In a nutshell...

Nathan and I decided mid week that we needed to go to the temple. We hadn't been since the beginning of July and Saturday was open. With Kaitlyn's birthday approaching I've been teeter tottering back and forth trying to decide whether or not to throw her a birthday party.

When Taylor was little she always had a big party. I'd make the invitations, cake and decorations. I love to throw parties. But it seems since Kaitlyn has joined our family the parties have tapered off. It really boils down to a couple of reasons. First we moved; when you move you have no friends to invite. And second we moved; when we moved we went from two incomes to one which means no more extra money for the fun parties.

I've tried to scale back and focus on what matters most, but still the mommy in me wants to make her birthdays special too. Since we were headed home I decided to throw Kaitlyn a surprise party. With one phone call to "the Martins", as Kaitlyn calls them, three fourths of her guests could be invited. Another phone call to my brother Clay for Courtney to come and the surprise was well on its way.

Both of the girls knew they were in for a surprise. I had told them Thursday night that they had a surprise, but they had no idea what. They didn't even know we were going to Grandma and Papa's to stay the night so Nathan and I could go to the temple. I packed our bags, had them take baths, and headed towards home. We drove through the forest which we've hardly done with the girls so they really had no idea where the surprise was going to be. Taylor finally put two and two together when we pulled onto the main highway, near my parents' home. Kaitlyn realized it when we pulled on the the road that leads to Grandma and Papa's house, but she thought the surprise was Grandma and Papa. She still has no idea what was in store for her. I decided then to spell the surprise out for Taylor. She was thrilled. Her part of the surprise would be to play with Courtney and Ashley. Kaitlyn's surprise was the party of course!

This is a picture of her after the surprise sunk in. I really wish I would have gone into the house first because everyone says that her facial expression was priceless; she was truly surprised.


We had pizza and cake. It was still light outside so we sprayed the kids with mosquito repellent and let them play on the play set.


Then the highlight of the evening was the premier of "Camp Rock 2". Kaitlyn, Hayden and Brice wanted nothing to do with watching the show and so they colored all night. The older cousins, Taylor, Courtney, Ashley and Ethan watched, sang, and even danced some.


It seems hard to believe that my baby will be five years old on the 9th. It seems like yesterday I was thanking Heavenly Father for blessing me with the opportunity to have another child. Kaitlyn brings so much joy into my life. She walks to the beat of a different drummer and I love every minute of it. She truly loves life. She loves living it. She loves experiencing it and I love watching her as she grows.

Having said that, my heart aches. It aches as I look and see the baby slowly growing out of her. The chub rolls have been replaced by long legs that make her "fast as lightening". The short mixed up words for communication have been replaced by sentences and matter of fact statements that aren't always nice. The toddler innocence and dependence in me has been replaced with independence and the desire to touch, taste, smell, hear, and test everything for herself.

One thing that remains the same is her constant need to be loved. She is my life. She is my baby. She is my joy and I love her with all that I am! Nathan may have taught her to say that nobody loves her more than her daddy, but the truth is nobody will ever love her like her mommy!


This picture sums up for me who Kaitlyn Bell is right now in her life. In her eyes you can see how she is soaking it all in and in her smile you can feel her excitement, yet in her hands you can see the fear and apprehensiveness she has towards the unknown. And that in a nutshell is my KB!