Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. ~Robert Brault
I recently came across this picture of Kelsey in a box of random photos. She’s standing on the stool we kept in the kitchen of our house in Oklahoma City. It looks like she’s eating a pop-tart which is strange because I was a mean momma and rarely let her have sugary treats. Which is also probably the reason for that big, cheesy smile (or, as my dad would say, a shit-eatin’ grin).
Sidenote::you can add not letting her eat pop-tarts to the long list of things she’ll be able to tell her therapist when she’s forty.
Anyway, there isn’t a date on the photo, so I had to do a little detective work to try to figure out exactly when the picture was taken. I know we lived in that house from the fall of 1993 to the fall of 1995 and I can tell that Kelsey is two, so it must have been 1995. And guessing from her tan, it would have been in the summer. So that’s about as close as I can get.
I also don’t specifically recall why I took this photo, other than the fact she looked so stinking cute in her little Levi’s shorts and messy little ponytail. And that adorable smile…the one that still melts my heart. The fact that this photo has been sitting in a box rather than in a scrapbook means that it must not have been a special occasion…because that’s mostly the kind of stuff I scrapbooked back then.
My guess it was just an ordinary day in the life of Kelsey being two.
Even though the when and why about this photo are little fuzzy, I can still vividly remember Kelsey at that age. That wonky front tooth. The little fringe of hair around her forehead. The little tendrils that would curl up in front of her ears. Those big brown eyes and happy smile.
I can still remember the way she would line up all her babies, lay them face down, and pat them on the back to put them to sleep (just like the teachers did with all the toddlers in her class at day care). I can still hear her little voice singing Hakuna Matata from the back seat of the car. I remember how strong-willed and independent she was.
Sidenote::some things haven’t changed at all.
I can still remember the way she smelled after a bath. The way she would sit on the bathroom sink while I combed out her hair. I remember tucking her in bed and reading her favorite books, Go Dog Go and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Suess. I can remember standing outside the door and listening as Tripp patted her on the back and sang her to sleep with Jesus Loves Me.
It’s hard to believe that this little cutie is turning 24 today.
I often wish I would have been better at paying attention to the little details when she was a baby…recording more of these everyday kinds moments…written more things down. Because really, these are the kinds of moments that tug at my heart-strings every. blessed. time.
Looking back, I am so grateful for all of these memories…the big and the small. And I am looking forward to all of the wonderful memories yet to be made.
Happy Birthday Kelsey-girl! I love you so much!
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