Karsten is Three!

Today, Karsten turned three.  THREE!  It's unbelievable to me, since I feel like Kevin and I were just driving to the hospital to meet her for the very first time. Yet somehow she has been in our family for 3 years.  She is the same age that Kate was when Karsten was born!

Here she is on her last day of being two years old.

This girl is nothing like I thought she would be when she was a clingy baby.  Gone is the shy, quiet, timid baby girl.  She is bubbly, loud, mostly outgoing, and so full of personality.  Her smile is the biggest thing about her, and when she gives you one, you can't help but grin back.

She still loves Mama best.  A few days ago, Kevin was home with the girls when I was pulling into the garage.  He looked at Karsten and said "Let's hide from Mama."  After they found a hiding place, Karsten looked and Kevin and said "This is not a great idea."  He said "Well, Karsten, what IS a great idea?"  She said "Let's go find Mama."  And then she ran down the hall and threw her arms around me, the whole time screaming "Hey Mama!! You're home!!!"

Kevin will tease her sometimes and say "Who do you love more, Mama or Daddy?" She almost always answers Mama, although occasionally she'll say "Karsten" or "Bunny".  But then she always assures Kevin that she still loves him too. :)

Her raspy voice is a constant noise around our house. Girl loves to talk. And sing. She knows the entire books of the bible song - old and new testament.

She is Kate's shadow and anything Kate does, Karsten must copy.  They are best friends and I hope it stays that way forever.

About 6-8 months ago, the girls decided they wanted to spend the night together.  It was a Friday night so we figured we'd try and see how it went.  We put them in Karsten's bed and then went into the living room where we proceeded to watch them play on the monitor for the next hour and a half.  Finally, we separated them and put them each in their own room so they would go to sleep.  Of course they both cried, so we said "We'll try again when Karsten is 3."  You know - sometimes you just say things to get your kids to be quiet and don't even realize what you're committing to.  Well, since then, Karsten has said "When I turn 3, I'm sleeping with Kate." Today when she got out of bed, I said "Karsten, do you know what today is!"  She said "It's my birthday! I'm three and I'm sleeping with Kate tonight!"

(Update- we did let them sleep together. It lasted 30 minutes.)

She is girly, and loves dresses, nail polish and lip gloss. She amazes me with how much she knows at this age.  I'm so thankful that she has a big sister who loves to teach her.  She knows her ABC's, all colors, can count to 30, can mostly dress herself, and talks like she's 15.

Happy birthday, big girl! God has great plans for you, and I pray that you'll be willing to trust and follow Him.  I love you to the moon and back, and more than you'll ever know.