Our precious Emma Grace is about to turn five. Each morning, she tells me how many days until her birthday. Last year, I had to tell her each day how much longer she still had to wait. This year, she started the countdown on her own. So many things about her have grown and matured.
She is reading simple early readers with just a bit of help, counting past one hundred, and excitedly writing letters, words, and numbers. Beyond her academic learning, for which I am grateful, are the life skills that make me even more proud. She has always been a sweetheart, but her loving nature is expanding as she gets older. She thinks of other people, seeks to help those that are less fortunate, tries to be considerate of others’ feelings, attempts to cheer up those who are sad, plays beautifully with her little sister most of the time, often shows appreciation toward others, and is respectful to her teachers at school.
At this point, she is a rule follower. She wants to do the right thing, often being harder on herself than I need to be on her. She loves going to school and adores her teachers and the other kids. It has been fun to watch her social confidence grow. She giggles heartily, a wonderful addition to her sometimes serious nature. Her sense of humor has blossomed, and she loves to joke with those she feels comfortable around. Of course, whatever her demeanor, we adore her.
At school, her self-proclaimed favorite thing is snack, though she also talks about her teachers and friends quite a bit. Her favorite special is gym (physical education), followed by library and Spanish.
In her downtime, she still loves books and spends a long time reading them most days. Usually, she still reads from memory or makes up the stories as she goes along. She also enjoys pretend play with her doll house. Imaginary play with her sister (playing doctor, preschool, and restaurant) are some of her most giggle-filled moments. Happily, she still loves to snuggle with me and listen to the Little House chapter books. I am thankful for these sweet sessions together.
She continues to very much look forward to visits from her grandparents, absolutely loves when they read to her, play with her, and take her out to eat. She thoroughly enjoys food, sleeps well at night, and spends her time in a nice mix of sitting quietly to read, draw, or write and running around and being silly, like the carefree preschooler that she is.
She is also learning to work toward a goal. She has seen many of her friends excitedly receive American Girl dolls, and she has hoped for one of her own. We wanted to teach her the value of hard work, so she has been working toward earning the doll by unloading the dishwasher for 20 cents, putting away the whole family’s laundry for 25 cents, hanging up coats for a penny each, and other odd jobs that pay far below minimum wage when done at the pace of a four-year-old. She still does her regular jobs as just part of her family responsibility, but she is learning a lot from having to do extra work and seeing how much it takes to buy such a special doll. Lucky for her, she also gets to put her birthday money toward the doll, so she should get it before 2013. ;-P
Recently, she was so excited that a store had sent her a gift card in the mail for her birthday. She talked about it for days. When we finally went to the store so that she could pick something out, she said that she really wanted to get something for her baby boy cousin, due to arrive this summer, declaring that he doesn’t have anything yet (still being in the womb and all), and she already has some things. Earlier that same day, after I threw her class a Valentine’s Day party with another room mom, I asked her what her favorite part of the party was. She loves to eat, so I thought she’d say snack. Instead, she looked up at me, smiled, and said, “Just being with you, Mom.”
There are many moments in motherhood that are exhausting and challenging, but I have been making a concerted effort lately to dwell in these other moments, the times when she melts my heart with her generosity toward others or her kindness toward me. She still whines like any almost-five-year-old, sometimes gets frustrated with her little sister, often melts down over seemingly minor details, and doesn’t always complete her chores as quickly as I would like, but she is healthy, curious, and one of the kindest human beings I know. I am so grateful and proud to call her my daughter, and I want her to know that now and always. I have been beyond blessed to be given my priceless Emma Grace. So, it is with much happiness and deep emotion that I celebrate her turning five, understanding that she will continue to surprise, challenge, amaze, and impact me in ways I never could have imagined before I became her mother. I thank God for my Emma Grace.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Birthday Girl
Our precious Emma Grace is about to turn five. Each morning, she tells me how many days until her birthday. Last year, I had to tell her each day how much longer she still had to wait. This year, she started the countdown on her own. So many things about her have grown and matured.
She is reading simple early readers with just a bit of help, counting past one hundred, and excitedly writing letters, words, and numbers. Beyond her academic learning, for which I am grateful, are the life skills that make me even more proud. She has always been a sweetheart, but her loving nature is expanding as she gets older. She thinks of other people, seeks to help those that are less fortunate, tries to be considerate of others’ feelings, attempts to cheer up those who are sad, plays beautifully with her little sister most of the time, often shows appreciation toward others, and is respectful to her teachers at school.
At this point, she is a rule follower. She wants to do the right thing, often being harder on herself than I need to be on her. She loves going to school and adores her teachers and the other kids. It has been fun to watch her social confidence grow. She giggles heartily, a wonderful addition to her sometimes serious nature. Her sense of humor has blossomed, and she loves to joke with those she feels comfortable around. Of course, whatever her demeanor, we adore her.
At school, her self-proclaimed favorite thing is snack, though she also talks about her teachers and friends quite a bit. Her favorite special is gym (physical education), followed by library and Spanish.
In her downtime, she still loves books and spends a long time reading them most days. Usually, she still reads from memory or makes up the stories as she goes along. She also enjoys pretend play with her doll house. Imaginary play with her sister (playing doctor, preschool, and restaurant) are some of her most giggle-filled moments. Happily, she still loves to snuggle with me and listen to the Little House chapter books. I am thankful for these sweet sessions together.
She continues to very much look forward to visits from her grandparents, absolutely loves when they read to her, play with her, and take her out to eat. She thoroughly enjoys food, sleeps well at night, and spends her time in a nice mix of sitting quietly to read, draw, or write and running around and being silly, like the carefree preschooler that she is.
She is also learning to work toward a goal. She has seen many of her friends excitedly receive American Girl dolls, and she has hoped for one of her own. We wanted to teach her the value of hard work, so she has been working toward earning the doll by unloading the dishwasher for 20 cents, putting away the whole family’s laundry for 25 cents, hanging up coats for a penny each, and other odd jobs that pay far below minimum wage when done at the pace of a four-year-old. She still does her regular jobs as just part of her family responsibility, but she is learning a lot from having to do extra work and seeing how much it takes to buy such a special doll. Lucky for her, she also gets to put her birthday money toward the doll, so she should get it before 2013. ;-P
Recently, she was so excited that a store had sent her a gift card in the mail for her birthday. She talked about it for days. When we finally went to the store so that she could pick something out, she said that she really wanted to get something for her baby boy cousin, due to arrive this summer, declaring that he doesn’t have anything yet (still being in the womb and all), and she already has some things. Earlier that same day, after I threw her class a Valentine’s Day party with another room mom, I asked her what her favorite part of the party was. She loves to eat, so I thought she’d say snack. Instead, she looked up at me, smiled, and said, “Just being with you, Mom.”
There are many moments in motherhood that are exhausting and challenging, but I have been making a concerted effort lately to dwell in these other moments, the times when she melts my heart with her generosity toward others or her kindness toward me. She still whines like any almost-five-year-old, sometimes gets frustrated with her little sister, often melts down over seemingly minor details, and doesn’t always complete her chores as quickly as I would like, but she is healthy, curious, and one of the kindest human beings I know. I am so grateful and proud to call her my daughter, and I want her to know that now and always. I have been beyond blessed to be given my priceless Emma Grace. So, it is with much happiness and deep emotion that I celebrate her turning five, understanding that she will continue to surprise, challenge, amaze, and impact me in ways I never could have imagined before I became her mother. I thank God for my Emma Grace.
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This brought tears to my eyes, Amy. So sweet. And I cannot believe she is going to be five!!
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