Miss Kate Leaves Zero Behind

I can't believe that Kate is one today. I know everyone already says it, but time seems to fly by the more kids we have. I am so grateful for this sweet little girl. She is so good tempered and just goes with the flow in our crazy, busy house. I'm constantly having to wake her up early from naps, throw her in the car, make her skip naps completely, and she just rolls with it, always waking up with her cute dimpled smile. I remember a year ago when she was born. We didn't find out if she was a girl or a boy. Both my mom and I had bought lots of newborn boy clothes, so when I pulled her out and saw she was a girl, I was VERY surprised. We brought her home to a house full of sick kids, kept her locked away in our room for the first month while I changed clothes every time I went to take care of her :) It was quite an adventure for me! But I'm so grateful we get to have her as part of our family. She has blessed my life since the time she shared my body with me :) Here are some things to know about Kate:
1. She has the cutest dimpled smile, and she is never slow to share it.
2. She thinks it's fun to laugh along with anyone who's giggling-Macy and her were cracking up at the fish at the doctor's office the other day :)
3. Whenever John is wrestling with the kids, she heads over as fast as she can to join in the fun.
4. She LOVES sneaking into Macy's room and crawling up on her bed (much to Macy's dismay if she's in there: "NOOOO KATE! NOOOO! MOMMY KATE'S GETTING IN MY BED!)
5. If the gate to the stairs is ever left open, she bolts over as fast as she can to crawl down. She gives herself away though because she gets so excited and starts laughing :)
6. She is still a big baby: 24 lbs. (88th percentile) and 31.25 inches (97th). She has also decided to follow in the footsteps of her siblings and join the "head-size off the charts" club :)
7. She is a snuggler. She has been giving hugs forever. I love it :)
8. She is constantly moving around, getting into cupboards, pulling clothes out of drawers, spreading napkins all over the floor, taking all the movies out, etc.
9. She often stops in the midst of her roaming to find me for a quick snuggle. Then she's off and crawling again.
10. She is currently walking 1/2 the time and crawling 1/2 the time. She gets excited when she's walking (which can sometimes cause her to fall), but she often resorts to crawling when she's in a hurry to get somewhere.
11. She likes to growl :)
12. She actually pets our dog Sadie. Literally pets her instead of "petting" which involves mauling and poking eyes out.
13. She gets super excited when we go to Grandma's and starts giggling when we're going up the walk.
14. She is currently trying to master the sippy cup and often exclaims in frustration when it won't come out because she isn't holding it high enough.
15. She'll play with actual toys only as a last resort. She'd much rather spend her time investigating other things.
16. She shares a room with Carston, and he usually prays that she won't cry in the night (she did that a lot over Christmas when she was sick :)
17. Much to my liking, she has remained a Kate, and not a Katie (although I think Macy slips that one in every so often :)
18. She likes to help herself when she's hungry. She usually smells like pretzels because she can most easily get to those in the pantry.
19. She LOVES taking baths. She likes to lay stomach down, push herself up on her arms with her legs straight out, and rock back and forth.
20. She is obsessed with getting a hold of John's toothbrush.
21. Her middle name is Leta in honor of my Grandma Gladys (Leta means "Glad," even Grandma would have been opposed to using Gladys :)
22. We love her so much and can't imagine our life without her sweet little spirit.