Kate is SIX!

Oh beautiful Katie-Cat! You are now six years old. You had been anxiously awaiting your birthday for quite some time and the big day finally arrived. You were so excited to turn six! You woke up early and wasted no time ripping open your gifts.

Of course, you couldn't resist being a silly goose and quickly put your gift bag over your head. You are one goofy girl!

You quickly threw on your new Hello Kitty outfit and were set for your big day. Later that afternoon I found you relaxing in your new mermaid blanket. You sure looked cozy!

For your birthday dinner you requested mac and cheese from Noodles and Co. It's one of your all-time favorite meals. And for dessert?  A vanilla cupcake for our birthday girl. Now that you're six, you refused to take a big bite for the camera and requested no pictures while you were eating. The frosting of the cupcake soon disappeared although the cake portion remained. You love your frosting!

Your birthday party celebration was held the following weekend. You looked like a princess dressed up in your new Hello Kitty dress and head band.

You had picked out your cake design several weeks prior. You knew you wanted a Hello Kitty cake and when you saw one online with a blue door, you just HAD to have a cake with a blue door too. But definitely NOT a chocolate cake. You wanted vanilla with raspberry filling. You have strong opinions and know exactly what you want.

Your guests soon arrived bearing gifts. You greeted them with glee and could not wait to rip open your presents. 

You were so excited to see what fun items were hiding inside your gifts. And of course, your sisters wanted to take part in the action too.

Every time you were gifted money, you'd loudly exclaim that you were not going to give it to Pa (like you had done in the past). You were keeping all your cash and then you'd stuff it inside your purse.

For your party lunch, you requested sandwiches from your favorite sandwich shop, Jersey Mikes. You got your usual - a turkey sandwich with cheese and tomatoes. 

Next on the agenda was the piñata! One by one, the kids came up to take turns pulling out keys. 

The keys were nearly gone with only 2 remaining when Rose finally pulled the magic key and all the candy poured out.

We then gathered around the table to sing a very "Happy Birthday to You" and cheered as you blew out the candle.

Your party wouldn't be complete without an exciting game of Pin-the-bow-on-Hello-Kitty. Between you, Rose, Aria and your cousin Jaden, Hello Kitty was thoroughly covered in bows by the end.

We had such a wonderful time celebrating you! Our sweet little Kate!

Kate, now that you are six, you are full of opinions. You no longer want to be called any of your endearing nicknames. Not Katie-Cat. Not Tator Tot. Not even Juliana (your middle name). You will quickly let me know that you are now only to be referred to as Kate. Nothing else!

Girl, you are sure loud! There's no chance anyone can not hear what you are saying. You have a voice that carries throughout the house. Whether you are happy, sad, excited or just speaking in a typical manner.  It's that perfect pitch to get all your opinions, questions and requests heard. You are one loud little girl!

You are always asking "Can we cuddle?" You love your cuddles - morning, noon and night. Nearly every night, you sneak into bed for some sleepy-time cuddles. You simply can not make it through the night without your cuddles. And every inch I move over, you automatically do the same. I'm not sure how you know there is a gap between us. You are asleep after all. But it never fails. You will scooch closer and closer until I'm completely sandwiched between you and Aria without a millimeter to spare. You are a huge cuddle bug! 

At bedtime as you drift off to sleep, your number one request is "rub my back" as you yank up your shirt. But you are very particular on just how it is done. Rubbing over your shirt is not an option. It must be on your bare skin. And no, one can not simply rub their hand up and down your back. They must softly use the tips of their fingers. You'd happily have your back, or tummy (but NOT your belly button!), or arm rubbed this way for hours, but one's fingers do quickly get tired, and you are almost always left asking for even more rubs. You are definitely hard to please when it comes to your back rubs!

You are a bit of a diva, wearing mostly dresses (and only the specific ones of your choosing), heels, and your hair all pinned up. You, of course, look gorgeous. I mean, who else can pull off golfing in heels…only our Kate!

Sometimes the things that come out of your mouth leave me laughing even in moments that I know I shouldn't. Just before bedtime, you came up to me one night to apologize. Honestly, I can't even recall what you were apologizing for, but what you then said caught me quite off guard and made me snicker when I knew I shouldn't. I still recall the words uttered out of your mouth..."Sorry that I lied. I didn't know that you'd actually fall for it." 

Another "Kate conversation" went as follows one evening when you were quite determined that someone would be driving you to the store to get you a much needed pack of pink bubble gum... After Pa said no, you tracked me down to get me to sign off on your plans.  But alas, I did not think that it was a good idea either. Finally after some back and forth between us, you blurted out, "Mom, you just need to say 'yes' or 'no'…" After a long pause you followed up with, "But you can only say 'yes'." 

Later that evening, you were still adamant about the gum saying, "I want gum" when I responded, "I want quiet." And you responded nonchalantly, "Well, I don't think you can get that here."  Hahaha! Ooooh Kate, you sure are one-of-a-kind!

When it comes to temperature, you will let everyone know that "I like cold". You are quite sensitive to heat. What others may find warm is most definitely too hot for you. Cold baths, cold pools, cold food. Everything is best cold! No need to warm up your food. Pizza, mac and cheese, even soup at fridge temp is your preference.

You have the most beautiful curly hair. Everyone is in awe of your perfect ringlets. This summer, Cole grew his hair a bit longer and with the heat and humidity, his curls started to come back. When you noticed, we could hear the squeals of delight reverberate throughout the house as you yelled that Cole has curls just like you! You were sure excited and definitely a bit sad when he went in for his next hair cut.

We never knew how you would adjust having a baby sister just 5 1/2 months younger than you, but you are an amazing big sister. You love your little sis and are always eager to lend her a helping hand. You request on nearly a daily basis for me to put Aria on your lap. You just can't get enough Aria snuggles. Although Aria isn't always as excited as you are for the sister cuddles.

You do your best to keep up with your big sister Rose. You never want to be left out and always what to do whatever she is doing. Golfing, dancing, swimming and more. You two are often inseparable and yet, boy oh boy, do you two bicker! The fighting can be incessant. I can only imagine what it'll be like when you're teenagers. 

You have an entire play bin full of princess costumes. If you could dress up as a princess every day, I am positive that you would. Your favorite has always been Belle's beautiful yellow gown. Yellow is your favorite color after all. Recently you went to put it on and alas, it no longer fit. You have had a growth spurt recently, and you were quite devastated to find out that your beloved gown is too small. You sadly whimpered that you don't want to grow up. Sweet girl, no need to worry. There will definitely be one a size bigger in your costume bin in the near future.

You have had a really hard time weaning from your naps. You struggle to make it through the entire day without your beauty rest. This leads us to finding you fast asleep in the most goofy and unusual spots. Wedged behind the couch, sleeping with an iPad on your face, or in some other most uncomfortable looking positions. 

You are one silly little girl. You do such goofy things and always leave us laughing. We never know what to expect - you sure do keep us on our toes with your funny antics. 

Kate, you are our sweet and spicy, kind-hearted little girl. You bring so much joy and laughter into our lives. We've been so blessed to watch you grow up from a cute little baby to a big 6 year old. We are so excited to see what the next year has in store for you. A very happy 6th birthday to you, Kate!