if nothing else, I hope you are kind

oh love, so many things I want to teach you, and I hope someday you may actually read this and maybe it will at be something for you to at least think about before you make decisions. if nothing else, I hope you are kind. I know it is already in you to be kind. I have seen you share and love and give and smile. you love life, so I know it will be easy to share your gift of happiness and joy with others, and if you're heart and life are full, it will be easy for you to overflow your love to others. but, at times it may be difficult to be kind. I remember middle school and how catty girls are. it is so silly and your friends change as you enter high school, but it is enough for you to want to fight back. you need to remember that you may not know why someone is mean to you or why they make up stories about you, but just think they may have been hurt or are in a bad place in their life, and have no other way to express their hurt. it doesn't make their actions okay, but how you respond to their actions says a lot about your character. please be kind. they may already have a broken soul. you owe it to yourself and to spread love to not spread more hate or nastiness around. you can reach out to others to get the help you need to get through this but learning to forgive others is the only way to release yourself from the pain others inflict on you. not by fighting back, it will just make it worse. this will take a lot of patience and understanding, even at a time when you may just chalk it all up to being hormonal teenagers, but just remember to rise above it. also, be kind to others who have struggled and need a friend. don't turn your back on those around you who need someone to love them. it's not okay to make fun of others because you think they are different, or uncool. embrace who they are, and learn from them. put your self in others shoes.

another month has flown by

unreal, you are just changing before my eyes. today we went on a hike to tiger mountain, and daddy carried you in the backpack..you talked the whole time. you really can talk. i love it, and hope it scared the bears away. I started to feel anxious on the hike now that you are with us. I know the chance of something happening is so slim, but now that I have you I am like a mother bear w/my cub and couldn't live with anything happening to you out in the woods. but, you loved the hike, so I am sure we will go again, but probably just a more traveled road than the one we were on. so, I guess you tried to eat amber's foot the other day because you thought it looked like a blueberry with her nail polish...you poop blue, you LOVE blueberries so much! you went on your first camping trip with your cousins and you were so good baby! we even brought the pack n play and at bed time, we just put you in there, and with all the noise and different environment, I went and peeked in at you and you just sat there and drank your bottle until you fell asleep. I don't know if I have posted how my life has changed..you are sleeping through the night!!! I had to go to a work meeting and your daddy put you in your own room and had you sleep there. maybe it's not seeing us, but you just go right to sleep and you don't even cry! the first night you cried for a few minutes, but knowing your personality and the struggle we have had w/sleep I thought it would never work. it's crazy!!! best gift to sleep! you wake up around 7, and I am still just shocked. you gave gg a bloody lip. you are such a crazy girl, running around and bouncing your head around and you popped her one! I felt horrible, but she loves you so much, she just doesn't care what you do. you climbed and hung on the wine cooler today, just using all your arm strength..you are a tough cookie! I can't believe all you do. you go down the slide by yourself, and gpa didn't realize you would and you walked up the big swirly one and went down before he could get you! you are learning german, and even respond when I say a few words.. hensitzen and you sit down. it's wild to have you start understanding me. and I can't believe you are just picking up two languages! and sign language a little too. Auntie Debbie taught you more and you get so excited to use that, and now thank you. it's precious. you are learning your body too...you love pointing to your belly button when we ask where it is, and your ear and nose. but sometimes I say where is your nose, and you point to your ear. you also are picking up on everything! you love talking on the cell phone (oops!), and you grab the keys to go outside, and you try and put the leash on lucy, and you even picked up a qtip and tried to put it in your ear. you are working on the big legos and putting pieces together, but you get really frustrated trying to figure out things when they don't fit together. you scream..you must learn some patience as new things take a while to figure out. but, you are so determined and so curious, nothing stops you! you get tired of sitting in the carseat for too long, and it's exhausting at times trying to entertain you. but, you are such a happy baby, and your face is such a light. your smile is so beautiful and it lights up your whole face. your whole face literally smiles and I just melt. you are such a precious gift. i love you!