i just got parker's preschool pictures back today and they are so
parker. last year she refused to be photographed but this year, she tried really really hard and let the lady snap three whole pictures. the kid really doesn't love getting her picture taken by strangers but she
did it. this has been the theme of the last six months for parker. and it's got me adoring having a five year old. she still has a bit of that timidness that makes her, in part, who she is, but the kid powers through it. she's terrifically excited for school every day (which sucks at times because she's only there for 2.5 hours, three days a week) and no longer clings to me when i drop her off. she's become a prolific artist (bringing home upwards of six pieces every class day), a giggly joke-teller (she specializes in knock-knock jokes whose punchlines leave me scratching my head),
an excited writer/reader ('mama, how do you spell celeste?' passing out name tags to the entire family), and an incredible helper (she unloads all the kid dishes without complaint and has just started, without being asked, to make her bed when she gets up). she's generally trusting, though still highly prone to moments of panic when she thinks things are going wrong. it's hard to separate out what is just a part of who she is and what is residual from the past two and a half years. that said, she's certainly bonded to d and last night pitched a fit when her brother and i got home because they were playing barbies 'by ourselves!' i'm trying to get one on one time every week with the kiddos (which also allows d to have some one on one) and miss p's cheerfulness, inquisitiveness, and emotional capacity never ceases to amaze me. she thought it was pretty special that she got to come with me to trader joe's (without lorenzo) after school on monday; she picked out dried apricots, chocolate yogurt, and cherry tomatoes as treats. she's a little
person now, with thoughtful and hilarious observations about her world. 'mama, were you SO happy when you found i was a girl?!' 'i was!' i'm so proud to be her mama.