all about makayla

This month, I am doing blog posts on each of the kiddos.  Last week, I talked all about Caleb, and today is all about my sweet girl, Makayla.

Makayla is a girly-girl.  She loves a twirly dress, having her nails painted, and she throws a mean tea party.  But she doesn't mind playing in the dirt and mud or breaking into a sweat.  She can hang with a bunch of boys with no problem, but she is no pushover, and she will let the boys, or her brother, know it!

She loves food.  Like she really loves food.  If she's not in the kitchen with me then she is probably in her play kitchen cooking up something.  She loves to look through cookbooks and she would choose to watch a cooking show over a cartoon.

She is so smart - she is constantly amazing us with how she puts things together or the big words that she uses.  She loves to learn and she asks a lot of questions.  I've often wondered what her daily word count is because man alive, can this girl talk!  She knows it too!  If for some strange reason she is ever quiet for a few minutes, she will notice and say, "Wow mom!  I've been quiet for a really long time!"

She is an awesome sister!  She loves her brother and always wants to play with him, and she loves helping with the baby and she has great little maternal instincts already.  I feel like she's not quite a typical middle child, at least at this point, because there is such a big age gap between her and Ashlynn (5 1/2 years).  But I do think that she has a great personality for a middle child - there is no way she will every get lost in the middle!  She is stubborn and loud and so very vocal - this middle sister always makes her wonderful presence known!

She loves to draw and do any kind of craft.  She could eat mac & cheese or spaghetti all day, every day.  She hates chocolate.  She loves doing ballet and showing off her moves.  She likes her hair pulled up at all times, but she will humor me and leave it down on occasion.  She loves listening to princess music, and she can sing "Let it Go" with the best of them.  

She is just the sweetest girl.  She has a very sensitive heart and is kind to everyone she meets.  There isn't a shy bone in her body.  She has a quiet confidence in herself that I truly believe will take her far in life.

She is growing up way too quickly!  She is beautiful inside and out, and we are so proud of our precious girl!  I am so very grateful that I get to be her momma.

#tbt stories - those cheeks

This is one of the pictures taken at Makayla's nine-month session.  We were trying for awhile to capture her smile, but she was giving us a whole bunch of classic Makayla faces instead.  Turns out, those are my favorite!

What I wouldn't give to be able to squish those chunky cheeks again!

Slow down, time!

#tbt stories - the girl's many faces

This was taken two summers ago, back when every time we tried to take Makayla's picture, she would bring her hands up and make some ridiculous face!  So thankful she's outgrown that particular phase and we are now able to capture her beautiful smile again!

her two front teeth

Bobby and I were in the kitchen talking one day when Makayla ran in and said her tooth was hurting.  When I looked at it and realized that it was loose, I seriously had to walk out of the room so that she wouldn't see me burst into tears.  Bobby did his best to comfort me, but he was trying so hard not to laugh at me that he wasn't much help!

I don't know what it is about this particular milestone that gets to me, but I was the exact same way with Caleb.  It's such a reminder to me of how big they are getting, and my mama heart just can't quite keep up with them! 

ballerina girl

Makayla started taking ballet lessons back in the fall, and last month, she had her first recital.  Our sweet girl did such an awesome job and she loved every minute of it!  The recital was incredible, and we are so thankful for the program that she is in.  There are so many dance programs out there, but I love how this one strives to keep God at the forefront of it all.  They began every class, and the recital itself, with prayer, and all throughout the show they displayed various scriptures that reminded them of the fact that they are fearfully and wonderfully made.  One of my greatest hopes as a mama is that my children know this truth in their hearts.

Her class danced to the "Be Our Guest" song from "Beauty and the Beast".   It was absolutely precious, and I may or may not have lost it while she was on stage and bawled my eyes out.  Caleb was so excited for his sister, and it was so sweet how he was encouraging her and watching for her.  After the show, I went to get her while everyone else waited outside.  As soon as we walked out the door and she saw her daddy across the field, she called out to him and ran into his arms.  And I may or may not have lost it once again!  My tear ducts were in overdrive that day!

We just love our ballerina girl!

time with dad

Bobby really loves to golf, although he sure doesn't have much time to these days!  Caleb has been asking to play, so they took their first trip to the driving range together.  They had so much fun - but really, I think these two could have fun doing anything together!  I am pretty sure that there are many more golf days to come for my guys.

He took Makayla to our church's Daddy Daughter Dance, and this girl loved everything about their night together.  It was so much fun to get her all fancied up for it.  As soon as she was dressed, she ran into our room to look in our mirror, and she immediately started smiling and giggling at herself.  It was the cutest thing!  They had so much fun dancing away, and she fell asleep about two minutes into the way home!

I am so very grateful for the relationship that these kiddos have with their daddy.  They absolutely adore him, and he absolutely adores them, and this mama sure loves watching them together.

makayla brynn is 4

Our sweet girl is 4! She was so incredibly excited about her birthday this year, and she let everyone know that it was her day and that she was a big girl! We had a sweet, little party for her at home with some of our family. She ate up all the attention this time, which was fun to watch!

My sweet baby girl,

I'm not really sure why you think that you can keep growing up so quickly on us, but you most definitely have!  I blinked, and somehow four years have passed and you've become a beautiful little girl.  You have done so much growing and changing over this last year, and your toddler ways are a thing of the past.  You are very independent and sure of yourself, and more often than not, if you think you can do something, then you can and you will.

You are very funny and you know it.  You know that you can always make us smile and laugh, and you are not afraid to laugh at yourself.

You are ridiculously smart, and you pick up on absolutely everything.  You are always surprising us with the things that you say.  And speaking of things you say.....you have a lot to say!  You are constantly talking.  Constantly.  It is (mostly) a lot of fun to listen to you.  You don't even need someone to talk with you, you just need to talk.

You are also incredibly friendly.  You will strike up a conversation with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

You and Caleb have really become the best of friends this year.  The two of you went through a fighting phase, but that has passed - thank you, Lord! - and now, you all really love to play together.  You both look out for each other, and help each other, and it's been pretty awesome for your daddy and I to watch.

You still adore your daddy!  When he is at work, you are always asking me when his next day off will be.  You and Caleb both count the days until he is able to be home with us.  Everything he does is better, bigger, and more fun as far as you're concerned!

I adore you, sweet girl, and I am so glad that you and I get to spend so much time together.  The two of us are rarely apart, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am so grateful for you and for your sweet spirit, and that God chose me to be your mommy.

I love you bunches and bunches, forever and ever, for always and always.

Love,

Mommy

she is three

|i love Caleb's face in this|

|love.them.|

|daddy putting on some lipstick while he gets his blood pressure checked.  this picture cracks.me.up.|

|Batman made an appearance about halfway through and decided to stick around for awhile|

Yes, she went and turned three on us last week.  We had a wonderful little celebration for her with some family and it was so much fun to watch her this year.  She definitely realized that we were all there for her and that she was the star of the day.  Big brother was so happy for her - he loved watching her open her gifts and was more excited than she was half the time.  

The kids immediately began to perform check-ups on us with her new doctor's kit.  Makayla took Bobby's blood pressure and told him that it was 3.  She said that he needed to sit down for the rest of the day and watch football, but I'm pretty sure that idea was not entirely her own.  

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My sweet baby girl,

You are three! You weren't too excited about three at first, you kept telling us "No, I just want to be two. I just like two!" But you've come around and have embraced your threeness! 

You are such a sweet little girl and are such a joy to be around! You are very smart and bright - it makes you seem much older than you really are. You love to talk all the time - you know all sorts of words and sayings that I'm sure we never taught you but you have just picked up along the way. Lately, if you don't know a word we say you will ask us what it means and you are not satisfied until you understand it completely.  You are very feisty and a bit stubborn, which can be quite exhausting at times for your daddy and me, but we know that these traits are giftings from God and can be great attributes as you continue to grow.  You are a wonderful leader and like to be the "mama hen" of the group.  This gets a little sticky with your brother at times - you all are either getting along well or fighting just as well!  But it's obvious that the two of you adore each other and have that special bond that only siblings can have.  You love to sing and dance and are incredibly silly - you keep us laughing all the time.

I am sure that I don't deserve to be your mommy, but I sure am grateful that God chose me to be anyways.  

I love you bunches and bunches!

Love,

Mommy

Happy birthday baby girl!