Six

Six years old today.  Unbelievable. 

Six sounds so grown up.  Too grown up.

No longer one handful, but one hand + one.

You've started Kindergarten and are loving it.

You are making friends.

Your confidence is growing in leaps and bounds

You lost your first tooth.

You are still an artist. The art bug lives and is strong.

Pastels, watercolor, colored pencil, crayons, glue, tape--you love it all.

You make up stories, you tell jokes.

You have opinions and feedback that are real and justifiable (most of the time).

You question, you understand, you know how to follow rules (most of the time).

You are kind, sweet and sensitive,

Headstrong, opinionated and passionate.

You love leopard print, head wear and accessories and all things sparkly.

Unicorns and rainbows, yes please.

Digging in the dirt and collecting rocks, yes please.

A perfect balance of serious and silly, organized and chaotic.

The way it's meant to be.

You are everything and more and we couldn't be prouder

of our little girl, our big girl.

A heartfelt happy 6th birthday to our little love.

The world is yours.

All I want for Christmas is my one front tooth!

Exciting day.  Carmen lost her first tooth.  It has been wiggly for a couple of weeks now; she gave it a little tug and it popped right out.  Our girl is growing up; another milestone.  She is one tooth down just in time for her birthday and for Christmas!

Kindness

Today I went through the Starbucks drive-thru to get a little latte treat as I tackled holiday hoopla and running errands.  The line was long and there was a woman trying to merge into line from a different entrance.  Slightly annoyed, I waved her in and let her go in front of me.  When I finally got to the window for my drink, the barista let me know the woman in front of me paid for my drink because I let her in.  What a pleasant surprise.  The act of kindness certainly put a spring in my step and made me realize a small gesture can really mean a lot.  Kindness counts!

SNOW

We had a rare snow day last week.  Just a couple of inches of the wintery white stuff which made for lots of fun.  School was cancelled so it was outside for playtime for Carmen and Max.

Sounders win MLS Cup Title...

Someone is a little excited!

Lunch

Wednesday's are volunteer days for me in Carmen's Kindergarten class.  It's always fun to see the kiddos, lend a helping hand, and see Carmen in action with her classmates.  Today I also dined with room 103 for lunch.  I sat with the girls, talked about their favorite things to play and eat and what they are asking for from Santa.  A fun group.

Oh, and here is Carmen modeling her jeans.

Yes, jeans!

The first time she has worn a pair in more than two years.

She was persuaded by the gem stones on the pockets.

I guess all it takes is bling to make this kid happy.

We'll see if the jean-wearing lasts...

Getting festive

More Christmas festivities. 

We are thoroughly enjoying the season and all it has to offer.

The Christmas ships made their annual voyage to Lake Forest Park.

We watched and listened.

Well, mostly the kiddos watched (and ran around).

The adults tried to listen.

But, it was a fun evening with good friends.

We took in Snowflake Lane.

Drummers, dancers, Rudolph, some 'snow'

and lots and lots of lollipops.

A fun evening for sure!

We visited Santa.

Mostly smiles.

Carmen was enthusiastic to say the least.

Lots of talking to Santa.

Max was reserved, did not want to sit on his lap

and forgot what he wanted for Christmas.

Despite all that he did manage a half-smile.

Ho, ho, ho!