Keira is often one of the first to wake up in our family. She hops out of bed, scurries to her window to open her shade, and gets ready to start her day. I've been lucky enough to come into her room to catch a glimpse of her standing there in her jammies, hand on the windowsill, watching the sunrise.

My Keira.

Then she picks a book from her shelf and curls up on the family room couch, reading quietly to herself while I putter in the kitchen and make breakfast. And when I look over and see her, I realize how much she's truly becoming a big girl. Watching her grow, learn, and blossom is truly amazing, and I love being a part of that process.

Most recently, we've ventured into note-writing. On the flight back East, the girls were getting rather cross, and I had a lightbulb moment. I would pass them a note! It was always a good way to keep myself entertained when I was bored at school (sorry, Mom). Perhaps it would work now, too.

It was a little challenging trying to remember how to fold the paper, but my efforts were worthwhile. The girls' faces lit up when I handed the notes across the aisle -- Ellie's with a tiny drawing instead, and Keira's with a brief message. We passed back and forth, and the final hour to the flight went by quickly.

The inspiration wasn't purely my own. Keira's actually been producing a flurry of writing over these last few months. She has an entire stack of tiny notebooks that she's constantly using to scribble comments, write stories, and jot ideas.

So what does she have to say? Well...
She helped Felix list out all the repairs that we need to do this spring. Toilet? Check. Took care of that today!

Keira makes other lists, too:
But my favorites, now that I've introduced her to the world of note-writing, are the little secret messages that she writes just for me:

My Keira.