Dear Lucy, You're six!

Dear Lucy,

I can't believe you are six years old. And I am loving this stage right now. You are so much fun. It's the best of both worlds. You are getting bigger and have such great thoughts and ideas and we can have great conversations. You love history and learning about other cultures and how things work and are soaking it all in. You love Shakespeare and poetry and history and all sorts of lovely things. It's hard to believe you're my little girl. Despite the fact that when we measured you this morning, you had hit four feet!

But you are my little girl. And the little is still there. You love to color with me and play dress-up. Today you went to the grocery story in your Snow White outfit. You're old enough to want to be pretty and to have opinions about clothes and hair and things but not old enough to care what other people think. I love it!

You love to pretend still. Princess or history games dominate your play, inside and out. A few days ago I watched you spoon mud "chutney" into jars and seal them with "hog bladders" made from leaves then you danced around the yard singing princess songs. You also love doll play and are often teaching your dolls things. You love words and music and are almost always singing or reciting something or talking to yourself and explaining things to your dolls...when you aren't asking me questions, that is.

You love school and make my job so much fun. It's hard to say whats your favorite subjects are because there really isn't one you don't like. Piano is a favorite but it is also your hardest because you worry when you don't know something and your always learning something new but you've gotten so much better about being patient with yourself. I see you start to get frustrated than calm yourself down. I'm glad you are learning good hand positions and note reading but watching you try and grow your self-control is worth ten times that much.

Overall, I've seen so much growth in your character this past year, especially these past few months. We had a bit of a rough patch a few months ago but once those molars come in, you became a joy to be around (again). You're caring and sweet with Norah and Jonah and really try to be patient with them both (especially Jonah who is all boy and all three and makes this hard on you). But you're quick to forgive and go back to being best friends with him. And you've started to make some little girl friends and really enjoy playing with others too. You still in your own world a good deal and will happily play in it by yourself but are also developing empathy and this understanding that there is a different perspective than yours and will sometimes choose to come out and join everyone else. Watching you grow is such a joy and I can't wait to see what this next year brings!