Kaitlyn Is 8 and the Big Reveal...

In all the excitement and hoopla of my having triplets it's sometimes easy to overlook just how special my other two children are. Yes, they are "singletons" and they get less attention from other people but to me Kaitlyn and Caleb are the rest of my world. They were here first. Kaitlyn made me a mom first and Caleb was the confirmation that the Lord really wanted me to be a mother. I think the triplets are the exclamation point.

Today I had the joy and privilege of celebrating 8 years with my first child. In a previous post I said it was hard to believe that the girls are 20 months old but even more then that it's hard to believe that my oldest is now 8. Eight years ago now I was in the hospital with this tiny new life. I was a clueless new mom and I was young but I was soo happy that my dream had finally come true.

It took me 3 1/2 years to get pregnant with Kaitlyn. It took a diagnosis of an ugly disorder called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It took a team of doctors and a boat load of shots. And ultimately it took the grace of God in my life. His grace to say yes, I want you to be a mother and this, this tiny bundle is the daughter I have chosen for you to love and raise for as many years as I have ordained for her on this earth. I know that she knows that I love her. But it will take her entire life and maybe until she is a mother before she knows just how much.

So, in honor of Kaitlyn's 8 years after the girls got about no sleep last night (think 2 AM to 7 AM) they got a breakfast of pancakes and then we loaded up and headed to the zoo. Signs along the way said "Ozone advisory: use mass transit or carpool" Yep, I'd say it was just a tad hot. Thank God National Zoo has a lot of shade and misters along the way. We managed to stay somewhat hydrated.

Of course I took pictures:

And for the "big" reveal. Well, the 80% complete room. As you can see we still have some work to do - Kirk needs to put the dresser together and we need to move some of Kaitlyn's furniture in and some of the baby's furniture out.



A few "still" pictures so you can really see what the wall stick-ons look like as well as the really cool bedding (all from Pottery Barn Kids). You can see where the dresser is going to go...



I have to admit the khaki looks pretty good. I do miss the blocks and all the work we put into them but this suits Kaitlyn better. While I'm not a neutral person it works as a good backdrop for all the animal designs. At some point I'll add in some orange when I figure out just how and where I want it.



The really cool bedding:



Did I mention how hard it is to make a bed that's 6 feet in the air? And how hard it is to take pictures of said bed? If it were lower to the ground the pillows would have been better arranged :) While I don't love the high up beds Kaitlyn and Caleb do and they allow for more space in the room so they're staying for now. At least until the next room redo...



I'll post more pictures when we get the dresser together and the closet cleaned out and the new valance/drapes up. So much to do but I'm grateful we've gotten this far!! And thanks to everyone who sent Kaitlyn birthday wishes. She had a great day. I hope she also has a great year because I love her so very much.