Friday, February 24, 2012

Elena - 6 Years Old


Six years old! Hmm, let's see what's new about you on this birthday.

You are becoming more sensitive to others' opinion of you. It's very difficult for you if you feel like you've disappointed or angered another adult (but you can get over it pretty quickly if it's your own parents, hehe).

I think because of your concern about how you're viewed by others you've become pretty shy when introduced to someone, but when around those you know, you're fine. You happily and loudly greet your bus driver in the morning with, "Good Morning, Miss Gerda!" (Which brings a big grin to her face).

You are loving school. You have "bad days" (announced in tears) if your folder is signed by your teacher, if your class gets only a ranking of 3 out of 5 in the cafeteria, or if your teacher gives a class-wide scolding.

Your New Year's resolution made at school was to "practice the monkey bars." A few weeks later you came home proudly announcing that you did them all by yourself. Your determination paid off!

I've always described you as "fearless." Like I mentioned earlier, I'm seeing a crack in that shell when it comes to conversing with others, but as far as physical stunts, you've still got it. The other day we were at a friend's home and you were playing with the other kids there. At some point another adult came to me to let me know that you were leaping off the edge of a crib and grabbing the ceiling fan cord on your way to the ground to turn the light on and off. You had the other children there very entertained, but I was horrified!

You had some blood work done recently to test for food allergies and you were as tough as nails. You were excited to get your "blood works" (said that way I believe because you confuse it with an art place called "Artworks") done, and shed not a tear during the process.

You spot web addresses everywhere, and want to look each and every one up. You've found the website for your favorite cereal, play dough, a book series you love, and your twinkle toe shoes to name a few.

You continue to be a fantastic reader, and soak up everything you're learning. I'm getting pretty surprised at the level of detail you will remember things.

The early wake-up time for school (6:30) has left you tired enough to usually sleep through the night without waking up and watching tv. But every now and then it still happens if we don't hide the remotes.

You want to be able to babysit and have a new enjoyment for infants. You love your new little niece, Jane!

We realized you can't be trusted with a lunch money account at school. The school has a system where parents can electronically fund an account and the student can draw on that account by simply walking through the lunch line and giving their name to the cashier. We set one up for an occasional lunch, but after doing so, we soon received an email letting us know that your account was low on funds. When we pulled up a purchase report online, we realized you had been helping yourself to an ice cream cup on a daily basis.

You love God and regularly write about obeying Him at school. I'm hoping your desire to obey Him will encourage a love of truth telling!

We love the years we've had with you! You are the daughter God chose for us and we're so glad He did!

2 comments:

Mark said...

Lanie is growing into such a beautiful young lady. I think of her all the time here in Paris as I visit the places we took her as a baby. Just yesterday I was in Bagatelle and saw the tree there where you took a picture of Susan and me with her.

denisemayen said...

Such a fun list of things to remember about Elena. I have to admit, though, my favorite is how she found a way to supply herself with daily doses of ice cream. :) This is a girl after my own heart!