Katie Jane...

I was only going to post a couple of pictures...and then things got out of control!  Looking back at some of these pictures brought back a flood of wonderful memories and I'm so glad I loved/tried taking pictures then.  Priceless.  I miss being a mom of little tiny kids.  I can say that now, but I'm sure I didn't feel the same way back then.  At least not all the time.

I remember how fun it was to have a little baby girl, during the calm, non-feeding times of course.  I remember how wonderful it was to pick out what she was going to wear and not have her disagree with me.

Those were the good old days!

Katie Jane was/is so beautiful.  It's funny how some of these pictures really do portray what her personality is like.  She has always been so kind and sweet and very photogenic and then every once in a while---sometimes in between those every once in a while times too---the little demon inside her comes out.  She used to throw tantrums that made me throw tantrums!

It seems like just yesterday that I would sit on the floor of the bathroom with my legs crossed, holding Katie, blowing her hair dry with a round brush...because you know, big hair for 1 year olds is always a good idea! :/  She did let me do her hair until a few years ago and now I'm not cool enough and big hair isn't in anymore I guess.

I guess my picture woes have been my woes from the very beginning.  You know how you want that perfect picture of your kids sitting perfectly by the perfect flowers?  Smile!  Hold still!  Look at mommy!!  Yeah, right.  ka-BOOOM!!

I remember thinking the little date markings on all the pictures were FABulous!  Now I wish they weren't so blatant and ugly!  YOU TOOK THIS PICTURE ON JULY 25, 1999!!!!!

Katie Jane's always been 10 years ahead of her age.  She loves make up, dressing up, all those things that moms fight letting their little girls do to stop them from growing up too fast.  And then all of a sudden,  I have this beautiful 14 year old girl that I FORCED into this world (still a family controversy...sometimes, induction is a life saver!!) and she surprises me every day with her grace, her beauty, her wisdom and sometimes she blows me away at how much she can tease in a single day.  Sometimes I think that's her goal for the day...to get everyone in the house to cry so she can laugh!

She comes by it honestly....WILL!!!

Isn't she a beauty??

She had her first boy/girl party at our house.  Not the first one she went to...oh, the things you find out later.  But we figured that with both Will and I home, we would allow 3 boys.  Jay came up to me when Katie and her friends were outside and told me that I didn't need to worry about any of the boys that were at the party.  "No threats of pairing off or any inappropriate activity."

Thanks for watching my back, Jay!

When Katie Jane was born, Will called her his "Sweetest Thing" after a U2 song (the song is not about a father and his daughter, but the title still applied to her).  She can't do wrong in her dad's eyes.  I remember that he wore his nice clothes...like a step down from Sunday dress...for when she was born, because as he said...he wanted to look good for his baby girl. awwww!

We surprised her and took her to see U2 in SLC for part of her birthday present.  I think she would have had more fun with someone cool...I was ear-ringing-deaf for 4 days after (don't tell me, it's because I'm old, huh? and maybe also because it was bone rattling loud---loved it!)  She was a good sport all through the Trax rides to and from (think processed tuna, not sardines...it was that squishy!!), and having to wait and hour and a half through the Trax ride to eat the yummy chicken nuggets we HAD to get from Chick-fil-A until we got to the stadium (with a napkin because we had been holding onto rails and poles that 258,395 other people had been touching that day and we couldn't find anywhere to wash our hands....)because we couldn't take food inside, only to find that there is a Chick-fil-A INSIDE the stadium (English...Je ne parle pas)...and we got her a t-shirt that she won't wear because she thinks it cost too much and she doesn't want to get it dirty.  

Just documenting the details...

Maybe our seats were behind the stage, but I think we had a much better view than 90% of the people in front.  We really were close enough that we didn't need the binoculars, but after Will and I saw the same 360 show in Las Vegas last year...we wanted to see something larger than Bono looking like the size of a carpenter ant...

So, my sweetest thing...I hope your 14th year is the best so far!  You are amazing and I love you so much!