This Girl...

is amazing. I don't think there is a sweeter girl than this girl. She's growing up so fast, turning from a little girl to a big girl. I sometimes feel so unworthy to be her mother, or like I have done so little to deserve her awesomeness.

Kennedie is never mean to anyone. She just doesn't have it in her. She's kind, empathetic, and understanding. Kennedie has the biggest heart and often spends her time worrying about others feelings and needs. She's always giving her lunch away at school. She rarely gets in trouble at home and NEVER at school. She has gotten the Citizenship or Behavior Award every semester since Kindergarten. She likes to "surprise" me some mornings and get up really early, get in the shower, get ready for school, pack her lunch, and make her and Kelsie breakfast. I love it when I get up to go to wake her up and she's sitting at the table completely ready!

This girl has had a rough week. Kennedie has been a thumbsucker since birth. We have tried and tried and tried to break the habit. You name it, we've tried it. SHE'S tried it! She just could not completely give it up. As a consequence, her little mouth was quite bent out of shape. The sucking action made her mouth rounded and narrow, and she already had a little jaw, so the problem was compounded. As she started loosing and getting her adult teeth, they had no where to go. She needed her jaw expanded so we headed to the orthodontist. He recommended that we get a palatal expander. It would do two things: 1) make it impossible for her to suck her thumb 2)spread her top jaw. He also said that the bones in the palate completely harden by the age of 12, so the earlier you treat these issues, the shorter and less painful treatment is. We bit the bullet and Kennedie is the proud new owner (it's cemented to the top of her mouth) of an expander. It's big, makes her slur her words, drool, and it hurts. We have a key we have to turn once a day that spreads the appliance and little by little her jaw will be expanded. I never thought that a 7-year-old could be depressed, but for the first few days she definitely was. She was having a hard time figuring out how to eat, talk, and she was hurting. She was also really nervous to go back to school. Thankfully, I think she's at the age where this type of thing is "cool". She said a lot of the kids were telling her, "I want a retainer so bad, but my mom won't let me." So she's feeling a little better, talking a little better, and we are on the road to a healthier smile.

(The picture above was taken by my really cool friend/photographer/Kennedie's friend's mom, Allison. She's amazing and was snapping pictures at her daughter's birthday party a few weeks ago, and presented me with this cute little nugget. If you are in the Tucson area and need a photographer check her out HERE.)