Ella has become such a responsible, self-sufficient kid. So much so that I sometimes forget that she is just 5, not 12. I have to remember that just because she isn't demanding my time like she did when she was younger (like her brother does now), doesn't mean she does not need me to spend the time. She still loves to be read to, she can sit in her room and play Barbies or Fairies or Little Princesses for hours at a time. She still teaches her imaginary classes – school sometimes, but mostly gymnastics and dance these days.
She and Luke have started playing more and more games together. Her increasing patience with him and her willingness to accommodate his lingering toddler-ness amaze me. Now, instead of being mad when he is melting down in the evening, she makes comments like, “He’s having a rough night, isn’t he?” She tries to distract him or make him feel better when he’s upset. It’s a beautiful thing.
She seems to have set a few goals for herself for this summer, and she’s been working hard on all of them.
1. Learn to swim. We signed her up for lessons, which she loved, and she hasn't used floaties since her lessons ended. She's not strong enough yet to pass a swim test, but she's getting there quickly - especially if we just leave her alone and let her practice without instruction.
2. Learn to read. She often selects books that are way too young for her because she wants to study the words as we read, not the story. She has started recognizing printed words that she learned to spell aloud. I first realized this when she told me the binder that the gymnastics coach carries around says “love”. When we talked about how she knew that and that she was starting to read, she started listing off the other words she knows – a lot of them from her chore charts that she looks at every day. I've also been finding her using the VTech V.Reader a lot lately, and even playing the word games that go with the stories.
3. Practice writing. I made some lined paper like you get out of a writing tablet and put a stack of it in her school drawer (that’s where she keeps her teaching supplies), and she frequently gets a piece and practices her letters and numbers. The numbers are the trickiest, so she’s been working on them a lot, but she likes to write people’s names, too.
She is tired of gymnastics, but she still loves soccer and plans to play again in the fall.
A friend suggested we take her to eat lunch at the school this summer so she can get accustomed to the lunchroom, so Grandmother has been taking them a few days a week. Ella has declared the school lunch to be “the best food ever”. I would take that personally, but I know she’s excited about eating lunch at school like a big kid. Unfortunately, the elementary school is under construction for the summer, so they have to eat at the high school, but she’s still getting the lunch line, food tray, serve yourself, open your own milk carton and ketchup packet experience. And she has learned about the noise, and the fact that not every food service establishment has ranch dressing for your every whim. Also, she has decided that she will not be taking her lunch to school next year, so, whoop! She’s been drinking cow’s milk, too. I think that might be the best part about the whole deal for her. The only drink choice is cow’s milk. She loves it so much and she hasn’t really gotten to drink it since she was two. I told her she could try it for a while and see how it goes, and so far she hasn’t had any extra snot or eczema so I'm hoping she's outgrowing that allergy.
We pray with her every night and I've recently been caught off guard by the thoughtfulness of some of her requests.
Of all of us, she has put the most things in our Good Things Jar.
When I first imagined myself with children, I couldn’t think past the baby stage. I was truly nervous about having kids – not babies, but actual kids. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to relate to them, or that I just wouldn’t like them as much as I liked babies. I just couldn’t think past the first couple of years to figure out how the kid thing would work. Do you know what happened? She changed from a baby to a kid before my very eyes without me even realizing it was happening, and she’s a pretty cool kid. She’s a kid I want read to and talk to and cuddle up on the couch with. She makes me laugh and she makes me think, and I’m so thankful that God put such an amazing person in my care. I am humbled by the beautiful person she is becoming.
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| Cake and ice cream for breakfast. |
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