Special Birthday

The Birthday Girl!

Cowgirl Kaylee

Today is Kaylee's 17th birthday!.  But it is a little bittersweet for her mother and I.  First, here is the birthday girl!

Unfortunately it is most likely the last one her mother and I will get to spend with her for some time.  See, she is currently a senior in high school.  Next year she goes to college, and the universities normally start school around Aug 15.  Since she needs to be at school a few days beforehand, she will probably be at school for her next birthday.

So, this is more than likely the last time we will celebrate her birthday as a whole family.  We don't have anything really special planned today, except for cake.  But her party is planned for next weekend.

Kaylee has grown into a beautiful young lady and someone I'm proud to be related to, much less her parent.  She is kind, sweet, and well-behaved.  I blame her mother for that :-).

She also has a great sense of humor!  Ok, she has my sense of humor, but she's a good kid besides that little fault.

Raising Kaylee has been a joy.  I remember the day she was born and I held her for the first time.  When I met Marie I thought I understood what love was, but after holding our newborn child for the first time it really hit me.  Raising Kaylee has been relatively easy.  She didn't get into nearly as much trouble as my brothers and I did, she would try to argue her case with me (never worked...she thinks too much like me so I was always a step ahead of her), and she only broke a few things around the house (what kid hasn't?).

So, today will be the last birthday we will celebrate with Kaylee for a little while to come.  For Marie and I it is only 17 years, but for Kaylee it has been a lifetime.

Love you, Kaylee!