Dear Kirsten,

Well, my sweet girl, you lost another tooth this month. You were thrilled and I want to laugh each time I look at your "jack 'o lantern smile". This month you have been very busy with Brownies, gymnastics, and violin lessons.

You are still the best big sister around. You love to teach the boys things and you are so proud when they copy you. Danny has perfected his somersaults and is your little gymnast in training. Your brothers have been experimenting with temper tantrums lately and it is killing you! A couple of weeks ago the boys threw all their Cheerios on the floor. I showed them how to pick them up but they refused. I wouldn't allow them to do anything else until they cleaned up and they had HUGE tantrums. First you tried to show them what to do, then you tried to give them incentives and cheer them on. After twenty minutes of screaming and crying you asked me "Can't I please just do it for them??". It was so hard for you to watch them upset and not be able to "fix" it. When they finally cleaned up you clapped and cheered SO LOUD.

You are doing great in school and get "greens" almost everyday. It's still hard for you to stay calm in the early evenings but you're working on it. I recently told you you needed to come help me with something and you told me "I just want to be a big girl and make my own decisions. I don't mean decisions like 'eat candy everyday' just decisions like 'keep reading and not go help you right now'... cuz I AM a big girl you know!" ...It was VERY hard not to laugh but you were very serious. Another moment I don't want to forget occurred at the beginning of March. You tripped on something in the twins' room and were looking for some sympathy. You were limping around and telling me (with fake tears) that your leg was "broken". A few minutes later I opened the back door to let the boys go out to play... you ran past me and I caught you saying "oh no... not if your leg is broken sweetie". You gave me QUITE the look and declared "That is just an expression! Of course my leg is not really broken!".

You wrote your teacher, Mrs. Booker, a letter last week. I REALLY wanted to make a copy of it... but you had it sealed up long before I had a chance. I wish I could remember how you spelled each word.. it was SO cute. The letter read:
Dear Mrs. Booker,
You are the best teacher in the world because you clean up our whole classroom everyday when the kids go home. That is so nice of you! It's like when my mom has to stay up until 9:30 because my brothers mess up our whole house. Did your kids do that when they were 1 or 2?
Love,
Your Favorite Student Kirsten Taylor

A couple of months ago you asked, very seriously, when you brothers were going to "learn English". As they've been learning to talk I do a lot of interpreting for you (i.e "Did you hear him say 'Sissy'?" "He said 'Thank you'!"). It was as if you thought their poor articulation was actually Chinese. (SO CUTE!) This month you finally agree that is "sounds like they are starting to learn English".

I think you may be the most joyful person I've ever met. You take true delight in the simplest things. You went to an ice skating birthday party this month. There were little metal "guides" for the children to use to help you get the feel of the ice and keep from falling down. You went around the rink twice to get used to it. I expected you to dump the guide after that... boy was I wrong! You figured out that you could skate VERY VERY fast when you didn't have to worry about falling. You started racing around the rink and then began doing tricks as if you were in the Olympics. It was hysterical! You still can't keep a secret (it's just TOO exciting for you!) and you gave the birthday girl half a dozen "hints" about her gift in the first five minutes of the party :) You sing in the shower, wear VERY sparkly shoes everywhere you go, and never stop moving!

I love you more everyday. I truly do love you with all my heart, sweet girl.
Love,
Mommy