When Babetta Kathryn Kelly joined our family, 21 years ago today, I composed a song for her.

It is a whop-dinger of a song, if I do say so myself.

It goes like this:

“Babetta! Babetta! Her name rings through my heart! Babetta! Babetta! I loved her from the start. She’ll always be in my heart!”

I fully accept that it is a lame song. But cut me some slack, I was 11 years old and I never claimed to be Cole Porter. I was IN LOVE and my 11 year old heart had to do something to express all the love I was feeling for this beautiful read-headed wonder of a baby. So I plonked myself down on our out of tune piano, purchased at a bargain from the Westchester Ward, and composed the above ditty.

Babetta LOVES this song. And she really loves it when I sing it to her while we are in a public place with lots of people around. She can’t wait for me to sing it at her wedding. (I practice it in the shower to this day, so that I’ll be ready, Bette!)

Babetta has always been stunning. She was born stunning and has remained stunning. The famous story we tell in our family about baby Betta is that once, my mom was carrying her down a New York City street and a woman passed by and let out a YELP! She thought that the babe in my mom’s arms was a doll and so when Bette moved it really startled her!

Oh, no! Not “a Leonardo smiling at things beyond our ken”, but flesh and blood. And my sister to boot!

That beautiful babe in arms grew to be a beautiful woman of substance and goodness.

Babetta is smart, self-disciplined, hard working, kind, funny, interesting, she has a heart of gold with a testimony that burns bright and true.

The great irony of that silly song I wrote her is that she has, in the last few years, become a songwriter herself!  And her songs are actually GOOD! I love her music. I wish you could hear her sing some of them right now. Her voice is willowy and her lyrics are like her – deep, mysterious, light-hearted, fun – and they are so cool.

WHY?

I think it must have something to do with the fact that Bette is cool. You know how some people are just born with “it”. I think Bette was. She knows her mind and she follows her gut. Betta is part of what we lovingly refer to in our family as the “caboose” – Mom had the first six kids, took a five year break, and then had three more. Babetta was no. 7 in our family line-up, or in other words, the start of the caboose.  Because I was 11 years old when she was born I was old enough to remember her arrival and I have been able to watch her grow up. I mention this only to give myself a little credibility when I claim to really know something about her.

(Bette with Professor Russell who hearts her)

She is a person who is beloved by all the adults who know her (especially the dads!) She has dads left and right offering their sons to her as prospective husbands, but she isn’t only loved by the adults and she also has the respect and admiration of her peers.

She has an incredible sense of style. Not to brag, but I think she gets it from me. I have been dressing her FOR YEARS! Kidding, kidding! (Bette, what was I thinking when I put you in that black lace shawl?!?!) In all seriousness, she was voted most stylish in her singles ward. It helps that she has got a bod to die for. Everything looks awesome on her tiny frame. When I was in UT visiting my family I was at the mall (what? Liza, at the mall?!) I passed a store front and the mannequins seemed oddly familiar, they reminded me of someone. It took me a minute to figure out why a bunch of mannequins would be so endearing and then it hit me – BETTE! I’d been hanging out with my sister and her bod is just like one of those mannequins!! Yup, she is pretty dang cute.

She is studying film and is a superstar in the program.  Her teachers just love her. Must have something to do with the fact that she is 100% dependable, super responsible and hardworking. Mom says whenever she goes to the HFAC and mentions that Bette is her daughter all the faculty go gooey and start to sing Bette’s praises.

She is also athletic. She even won the BYU whiffle ball home run derby this year. She is always beating the rest of us when we have our own whiffle ball derbies at the Kelly homestead – but to see her blow away all the other BYU co-eds was pretty sweet!

She is something of a perfectionist. She doesn’t want to screw up, ever. This makes her a very careful at times. She is also a little shy. When you watch a person grow from baby- to toddler – to child – to teenager – to adult, you get a sense of the whole person, ya know?  Bette was such a confident, no nonsense little girl — in high school I watched as she became a lot more cautious and aware of herself, as we all do at that age. The world always tries its very hardest to beat the little child out of all of us.  But I’ve noticed that, of late, some of that little spit fire of a red-head girl is coming back, taking the reins and calling the shots.

Me likes! In fact, me loves!

I think she was meant to reign supreme. That little “red-headed Indian girl” rascal and the beautiful grown-up woman – is an awesome combo, wouldn’t you agree, dear sister?

Lovely, kind, good, intelligent, creative,  fun, and a wee bit outrageous.

That’s my sister, Bette!

I love you! Happy Birthday!