Double Digits

Today is Double Digits Day for my youngest child. The big 1-0. Yep, she's 10. She was so excited about this that she woke up at 4:15 this morning. But then, a downer because she wasn't actually born until 4:59 am so she wasn't really 10 yet. Fortunately, she was able to fall back to sleep and wake up at 6:45 fully and officially 10 years old. Whew!

How I love my Katie Lois. She was the only one of my 5 children that we didn't find out was a boy or a girl before she was born. I wanted a surprise, so we could hear the words, "It's a girl!" and laugh with joy at the wonder of life and the fact that WE HAD FOUR GIRLS!

Katie is an individual. She has definite opinions about the when and where and why of life. She has a flair for the dramatic, and keeps us chuckling with her observations of life. She loves to laugh, and when she gets to giggling, she inevitably ends up with the hiccups (she had the hiccups the whole time I was pregnant with her). Her heart is tender, filled with compassion for babies and children and animals and suffering. At her young age, she understands what it means to mourn with those who mourn.

It can be a tough gig being the youngest. Lots of people telling you what to do or not to do, ratting you out to Mom and Dad, and you always get stuck in the back seat because you're the smallest. But then, there are the perks: you're still small enough for Mom to snuggle and smooch, you still want and get toys for Christmas and birthdays, and you can still order off the kids menu at restaurants where the macaroni and cheese is plentiful and comes with a drink (Sprite) and a dessert.

I love you, Katie! Welcome to double digits! I'm so glad you picked us as your family!

1st picture: the shirt Josh sent her from his mission.

2nd picture: Laughing at the card Grandpa Gresko sent her; it sings "Shake It Up, Baby Now!"

Happy 14th Kellie girl!

On March 20th, we celebrate the birth of my beautiful girl, Kellie Lynne.

I have never been so sick in my whole life as when I was pregnant with her. Turns out there were twins and I lost one of them, but Kellie hung in there and came into the world on the first day of spring. So appropriate.

In the hospital, I had her laying on the bed by me while I waited for the doctor to come in to release me. He entered and asked me a question. I answered and Kellie heard my voice and deliberately turned her head and looked right at me. The doc said in surprise, "She knows you!" Yes, she does.

Kellie inherited the "brown Gresko gene" which means she turns the color of a chocolate chip cookie if the sun even touches her skin. At 6 months old, I had people ask me if I took her tanning because she was so brown. (Seriously?) I love seeing her brown skin in the summer - she carries a part of me in her. Lucky me.

These are some of my favorite things about Kellie:

• her smile - it's a little metallic right now, but it lights up her whole face & makes you smile right along with her.
• her organization - her room and life are in order, she likes to have her day planned, her week planned, her life planned. A girl after my own heart.
• her drive - Kellie gets things done. She sets goals, she works hard, she accomplishes much.
• her charisma - Kellie connects with people. She can reach them and they respond to her. This is especially true with little children. She has been a "mom" from day one. How lucky her children will be to have her.
• her athleticism - Kellie has arm muscles! None of the women in our family were blessed with this. She is strong and fast and I love watching her shoot the basketball and serve the volleyball and swim the butterfly. Poetry in motion.
• her love - most every night, Kellie comes in to my room and "tucks me in" and lays next to me and we talk and laugh. I am so blessed.

Have a wonderful birthday, my Kellie. You were worth every moment of sickness it took to get you here and then some. The world is lucky to have you!

Happy Birthday Alissa!

Today my Alissa Jean turns 12 years old.

I like to think about the moment I first saw her. She had had the cord around her neck, so they whipped her away pretty quick and were working to get her breathing. Then, her body temp was low, so they had her in a warmer. I was thinking, "I worked hard to get that baby here; I want to hold her!" The doctor was talking about sending her to the NICU at another hospital if her temp wouldn't come up. Then, the nurse came in and said, "I want to try something." She brought Alissa to me and laid her right on my chest, skin-to-skin, and I held and snuggled her close. In 15 minutes, her temperature came right up, her breathing settled, and she was alright.

Now, that once tiny little girl is my tallest 12-year so far. At 5'6", she is long arms and long legs and well, tall! I love to watch her enter a room. She is confident, her head high, her shoulders back, quick to smile. She is quickly mastering so many new things: math and reading and basketball and cello. She is extremely perceptive and often makes us laugh at the way she truly gets the world. Like the time Josh came home from college and he was saying "freakin'" before and after and in the middle of every sentence. After a half day of this, Alissa asked him, "Why is everything 'freakin'?"

I love the artist in her, that joys in paint and pen and paper and creating. She is excellent at drawing and I have determined to stop asking her, "Did you trace that?" She gets very insulted. I am delighted that she decided to play the cello and that she keeps me on my toes in my own practicing: "Watch your thumb, Mom." I rejoice in the affection she has for her dad, who is the best at helping her through her trials and troubles and teases and challenges her.

You are a wonder, Alissa Jean--Lissy bear--Lulu--thanks for being my girl!