"A Beautiful Dozen"

It's hard to believe a dozen years have gone by since Kennedy entered our lifes and I'm sure as I blink a dozen more will go by just as quickly. Age 12 is the beginning of a few milestones for Kennedy, the biggest is starting Jr. High in a few short weeks. What once seemed like a big excitement has gradually turned into nervousness and anxiety for her venturing into a new chapter, in a new school, with new faces, not to mention a variety of new teachers. We continue to have the highest of hopes for Kennedy and continue to reassure her that everything will be fine as long as she keeps her head on straight and doesn't get mixed up in the drama. Days, weeks, months, and years have passed so quickly that I will gladly say in the last dozen years Kennedy has blessed me with an abundance of things. Oddly enough I vividly remember every birthday; however, her first birthday seems like it just happened yesterday. Birthday #1 we had a pool party and you fell on the concrete putting a nice rasberry on your forehead the day before your one year photo shoot. You loved playing in the little pool but refused to get into the bigger pool with the other kids. You had no desire to make a mess of your birthday cake (which was a beach ball) and had to be coaxed by your dad to taste it to know it was ok. For gifts you received: a wooden rocking chair, a baby doll and stroller, clothes and shoes, and a table/chair set. That little wooden rocking chair soon became your "time out" chair. Birthday #12, another pool party including some of your close friends. We spent hours at the pool and regardless of the sunscreen, we all walked away with some nice sun scorches. You wanted an ice cream cake which Paul made big enough to feed a foreign country. You made a birthday wish list with a dozen items of different things you wanted. For gifts you received: rollerblades, jewelry, clothes, lip balm maker, make-up, and finger nail polish. Although many years have crept by from one birthday to the next, when I close my eyes I see that first party just as clearly as the last one. Happy Birthday my little blonde beauty, may this year be full of new adventures and enough joy to last an entire lifetime. My love for you multiplies as time coasts by. I treasure all of the years we've spent together and look forward to all of the years ahead.