So, Thursday was Thanksgiving. We started the day visiting the cemetery to see Matthew's site. He is very missed and very remembered. From there we went to Auntie Christina's house for a very yummy dinner and lots of fun. Kaitlyn had a blast with Reid (her almost cousin) and he even called Santa for her! She was so happy.
After our first Thanksgiving dinner, we headed to Auntie Stephanie's house for our second. Kaitlyn again had a blast with cousins and was on cloud 9! We didn't get home until after 11:30!
Friday morning started at 5 AM. Kaitlyn was so excited to go out shopping before "the sun woke up!" By 11, we had nearly all of our shopping completed! After shopping, we met Inez at the cemetery for a couple of hours. Kaitlyn was such a good girl.
We went to Nana and Papa's for a little while, then to Target to get just about the rest of our shopping done. We came home and started wrapping before going to bed.
Today was a good day. Kaitlyn played with Makenzie for a couple of hours before we headed out to Holiday in the Park at Discovery Kingdom. Kaitlyn had a blast. She hugged the reindeer, talked to Frosty, sat with Santa, saw the largest Christmas tree in the world and had a blast on the rides. It was a lot of fun!
We hope everyone has had an amazing and blessed holiday.
I would like to start by giving a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped to make this birthday so special. I know Kaitlyn will talk excitedly about it for a while yet! Thank you so much to family and friends who came to the party making it like a real carnival, to the family who called and sent cards and to everyone that helped! A HUGE thank you to Grandma and Granpa for hosting and helping with so much of it, to Auntie Christina for spending many hours helping, to Auntie Sammie for working so hard on all of the Tie-Dye stuff and of course to Uncle Davey for being such an awesome clown! A huge thank you also to Aunt Jamie for taking all of the pictures and Aunt Stephanie for all of her help during the slumber party.
Kaitlyn had a blast on her birthday.
The morning started nice and early. We stopped at McDonald's for her favorite breakfast on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We got there around 8:15 or so. When we got there, we let Kaitlyn open some presents. She opened the ones from Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie Christina and Unlce Brian, Auntie Sammie and Uncle Davey and Auntie Beth and Uncle Paul. We had decided long before the party that we were not even going to attempt to open presents at the party.
After the presents and breakfast it was time to run to Walmart to get one of the party favors, goldfish. When Auntie Christina and I came back with a bowl full on fishies, Kaitlyn couldn't have been happier.
From there, we set everything up! It wasn't that difficult and I think it turned out well.
The party started at about 1 with the arrival of the cutest ponies. Kaitlyn went on the first ride and had a blast. There was so much for everyone to do. We got Kaitlyn her own Fun Savor cameras so she could take pictures and collect memories from her level, look for those soon! There were tie-dye shirts, pony rides, ring toss, bean bag toss, food, Uncle Davey the Awesome clown and of course the playground. It was really nice to be surrounded by so many great people.
After a few hours of non-stop fun, Kaitlyn was looking a little on the tired side :) We began cleaning up and then had a small Dora party for her to open her presents. Opening presents took over 2 hours! Everyone was way too generous and sweet. I won't even try to list everything she got, but let me tell ya, if you walk into any toy store or toy section and see Princess or Dora stuff, Kaitlyn probably has it :) And if you are near the Barbies, Kaitlyn is getting quite a collection! In addittion, she also got a year of gymnastics with attire from Grandma and Grandpa!
After loading all of the presents in the car and Kaitlyn enjoying all of her Dora party stuff, we went home to get ready for the Princess Slumber party! Her cousins Camaryn and Hope came over for a night of fun. The girls had Cinamon rolls, hot chocolate, made Princess Magnets, made pumpkin cookies and made their own teddy bears! They had fun with all of the little tasks like brushing their teeth and cuddling before bed. They were all up until the wee hours of the morning before conking out and kicking Auntie Stephanie (Hope's Mommy) off of the air mattress and taking it over for themselves.
Overall, the birthday was a blast! I'm sure Kaitlyn will treasure it for all time. Thank you so much to everyone!
Let's see, last Saturday she helped to celebrate Uncle Scotty and Aunt Jamie's 21st birthdays!! She helped BBQ, and of course eat cake. She was such a good little girl! The next day we went with Daddy, Grandma, Auntie Christina, Uncle Brian and Uncle Scotty to the gun show. Kaitlyn was one spoiled little princess when she walked out with a new Dora backpack and tons of new toys. After the gun show, Kaitlyn fell asleep on the way to the cemetery to visit Matthew's gravesite. She woke up for dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Monday was a good day at school. She's been doing really good there. After school she has been a big helper with mommy at work. She loves to go on walks and to make sure that Archie is a good boy.
On Friday, Kaitlyn had a field trip with her school. Auntie Christina took her since it's the only Friday this month I'm working. Kaitlyn came home filled with excitement from all of the fun she had! She got to play with her "best friend" she told me over and over.
Saturday morning, Kaitlyn and I painted pots to plant Matthew's flower seeds in. She was a pro and did an awesome job. After, we met Aunt Jamie for lunch (Thank you so much, the invite and the time out was much appreciated!) and then went to Aunt Jamie's house so Kaitlyn could say Hi to Mason. She sure does love that doggy.
Saturday night, we went to see nana and Papa. Kaitlyn got to play with Hope and Camaryn. Since it had been over a week since she saw either, she sure was happy and excited.
Today was another busy day. First we went to the cemetery to take Matthew some flowers. We followed that with a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Then, we went to Daniel's birthday party where Kaitlyn had a blast! After the party, it was back to Grandma and Grandpa's house where Kaitlyn got to paint and play with all of her toys.
Tomorrow, Kaitlyn is off school. She will meet with Miss April in the afternoon, but other than that, who knows what adeventures the day holds.
Overall, Kaitlyn is doing good. We have decided to enter her into a grief program for children her age. We think it will be good for her to have someone to talk to and who can help us to express to her what is going on. We've learned that counciling can help to give her an outlet for her feelings and emotions. Like us, Kaitlyn misses Matthew very much and talks about him all the time.
Kaitlyn is an incredibly smart and advanced little girl. She knows all of her letters, the ABC song, how to count to 20, how to recognize written numbers, all of her colors, light and dark, her left and right, how to give directions to Mommy's house and Grandma's house and school, all of her shapes (even the harder ones!), and has an incredible memory. Her speech is much improved.
On Wednesday she has her parent teacher conference and on the 28th she has her 3 year old visit with the ped followed by an IEP meeting with her speech therapist and teacher. And of course, who could forget that Saturday is her birthday and party??? She is so excited.
Kaitlyn finally decided on her costume last night, she was Sleeping Beauty. Of course, she really likes to throw herself into a role so on the way to Grandma's house to go to the Zoo, she fell asleep. Since she was so tired and it was getting late, we decided to go door to door trick or treating. Kaitlyn had a blast! She was so good. She remembered all of her pleases and thank yous. Dusty and I were so proud of her!
After filling her bucket up nice and good with candy for Mommy and Daddy, we went back to grandma and grandpa's house. We all decided we should eat and headed to Denny's. Everyone there was in costume and Kaitlyn had a lot of fun. Daddy even won her a stuffed doll!
We finished eating and headed to Grandma's house where she had Halloween presents for Kaitlyn. She sure is one spoiled and well loved little girl!!
In only 16 days Kaitlyn is going to be 3! I can't believe how big she is and how incredibly smart, loving, caring, empathetic, and absolutely amazing she is.
Kaitlyn would like to wish everyone a very happy Halloween:
Kaitlyn's been doing really good. She asks about her baby brother all the time. Some friends sent her this really neat kit that helps to explain grief to chilren just her age. Part of the kit was a super soft teddy bear holding a heart. The heart holds a picture. Matthew's picture is there now. Kaitlyn goes around tellin me, "Matthew's in my heart" it's the sweetest thing. She has that bear with her all the time and sleeps with him.
It's Halloween and Kaitlyn had yet to decide what she is going to be. She's torn between snow white and Sleeping Beauty. Hopefully she decides soon.
This past Saturday she was Sleeping Beauty when we went to Fairytale town to Trick or Treat. She had so much fun. She talked about it for days. She got to make construction paper pumpkins and play on the toys at night all lit up. The next day we went to the Pumpkin Patch. She was such a big girl and rode on the airplane ride, ponies, ferris wheel and carosel. Later that night, we carved out pumpkins :)
On Monday, we carved more pumpkins at Aunt Christy's house. Then, on Tuesday we took Archie to the vet about his cough. Kaitlyn was so happy. She loved the kitty cats, the puppies and of course the animal doctor.
Today, I surprised Kaitlyn with a Halloween party when she came home from school. We made cookies (that didn't quite work out), mini cakes, popcorn, watched Halloween movies, had orange gaterade and a ton of fun. Her cousins Camaryn and Hope and her friend Kayla all stopped by to. Tonight, we're going to Boo at the Zoo which should be a lot of fun if it's anything like it was last year.
Last Month, Kaitlyn won a couple of photo contests!
and she won Grand Photo Supreme http://www.adandelionswish.com/
Kaitlyn sees to be adjusting ok. She asks about Matthew a lot, and that's perfectly ok. We really want to be sure to do everything we can to make sure she remembers her little brother. We try to talk about him a couple of times a day, no matter how hard it is, to keep his spirit alive with her.
Monday was the funeral. We took Kaitlyn before the services to explain to her what was going on and to let her say good-bye to her brother. She was such a big girl all day and we are so incredibly proud of her.
Kaitlyn is doing great in school. Her teachers have said that she gets to school and just jumps right in with her class mates. Her speech is improved leaps and bounds. She's a really loving, outgoing, spirited little girl that we love so much.
As many of you know, we lost Kaitlyn's brother this past Monday. It has been a horrific ordeal.
Yesterday, Kaitlyn returned to school. Her teachers said she did really well and had a lot of fun. Today, we talked to Kaitlyn and explained to her the best you can to a 3 year old what death is. We told her that Matthew had a really bad owie and the doctors tried as hard as they could, but they couldn't fix his owie and he died. We explained to her that Mommy and Daddy are very sad and miss Matthew very much but he is in heaven with god now. We told Kaitlyn that she can talk to him anytime she wants to and he'll always love her and she'll always be his sister. It took a lot of explaining for her to understand that Matthew isn't going to be coming home anymore.
My heart breaks for her. She was an amazing sister and loved him so much. My hope for her as she grows older is that she'll remember the precious memories she had with him and none of the sadness she feels now. Kaitlyn always insisted on picking out his diapers. She told me that he liked the Bert and Ernie ones the best. She loved to talk to him when he was getting changed and dressed. She helped me give him baths by splashing the water on him. She woke up every morning to tell him good morning and ask if he was awake yet. She always wanted to hold his hand. If at anytime I asked her not to, she would whimper "but he's my brother and I luv him" Kaitlyn would help me sing him his favorite songs, Twinkle Twinkle and the ABC songs, anytime he started to cry. She would pat his back and she always wanted him to be happy.
Kaitlyn has been an amazing, incredible and fantastic big sister. We know Matthew will watch over her and always be a part of her life.
Our little princess is sick :( It isn't terrible, but it's kept her out of school all week. It sounds like croup. Really, if she didn't have that cough you wouldn't even know she was under the weather. Her attitude is great! And she's still so cute and helpful.
She does walk around with her little laryngitis voice and say "I'm sick" when she wants something though. Hopefully, she'll be feeling better this weekend!
Kaitlyn is getting really excited for both Halloween and her birthday. She's been practicing her "trick or treat" and "thank yous" and asking how much candy I think she'll get :) She saw her birthday invitations last night and got so excited! She would pick one up and ask "who's this for?" with everyone. I suppose she didn't want me to forget anyone!
I just ordered her pictures from her photo shoot in August and will send them out in the next couple of weeks. I am also scheduling her 3 year portraits/head shots with this awesome and amazing photographer and cannot wait to get and send those out!
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