#8 of Kaylynn's Top 10

Number 8 is brought to you by...

Kaylynn's STUDY SKILLS

How relevant are her study skills at this time of year? Very. I'm in the throws of my last set of law school final exams and am desperately looking for a distraction (hence, writing this post!). Kaylynn's never disappointed in her two years with us.

[For those of you that have heard the story about her arrival, you can skip this paragraph.] Of course, it all started with (almost) perfect timing. She was due in the middle of my first set of finals and we were hoping she wouldn't show up early. Unfortunately, she decided that arriving on the day of my hardest final of the semester - crim law - was the "perfect" time.

I didn't think so at the time, but she was right. That was the most relaxed I've ever been taking an exam. At that point, I didn't care. (And I passed the class, which was the most important part about taking the test.) Not only that, but Mother Nature recognized her arrival by offering a snow shower. How cool it was to see her name written in the snow on the back of my car at the hospital.

She has continued to find ways to help me study. In my next round of finals, she kept me company by falling asleep on my chest. (Ironically enough, I already had a boppy pillow to put her on - it was my book rest.) I'll admit - between her and Gus snoring, it was hard not to fall asleep. But when I did catch a cat nap, I woke up better for it, ready once again to teach myself a semester's worth of material.

As she's gotten older, it's only become more fun. After she learned to crawl, I'd suddenly see a head popping around the corner. (The doors are french doors so she can see straight through the glass.) My study buddy came to find me! Momma would come take her away to keep me focused on my books, but sure enough, back she'd come. I would get to the point of watching the doors to see when she'd show up.

And now that she runs EVERYWHERE, she visits often. She no longer merely peeks in the door - she slams her hand on the glass and tells me to "come out!" When I don't come out, she'll press her face against the glass and make funny faces. Again, it doesn't make it easy to study, but who cares? I'm passing my classes.

Speaking of making faces on the glass - I need to clean it. The other day, she came over to show me the cheese she had been given. It was sliced cheese. She elected to smack it on the glass and then try to eat it. When she found that her nose got in the way, she peeled it off and ran away. (I assume she at it...)

I'm sure glad my study buddy's been around for the majority of my law school career (and I'll bet her momma is too)!