Hats off to Katie!

I wear many hats in this family.  I'm a wife, a mom, a cook, a laundress, a chauffeur, a tutor, a financial planner,  a housekeeper, and occasionally a referee.  I wear these hats figuratively, of course.  Which is a good thing because I have never been much of a hat person myself.  I can't stand having something on my head, unless it is absolutely necessary for safety reasons.  But one of us in our family has special genes.  Hat genes.  If given the choice she would have a hat on all the time.  I'm talking about Kaitlyn Rose.

My youngest blessing has been a hat lover from the moment she emerged into this world.  She would relax and doze contentedly the instant an infant hat was placed on her head, and the entire house knew immediately when it fell off.  Somewhere around nine months of age, Katie realized that not only were the hats comfy, they were also a fashion statement. " Hat" was one of her first words, and she wore a hat whenever we went out.  Thankfully, we had a few beautiful pink ones, handed down from cousin Gracie.

One day, while cleaning out brothers drawers, we came across a hat knitted for him by Grandma Ida.  It was a beautiful green multicolored hat, but it was now too small.  Katie saw it, let out a squeal, and it was added to her wardrobe.  She started wearing it everywhere and even wore it to bed.  Even as the weather turned warm, and the sun began to burn, she wanted to wear the hat.  Her cheeks would flush and sweat would appear on her forehead, but she didn't want to take it off.  You can imagine the comments that I got at the grocery store.  Here was a little girl in summer shorts, tank top, sandals, and a winter hat.  It was quite the look.

Katie and her favorite green hat.

I just figured that she loved that particular green hat.  But as it turns out, she loves hats in general.  Not a day goes by when she hasn't spent some time with a hat on her head.  It's been great when we go to the beach or to the park, because of that extra level of sun protection.  And to top it off, it's just darn cute.

Sometimes it starts first thing in the morning:

I'll bet you didn't know that breakfast tastes better when you're wearing a hat.  She found this sun hat and it became an instant favorite.

Then one day, we were cleaning in my closet, and she found this crazy pop out gardening hat.  Think of the sunshades that they have for cars, but instead in hat form.  She loved it!  It was big.  It was pink.  It was hers!

There was just one problem.......

The hat was almost bigger that she was!  

But she had determination, and even though she bumped into doors and walls, she still managed to wear the hat for a couple of hours.

Hey, who turned out the lights?

Her enthusiasm for hats was contagious, and big brother decided that if a hat was that much fun, then he needed to wear one too.  But he didn't want to be pink and girly.  He needed one that was dark and manly.

The hat game was short lived for brother, but it's really an everyday occurrence for Kaitlyn Rose.  I would say that she loves to play dress up, but it's not really "dress up" for her.  It's more like a lifestyle choice.  So hats off to Katie.  I think it is a blessing to figure out what you like at an early age, and to roll with it.  And Grandma Ida, if you are reading this, we could really use a new knitted hat.  You can only wash them so many times.........

Blessings to you all, and hats off to you for taking the time to read my blog!