The little things that I never ever want to forget...

Kate has said/done some adorable things lately that I want to document so I will remember them (and she will too).  So this very long post is comprised of a few stories that I want to remember:)

 Story #1~
It is HOT here.  Like 106, 107 everyday HOT. So, I wear my hair in a pony everyday.  But yesterday I blow dried it nice and straight.  When Kate saw me, she immediately noticed.  She said, "Mama, your hair looks so beautiful today.  It looks just like it did the day you borned me from China."  I got the biggest smile on my face and asked, "The day I borned you from China?"  She laugh and said, "I said borned but I mean born."  Then I said, "Do you mean when we met in the airport?"  And she said yes.

The reason I love that comment is that our words really do express our perceptions.  I always talk about the day we met and became a family but Kate perceives that as a day of birth or being born into our family.  She knows that another Mommy gave birth to her in China.  But she obviously feels as though she was born into our family too.  And really that is exactly how I would want her to feel.

Story #2~
Kate is a sniffer.  Dave teases that she is part Basset hound.  But seriously, she sniffs everything and she remembers peoples personal scents.  A few months ago we were cuddling and she said, Mama, today your sweater smells like Miss Di.  We had not seen Miss Di in 9 months but she was right.  My sweater did smell like Miss Di.  Whenever my friend from Virginia sends Kate something, she exclaims, "Yeah, it smells like Bagel." She has not smelled my friend Bagel in years.

Anyway, Kate has a lovey and a blankie. Lovey is a green taggie thing and blankie is a pink crocheted blanket.  She sleeps with them every night.  But she sniffs lovey.  She LOVES to sniff lovey. It soothes her. Last Friday was show and tell and Kate wanted to bring lovey.  Dave did NOT want lovey to go to school because we are not sure Kate could sleep if lovey was ever lost.  So, we asked her why lovey?  What would she "show and tell" about lovey.  She seriously said, "I will pass lovey around and let everyone in the class sniff him."  She was DEAD serious.  And yes, she brought lovey to school,  And yes, she passed it around at show and tell so people could sniff lovey. P.S.  I wash lovey every Wednesday and she does smell like deliciously fresh laundry.

Lovey and blankie on Kate's unmade bed:)

Story #3

Kate has been asking to learn the violin for years.  She has been enamored with her big brother Will's violin for a long time.  Well,  it is finally her turn.  She was accepted into the strings program at school and will begin weekly lessons tomorrow.

We rented her this tiny violin.  When we were in the shop the boys and I got huge grins when they measured her.  The violin looked so small.  Kate is beyond excited to learn to play.

Will was showing her how to rosin the bow.  It needed LOTS of rosin.

(I love the way she is looking at it here)

She knows nothing about violin yet but she can twinkle the ivories a tiny bit so hopefully she will pick this up if she is interested.

Story #4

Kate's new school is named after a famous author.  She asked me if we had any of his books at home.  And we did but they are WAY above Kate's reading level.  Nonetheless, she has been walking around home and school with her nose in this book acting as though she is reading it.  It is hysterical.  Will said, "Mom that book it not appropriate for Kate."  I laughed.  She is just getting the Bob books now so she is definitely NOT reading this novel.  But she sure acts like she is....

Story #5

Another special thing I want to remember is our times with Miss Spider's sunny patch

I have always loved the Miss Spider book because Miss Betty adopts little Miss Spider.  Then, one day we stumbled onto the show.  It is on Nick Jr. on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  And since Kate wakes up the earliest, she and I watch it together on those mornings.  Miss Spider and her husband, Holley have nine little bugs that are all different species. Most of them are adopted buggies. Sounds like anyone we know? This is the BEST children's show on TV y'all.   Kate and I snuggle on the couch and watch it every single week together.  I am going to be sad when she outgrows it. Here is how the Nick Jr website describes Miss Spider...

Miss Spider

Miss Spider is the quintessential mom: warm-hearted, open, and extremely generous. Instead of eating other insects like most Spiders, she chooses to carefully prepare vegetarian meals for her family. For Miss Spider, motherhood is serious business. She diligently tries to administer the right balance of discipline and care to her kids. Knowing firsthand how powerful and transforming the gift of kindness can be, she shares this gift with both her natural and adopted children as well as all those around her.

And just so the boys know...Will and I watched George Shrinks (still miss this one) together every Sunday morning when he was little.  And Harry and I loved Little Bear and Franklin.

And if this post isn't long enough... some people asked about Kate' red shoes...I got them from Zappos on  sale this summer but they are Primigi brand.  They are expensive BUT they last an entire year and still look brand new.  You can find them on sale sometimes at Zappos, Nordstrom or Zulily. In fact, I usually buy these in black or brown each year and then pass them onto friends looking brand new.  They are worth every cent.  They have never scuffed.

And Kate's boo boo is from falling off the kitchen chair into our table.  She has a nice gash on her forehead.  And someone else asked about her skin.  She has eczema.  In the summer, the dry eczema spots look white while the rest of her face tans (even with 100 SPF sunscreen).