Grown-Up Girl

Kate has seemed so grown-up to me lately. She has been loving first grade and has been making lots of friends. She started piano lessons. (No. Not with me. Mothers shouldn't teach their own kids piano. My dear friend Steph has taken Kate as her ONLY piano student.) Kate is in dance and gymnastics and really tries and listens to her teachers. And, most of the time, she is a good big sister. Sometimes, Kiki gets sick of being bossed around and things erupt.

I went to the first Parent/Teacher Conference of the year, and Mrs. Hatch had lots of positive things to say about her, but the thing that made me the happiest was that she remarked that Kate was always so respectful and that she always uses "Please" and "Thank-you." It's probably because my mother was an educator, but rude kids horrify me, especially in an educational setting, so I was very happy to hear that Kate is so polite.

Kate is having many opinions about her clothes and her hair. We are working on matching- she definitely has her own ideas about what looks good together. She wants to grow her hair out long now, and she loves fancy headbands. She just lost her 8th tooth and I'm certain that braces are in the future for her.

We finally got her new bed, so the girls are officially in their own rooms now (They were sharing for the longest time...but...when you have 2 kids and a 6 bedroom house, making your kids share a room seems a little ridiculous.). Grandpa Jack took us to pick up the new bed and set it up, and Kate wrote him a note that said, "Dear Grandpa, Thanks for my new bed. I love it. You are the best grandpa. Love, Kate."

What interests me though, is that even though there is a part of her that wants to be grown-up, there is another part of her that still clings. I volunteered in her class on Friday, and when I left, she completely came apart and wound up coming home with me. The girls are in Pocatello with my mom this weekend, and they day they left Kate alternated between "I'm so excited to leave!" and "Mom! Where are you?" She stresses if I am even ONE minute late to pick her up from school.

I hope she always needs me just a little bit.