nine is just fine

There was a day that she didn't like being the center of attention.  She'd find somewhere to get lost on the sidelines, desperate to avoid being the center of attention.  Performances at school or church terrified her and left her in tears.

"who me?  really?"

Not anymore.  Watch out world, Kylie B has arrived.

My once shy, reserved, uber quiet little girl has become an outgoing, confident, assertive nine year old.

Nine.  There, I said it.  NINE.  As in halfway to eighteen.  As in we'll stop that train of thought right now...

I'm not sure exactly when she got so tall.  But these days she is all legs.

And smiles.

Kylie Boo,

It seems crazy that you are halfway to the point that you could be leaving the nest.  I say could be because your plan right now is to live with Daddy and I for the rest of your life...and I'm okay with that.    But I suspect that as your confidence continues to grow, you'll figure out that the world isn't quite such a scary place and you'll change your mind.  It wouldn't surprise me if you ended up spending extended time in the land of your birth and while I'd miss you, I know you'd be back to visit.
Over the past year you've declared yourself a "swimnast" and lobbied Daddy and I to be able to join a local year round swim team.  You also have truly become a voracious reader and it isn't uncommon for you to read four, five and even six novels a week.  Right now historical fiction attracts your attention, especially when set in the homesteading period or based around the civil rights movement.
As the oldest, you expertly fill the role of "leader of the pack" in our house and most days do a great job of encouraging your younger siblings.  You are willing to spend time with any of them though if you had your way, you and DQ would spend days on end playing with your lego friends or including Natalie when you three play with your Journey Girl dolls.
You occasionally drive me crazy with cries of "that's not fair" when one sibling gets something that you want (like a play date on a day you have swim practice or time on the computer that you didn't get) but that same sense of fairness that nearly makes me lose my mind also shows me that you have a heart for others when I hear you comment on how unfair it is that children around the globe don't have families to take care of them.  I truly believe that you have potential to be a world changer.
You and I butt heads from time to time.  You're just as strong willed as me.  I mess up in this role of parenting, but you are gracious and don't hold my inexperience against me.
I am grateful that I can call you my daughter.
My love always,

Mommy