Getting all grown up!

Amy turned six last week. Six! She got a new bike, since she'd outgrown the hand-me-down that she had. She loves to ride her bike and is really good at it.

She's doing so well in kindergarten and truly enjoys it. She gets glowing reviews from her two teachers, Mrs. Mitkowski and Mrs. Cote, as well as a long-term substitute she had, Mrs. Steppling. They marvel at how smart she is and how they can always count on her to know what's going on. She is a hard worker - every time she misplaces her homework journal, she'll do the homework on another sheet of paper, but then when she finds her journal gain, she redoes her work. I think you can infer that she's got a bit of a need to do things perfectly.

Amy can be all sweetness when she wants to be. She can also sometimes turn on a dime and boy you'd better stand back. She is also quite generous. Cristie gave her a $20 gift card for Build-a-Bear, along with a bear to be stuffed. Amy gave $10 of it to Reed, so he could buy his own bear. Actually both the kids are pretty generous with each other, really.

Amy is a planner and she likes to know exactly what to expect. In two weeks, we're going to San Diego for cousin Katie's wedding. Yesterday morning at breakfast, she said "I think we should get up early, go to the airport, go through security, then find a place to eat breakfast, THEN find our airplane." And that's two weeks out...think how closely we're going to have to plan things when it gets closer!

Amy is working so hard at tae kwon do since she started back in February. Lately I've seen a lot of improvement in her kicks and her body control. She earned a new tip pretty quickly after starting back, but since then she hasn't gotten another one. She's taken it pretty much in stride, which is a happy surprise. Things that before would really set her off, she is dealing with a bit better, for the most part. She still has her moments, but in the last month she's definitely been doing better.

Oh and this past weekend, Amy got her ears pierced! It was a gift from cousin Nikki, and she was there for the big event, along with Aunt Jennifer, cousin Aly, and Great Auntie Wanda. We had a store full of people. I'd told Amy what would happen, but I think you can't really know what it's like until it happens to you. She held my hand for the first ear, and she REALLY held my hand for the second ear. But she didn't flinch one bit, didn't cry (though I think she wanted to). She was very brave, and the sparkly earrings look terrific.

It's so exciting to see her learning and growing. She truly is a joy and we're so lucky to have her!