Happy Birthday Kayla!

18 years ago our little girl, Kayla Nicole was born! Dark curly hair with the prettiest blue eyes you ever did see! She was, (and still is) the sweetest little girl in the world. I can't believe how fast the years have gone. Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?
By the time Kayla was 2 years old she could recognize letters in the alphabet. I remember pointing to letters on the newspaper and her shouting out the letters, she was a smart little thing, and still is. A cute little quirk she had when she was little, she used to hum while she ate, not a tune or anything, just kinda a monotone melody. We're kinda glad she broke herself of that habit, would have been embarrassing on her first date to hum all through dinner, but it was cute while it lasted.
When Kayla was around 4 years old, I was painting her face for the 4th of July, putting some fire-crackers and fireworks on her cheeks. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be and had a disgusted look on my face as I examined my work. Kayla asked, "What is it mommy?" "Oh, it's a mess!" I proclaimed. She thought for a moment, gave me a funny look and said "It's my room?" Everytime I need a good laugh I think back on that and it cracks me up all over again.
When she was in kindergarten and just starting to read, her Dad was on the computer playing a game of Wheel of Fortune. Kayla was standing near him, trying to help him solve the problems. Everytime her Dad would solve one of the puzzles Kayla would say "Applesauce, Applesauce!" We didn't know why the random craving for applesauce until we noticed at the top of the screen, flashing, were the words "Applause, Applause". So, if you ever play the game Taboo with our family and the word is Applause, now you know why with one word, "Applesauce" we are able to guess that word so quickly.
Growing up with a older sister has had it's advantages for Kayla, she let Chelsea be the teenager we practiced our parenting skills on. I can say this now that Chelsea is a responsible married, young woman and turned out just fine, but when she was a teenager and did things that drove me crazy, as she stormed out the door, I would turn to Kayla, make her raise her right arm and make a pledge that she would never behave that way, that she would be a good teenager and never drive her mother crazy. So far, Kayla has lived up to those promises. She's a great kid, I never worry about her (just her driving) cuz she has great friends, and she tries hard to do the right things. It must have been a fore-shadow of things to come all those years ago when I looked upon Kayla's face, because the only thing that drives me crazy about Kayla is...you guessed it, her MESSY ROOM! Love ya Kayla!