Day 7: ZOEY

Okay, this girl. Last time I went to Rolla, last Summer, Mom and Dad picked me up from the St. Louis airport and we got back to town a few hours before any of the other siblings, I think. So, after our parents, I was the first family to appear in the house. I walked through the door, and I immediately heard a pitter patter of little feet along with an adorable squeal of "Aunt Kate! Aunt Kate!! Aunt Kate!!!" 3 seconds later, Zoey ran into my arms, squeezing my shoulders in such a tight hug. I hadn't seen her in a while and wondered if she'd even remember me, so that welcome was the sweetest thing I could've asked for. Then she quickly took my hand and led me over to meet her fluffy stuffed animal friends in her room and we all became quite the squad for that afternoon.

I love that Zoey is not shy, and I love how much she loves. Her hugs come freely and powerfully. I'm so glad that Zach and Jamie keep her very aware of her extended family, even if we don't get to see each other often enough, so that when I do see her, she loves me like we're neighbors. Zoey is a free spirit and lives life in breakneck speed - I swear she's a blur more than a solid human girl when I see her. She does what she wants and does it very confidently. She's a super fancy dresser and she's just all girl - even as she's best friends with her boy cousins, she maintains a strong sense of a lady. I love seeing Zoey love her little sister to the point of suffocation and I hope that strong bond remains their whole lives. She's got her dad wrapped around her little finger, and it's so precious to me to see how they get along with one another - she has his volume and spastic excitement and it makes me so happy to see them play off each other. Her super big, open-mouth smile just kills me.

One of my favorite things, though, is watching her with her cousins and how she just follows them around and wants to be with them. She's just such a treat and I'm having so much fun seeing her personality develop. That and she has the most fabulously long, curly hair, amiright??

 xoxo!