13-years-old

I'm very late on this post, but we just barely got Caitlyn's pictures taken.  Caitlyn was fighting me on taking her pictures until she got her hair done on Thursday, then she loved the idea of taking her pictures.  She had her hair thinned, trimmed and cut some bangs.  Caitlyn's hair is a struggle.  It is a little bit curly, but not totally curly so it doesn't want to straighten and it doesn't want to curl.  I tried to do the curls in her hair today and it didn't work, why can you never imitate what they do at the salon!

Caitlyn is definitely a teenager.  She liked posing more than smiling.  This has been a bit of a rough year for Caitlyn.  Middle school was a tough adjustment for her.   She has done great academically and all of her teachers love her.  She has maintained A's and A-'s all year.  I'm so grateful that she has a desire to do well in school.  She had a hard time making friends at the beginning of the year.  Caitlyn is so kind and empathetic, but sometimes that makes it hard for her to make connections because she is always looking out for people that need help instead of people that share common interests with her.

The last couple of months Caitlyn has made some good friends.  She has been over to some of their houses and had them over here.  She is really enjoying being more social and making new friends.

Caitlyn has really developed her talents in music this year.  She has practiced her oboe a lot this year and she sounds great.  At their music festival one of the judges asked the oboe player (Caitlyn is the only one) to stand up and said she sounded great and she should keep it up and she might be able to get a scholarship with it.  She has also improved a lot on the piano this year.  She has learned some hymns and sounds great.

Caitlyn is a beautiful girl.  She is thrilled that she has grown taller lately (she is surrounded by tall friends).  Caitlyn has been loving playing outside lately.  She loves swinging and playing in the back yard.  She is so great to play games and have fun with Hallee and Wyatt.

Caitlyn's anxiety hit her hard again this year.  She had a few months where she was constantly having stomach aches and feeling sick and nervous all of the time. She didn't like to go anywhere and wanted to be home as much as possible.  I know from experience how miserable that can be.  There were times where Caitlyn felt sorry for herself, but she really does try hard to be positive.  After meeting with a doctor and getting her medicine adjusted she is doing much better. She has been putting in a lot of work too. We talked about all of the ways you need to take care of your mind and body and she is working hard to do those things.  I'm so relieved that she is doing better.  It is so hard to watch your kids suffer.

Caitlyn has a great sense of humor.  She loves to laugh and make other people laugh.  Caitlyn is a very loyal, good friend and family member.  She loves all of her extended family and puts time into those relationships to keep them strong. 

Caitlyn is great with kids.  She loves to babysit and she will always stop and play with kids when they want her to.  She is always so sweet to play games and make-believe with Hallee.

I could tell Caitlyn was doing a lot better anxiety wise when she said she was going to Young Women's sports night.  I love that she is always willing to try new things and enjoys all different kinds of things.  I think she realized that she likes sports in P.E. this year. 

Caitlyn is always up for an adventure.  She tries to have a good attitude about everything and makes the best out of situations.  She is always willing to do whatever someone else wants to do to make sure they have a good time.

Caitlyn is the beehive class president.  I submitted someone else's name and Caitlyn's as a back up and the bishop came back and said they thought it should be Caitlyn.  She has done a great job.  She really cares about the girls and will go out of her way to make sure every one is involved and included.  She has a strong testimony and shares it almost every fast Sunday.

Caitlyn is just an all around great girl.  She has her moody moments, like we all do, but she has always been wise beyond her years.  She is kind, loyal, beautiful, hard working, honest, patient, empathetic, forgiving, funny, smart and we are lucky to be her parents.