kj's date

(yes, this was during fall break...ridiculous amount of back-blogging needs to take place :)

it so rarely happens with my little munchkins...they are so close in age, and in every other thing possible.  Until two months ago they weighed the EXACT same thing, they wear the same shoe size...(too bad they can't share clothes), etc, etc.  Where one goes, the other quickly follows. 

One distinct difference for us as a family this year is Katie being in kindergarten and Carter being in his last year of preschool.  It has opened up some one-on-one time with my kiddos that I never knew I missed so much.  There is something so wonderful about getting to see your kid's personality, completely unadulterated and pure.  I want to put their joy in little bottles and keep them in my purse so I can pop one open whenever things seem just a little too heavy.  Cause their laughter...it makes it all feel lighter. 

This particular day...my Katie Jade was on fall break, and after taking her brother to school and going in to say hi to her old preschool teachers, KJ and I headed out on our first "date."  And, whoa, was it a cool girl's day.  Katie got her hair cut in a big girl chair, went to the store and picked out her very first tube of LipSmackers (which she promptly lost :), and a special toy.  She reminded me just how selfless she is when we were walking to the check out lane, and she looked up at me with those beautiful, big brown eyes and pleaded to get Carter a toy, too..."so he won't be sad, momma."  I am blessed.  After haircuts, and a trip to the store, we went to the nail salon for KJ's first manicure.  Cute beyond words.  I let her pick her color, and was astounded at how still she sat.  She even got adorable little flowers painted on her thumbs.  Oh, the girly wonderfulness.  We ended our date with lunch at Arby's, and went back to school to pick up Carter.  Of course, he had to tell his sister right away that she looked beautiful.  And she did.

So, so beautiful. 
This was a good day.

mom had four whole inches cut off!!

(I straightened it too, which I shall never do again...one because it takes eight hours and two because it makes her look WAY too old.  cute, nonetheless)

oh, such a dollface
she doesn't love the camera at all

pretty nails

thanks for spending the day with me baby girl

holding SO still while they dry :)

all smiles...

yep, there's the barbecue sauce.
a meal for Katie really wouldn't be the same without it :)

I hope you had as much as I did, sweet girl.

"Suddenly, through birthing a daughter, a woman finds herself face to face not only with an infant,

 a little girl, a woman-to-be, but also with her own unresolved conflicts

from the past and her hopes and dreams for the future...."

Elizabeth Debold and Idelisse Malave