The First Word We Both Use to Describe Kate Is...

• Feisty

feist•yPronunciation: (fī'stē), [key] —adj., feist•i•er, feist•i•est.

1. full of animation, energy, or courage; spirited; spunky; plucky: The champion is faced with a feisty challenger. 2. ill-tempered; pugnacious. 3. troublesome; difficult: feisty legal problems.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
(Which definition did we agree on? I'd love to say #1, but pretty much all of 'em. She's feisty in EVERY sense of the word -- the good, the bad, the ugly. And to be honest, we kind of like that.)

Below is a list created in preparation for Kate's IEP meeting (Individualized Education Plan) with the school system to plan for her placement next year to help her with her issues. I had created an entire list of words that described Kate and then asked Scott how he would describe her. I didn't tell him a bit of what was on my list. He got very quite for about thirty seconds and said, "feisty." Too funny! We do know our little girl well.

Here's the rest of the list:

• Curious
• Always moving
• Animal-lover
• Mama’s girl
• Superstar Swimmer
• Anxious
• Memory of an elephant
• Easily frustrated
• Stubborn
• Proud
• Spitfire
• Loving
• Sensation-seeking
• Willful
• Cooperative
• Demanding
• Book lover
• Not easily swayed
• Curious
• Wants to succeed, but gives up easily(on motor-planning tasks)
• Smart – knows how to distract others
• Seeks structure, rules—then is very proud of her accomplishments
• The runner
• Endearing
• Opinionated
• Passive IF she thinks others will do the work
• Hard-worker IF pushed initially
• Playful
• Lover of rhymes, songs, and all things silly
• Compassionate
• Crazy about babies, boys, cats, dogs and birds
• She’ll make you smile, wear you out, and win your heart. Guaranteed.

Is she easy? Um, HELL NO.

Do we sometimes wish it were easier? Um, HELL YES. (Low-maintenance she ain't.)

Would we trade her for anything? ARE YOU KIDDING? She's going to take the world by storm. And we can't wait to see it.