started preschool. Started dance. Needless to say, she's been busy.
  Five has been so good. And it's been hard. Good in so many more ways. Good because I can see the person our girl is becoming. But hard, because that girl is sweet, yet sassy. Tender, but strong-willed. Flexible, but so stubborn. Go with the flow, but quite opinionated.
  Case in point - clothes. I get to choose her clothes one day, she chooses the next. That's alleviated lots of arguments and fussing and tears. I'm learning a little about her style and she's learning some "tips" from me as well. Tip one: You shouldn't wear dirty clothes.
  I'm learning that talking things out with her works better than fussing or "popping". Let's be real for a minute. She has had that bottom popped before, but it just really hasn't seemed to work for our girl or for us. She cries and then responds with, "I thought it wasn't nice to hit." We feel endless guilt and wonder if we've done the right thing. I'm hoping and praying that by talking things out now, she'll want to continue to talk things out. Even when she's fifteen. I can always hope and pray right.
  I'm learning that I can't wake her up at the very last minute, when we are rushing to get out the door. That's awful for all parties involved. It's much easier and more pleasant when we slowly wake her up. We start at 6:00 and go in every fifteen minutes after that, until about 6:35ish, when it's "real" wake up time.
  I've learned, that despite what I sometimes wonder, she really is a good listener. Sometimes too good. She may pretend that she didn't hear us, but I know that she listens and comprehends everything. She soaks it up and stores it away. And occasionally she will pull it back out. Sometimes when you wish she wouldn't.
  She's been teaching me things about life since the minute I first set eyes on her and she continues to teach me things. Every. Single. Day.
  She really is a delight. We're working on the sass and the procrastination and the you-can't-cry-and-whine-everytime-something-ends. Things end, sister.
  She has THE biggest heart. She wants everyone to be friends and be okay. She is genuinely a kind and compassionate little girl. She smiles almost 99.9% of the time. She loves her family and friends and pets and God. She thanks Him for each of those every night. She loves school and loves learning. I'm blown away by the things she's learning at school and remembering. Just yesterday she shared with us the life cycle of a frog. She used words like eggs, lily pad, tadpole, tail. Brilliant.
  Five has brought so much fun in just the two weeks that it's been here. I can't wait to see what the rest of five has in store. Hopefully lots of memory making and much slower days.