Kateri

 The week before school started, after I had written tiny initials in Sharpie on approximately 3 billion back-to-school items, I looked at Kateri sitting at the dinner table and had a little mini panic attack about her leaving me forever starting half-day kindergarten. Heart palpitations, cold sweat, nausea...she just still seems like a baby to me...maybe because of her Elmer Fudd speech impediment, or because her daily necessary quota of snuggles is still pretty high.
Anyway, I got a grip on myself, and my little girl went off proud as can be with her big sisters for her first day at school.

Thank goodness for Mrs. Hundelt. If Kateri had started school with any lesser teacher, I probably would have been sobbing into my coffee after I got home. By the way,  don't let Isaiah fool you in this picture. He might look like he is posing agreeably for a family photo, but I am fairly certain he was scheming about how much destruction he could wreak upon those nicely organized shelves before we grabbed him.

The following week, Kateri turned five. I feel a little bit guilty that we have never had a party for her, but she was so happy about the blobby cake we made together (avert your eyes, Aunt Katie) and her new pink boots, I don't think she minded. Happy birthday, sweet Kateri! Thank you for making our lives that much brighter for these past five years!


P1030666 from Allison Speier on Vimeo.