Fast Girl, sad Ma, TT go BY-BY

Introducing Kate (Katie) Ross. My first born and #5 in our combined family. Kate is the product achieved when you mix fierce independence with a healthy dose of goal setting. Kate was the most pretty baby in the world ( sorry Leah). Dark skinned (jaundice) and a mouth her Dad I think described as like little rose buds. Fun to dress up like little girls at least until she became more mobile. It was then the frilly little dresses went away and were replaced with sweat suits ( at least they were pink). When she started crawling the skirt of the dress would catch in her legs and she would pull so hard to remove the dress hated it. BY-BY girly stuff. Loved water. For Katie the sound of running water any running water meant " Bath Time" and she would strip herself naked in anticipation. Now mind you running water could mean the washer, hose or kitchen sink for dishes. Frustrating at times but mostly just funny. Katie's first bike was a Big Wheel, well actually she had 2 of them, she wore one out. Now she rides a mac daddy bike that costs more than my cars combined, you see she is now a professional rider. Friday night she will fly into St.Louis and drive to Shelbyville to visit for a few days before she heads out on a her biggest adventure yet...........Australia for 2 WHOLE MONTHS. Even though I haven't seen her for a while I already miss her so much. So for a few days I will have her here, a chance to hold her and smell her for a few days. It will have to be enough for me to go through the holidays. I think we will watch Christmas Vacation early this year. I will have to balance healthy foods for her perennial favorites. Stop at the liquor store and pick up some of her favorite libations. And for about 4 days it will be all about Kate. More on Kate later......