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kathrine kay kennedy

"Katie Kay, our youngest and our LAST."

"Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday dear Katherine
happy birthday to you!"

The whole Kennedy clan sang to the brand new 4 year old as she smiled so big.

"KK is cheeky, and super, super smart. She's probably our only girl that has gravitated to both of us and just about nobody else in particular. Like it's both of us, she wants mommy and papa 24/7. Now the one exception is her "buddy", Rosie. Since we use the buddy system all our younger girl's have a buddy and let's just say our Rosie girl has rubbed off on Katie in so many amazing ways, after all they do share a bedroom at the request of Rosalind. She's grasped Rosie's amazing mind loving flowers at 4 years old. Honestly she's probably smarter than me at times, picking up any and every flower and proceeding to give us all sorts of facts and it's scientific name. Like what 4 year old just does that? We know she will be brilliant."

John and Jackie stood in the background watching one of the many birthday parties for one of their many daughters unfold.

Jack held his wife throwing his arms around her neck from behind. After all the stress of this party, Jackie quickly leaned into him and he took the opportunity to place a kiss on the top of her head.

"I love you Kid" He whispered in her ear as she looked up to him and stole a kiss.

"I love you Bunny, so much" Jack Kennedy was a man of many mysteries, but one thing was very clear to everybody, he loved his wife.

And he loved his girls.

In the moment, on the Kennedy's back porch he fell into the trance of Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and only departed from her lips as Bobby nudged his back.

"Alright lovebirds break it up. I'm not looking for another niece, 12 is quite enough." Quickly Ethel smacked her husband, acting as if he didn't have 11 himself.

"I mean, I'm right, like 12 is a lot!" Bobby stuck up for himself as the kids headed down to the beach.

"You have 11!" Jackie yelled as Jack looked to his wife.

"I think he's still jealous we out did him Kid, what do you think?" The older brother began just trying to pick at and tease his younger brother.

Everything was always a competition.

"You know bunny, I- I think you could be right" Jackie played along as Bobby acted offended.

"Ugh, whatever Mr. Fertile." Bobby rolled his eyes and walked away with Ethel. He wasn't wrong, but hey it was funny.

Katie was always passed around as the youngest so no surprise when the parents looked back out she was on the hip of Rosie wading in the water.

"When did she grow up Jack?" Jackie looked to her youngest baby as they fell into the same position as earlier.

"I- I don't even know Kid. They all- all of them grew up so fast. Too, too fast." He stumbled through the sentence remembering when they brought home Meave. It really did seem like yesterday.

"Rissy?" Down on the beach Katie sat in the sand with her older sister, using the mix of a nickname that combined Rosie & "Sissy". The name she had come up with as a toddler.

Most guests were making their way home, so the moment was private and sweet.

"Yeah Sunny?"

The cute little nickname for her littlest sister came from her favorite flower, a sunflower.

The two's relationship really was built on flowers, something both of them loved.

"How old are you?" The new 4 year old asked innocently looking up to Rosie.

"Well I'm this many, plus this many" Rosie used her fingers to encourage the girl to count, it was little things like this that made Katie have that extra inch over all the other kids.

"That's- that's 17!" She smiled as her older sister gave her a high five.

All sorts of little victories all the time.

"And that means I'm how much older than you now on your birthday?" They hadn't really worked on subtraction. But she obviously had down addition, so why not start.

Rosalind helped a little, using her fingers to assist her little sister's brain.

But in no time at all she quickly got 13.

There was no doubt she would be the smartest kid in preschool as she started in the fall.

Rosie still couldn't believe she was be starting school. Not only that but as Katie started school, she would be moving out.

Katie had never slept without her "Rissy", at least not without her in the room at the least.

But as the sun set in the distance Katie went a running to her parents screaming, "I'm 13 years older than Rissy!" The second part wasn't true, but nobody was going to ruin the little girl's happiness.

"Look out world here comes the subtraction queen and brand new 4 year old Katie Kennedy!" Rosie always loved watching her little sisters do amazing things.

They all had amazing potential.

She was always the daughter to "buddy" the youngest girl. So she had been through Hattie and Gwen before Katie.

And now don't get her wrong, she loved them both, but Katie held a special place in the sister that was 13 years older than the little girl.

Jack picked her up and kept Jackie close, that's how it had to be.

"When did you get so big, could you riddle me that huh?" Katie laughed as Jack held her up high in the air.

"You just got too big too fast! What will mommy do when you leave me all alone for school?" Jackie stole her daughter away as Katie snuggled into her chest.

The thought of the empty house kind of made her want to throw up in the moment.

"I'll miss you when I go to school mommy." She grabbed her mother's cheeks and pushed her head into hers. Something Katie always did, very nonchalantly head butting others.

Jackie really couldn't help but cry. The moment, the baby of the family turning 4, her going to school, everything just spewed over.

"Mommy why you cry?" Although her mind was amazingly smart, they were still working on her language.

"I'm just sad baby that's all." Slowly the women smiled sitting down with Katie in her lap. All the rest of the girls, besides Rosie, played on the beach.

"Mommy don't be sad." Katie wiped the tears away from her mother's face smiling at her brightly.

"You're growing up on mommy, that makes me sad, I wish you would just stay a baby forever and ever and ever!" Jackie cupped Katie's face as the 4 year old sat content and happy.

"I'll always be your baby mommy!" She said the sweet phrase to make Jackie cry even harder as she laid on her chest again.

Rosie smiled at her mother as Jackie just continued to cry lightly.

But as the sun really hit the water in the distance the entire family sat in the warm sand just admiring the sunset together.

This was something they actually did pretty often as a "beach family", but no matter how many times they sat, the memories and the views never dulled.

22 years, 12 baby girls, and probably about 50 birthday parties, they had finally made their way to the very end.

Jackie sat beside Jack in the center of the girls with Katie dozing in her arms. He did notice she was thinking about something.

So when she looked over to her husband and whispered quietly in his ear he was happy to hear what she had to say.

"We're never gonna retire"

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