The time is here to celebrate--- Kaitlyn's SECOND Birthday is TODAY!! It is hard to believe that a whole year has passed, but it is true! My little baby is turning into a little girl!
Kaitlyn is an amazingly strong willed, funny, witty, cute, snuggly little spirit! She is growing into a precious little lady these days and it is so wonderful to see her blossom. Her speech has just soared in the last few weeks. She is stringing words together pretty well now: "Look at me", "What is this?", "Look at that" along with other 3 or even 4 word strings ": Mommy, look at me!" It is wonderful to see and hear her little voice and watch her language development on a daily basis. She is still a little munchkin though--barely wearing size 2 clothes...much more comfortable in her 18 month pants and sporting a teeny size 5.5 shoe! She is a midget, but an adorable one! It is hard to believe at this time last year our big milestone was walking! So incredible how one year brings so much at this age.
Today Toomas took of 1/2 day off to be with Kaitlyn on her Birthday morning. Krista and I stayed up until midnight last night decorating her birthday room and decorating the cake. Our theme this year was "Care Bear" and she LOVED it. She can say "Bear" so she was thrilled to be able to point them out everywhere. She loved the plates, cups, hats, napkins and balloons. She was treated to crepes for breakfast and enjoyed opening a few of her gifts...One was a "re-gift" that is ALWAYS a smash hit with the kids---The Fisher Price dollhouse! She LOVES it! She has spent all of her free time today setting up the rooms and redecorating the house. She also got a few bathtub toys, a toy camera and a purse (her favorite of the new gifts was the purse). The purse has a little wallet where I placed a few coins that she LOVES counting...there was also a few necklaces and candy lipstick. She is a true girl! Grandma also sent along THREE princess nightgowns, 2 pairs of slippers and a wand! The girl was in heaven today! She was literally jumping for joy when she put on her new princess nightgown! Thanks Grandma!
Tonight when Toomas gets home for work we will have an early dinner, open the final gift and enjoy a fun celebration of birthday cake!
On Friday Helen (Toomas sister) arrives from Sweden with her husband and the little cousins! Krista and Erik are really looking forward to seeing their cousins Isabel and Elise again...We'll have a nice long weekend with them so that will be great!
I have a lot of blogging to do next week. Erik celebrated his SIXTH birthday when we were in Nashville. This week he had a party at school too. A lot of FUN pictures to share so stay tuned.
We're back from the Wedding--our trip to Nashville and Chicago is complete and was SO much fun. Mike and Lia had the most beautiful wedding of the century! It was SUCH a touching ceremony. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house (seriously!). My Uncle Bill (a Deacon in the Catholic Church) celebrated the event and made it SO very touching and emotional for everyone. It was such a unique and personal service. The vows were an amazing exchange of love and commitment, and the sermon so moving and powerful. It felt so REAL...it was a marriage at a personal level--Mike and Lia were getting married...they weren't just the "bride" or the "groom". It truly was a moving event. Of course the reception was a blast, as everyone knows how Mike and Lia know how to have FUN! What a party it was! The wedding and reception were held on an old Plantation, called 
