Dear Mike: Suddenly 6

Dear My Littlest Love –

You are suddenly 6! I think it goes without saying that as a 5-year-old you had an incredible year.

Kindergarten: Your biggest milestone was starting Kindergarten, and you didn’t just start it, kid, you OWNED it. Your first day, you said you were a little nervous but you walked in there with zero hesitation and every day after you proudly announced your love for your teacher, your friends, and your school.

You love riding the van from daycare to school and your favorite ‘center’ is the computer where you play PebbleGo. Every parent-teacher conference confirmed you are hilarious and kind and friends with everyone.

Reading was a bit of a struggle for you, but you worked hard at school AND home and you are ending the year knowing ALL your sight words AND on a reading level C (just 6 months ago you were struggling with an A level).

Interests: My littlest love, when you have an interest, you go all in. You started your year as a 5-year-old loving Ghostbusters, and while you proudly say you still like them, you have clearly moved on. You loved The Statue of Liberty, The Grinch, and spooky things. You are currently an expert in sharks (Basking sharks are your favorite) and ‘extreme weather’. Much like Daddy, you are into science and how things work.

You also took two fun classes this year – hip hop dance and music with Mr. Ari. You really enjoyed both and even participated in your recital where you killed it. I had to laugh – Daddy and I decided that if you changed your mind last minute and didn’t want to go on stage we wouldn’t push you. Performing in front of people is scary and HARD! But before your recital, we had to walk across the stage to the dressing room and you grabbed my hand and excited said ‘THIS.IS.AWESOME.’ I was not surprised – you ARE my kid.

You are still into technology and are an awesome artist. You also enjoy your scooter, swimming, and hanging out with us on the weekends gardening, hunting for worms, seeing movies and just being silly. SO SILLY.

Personality: Speaking of silly, your personality is just that. You thrive on making people laugh and when you get a chuckle you keep going. You are also incredibly sweet; always up for a ‘snuggle party’, a hug and holding someone’s hand.

I am in awe of your self confidence. You went to a birthday party and one of the activities was riding a horse. You wanted no part of that (and I don’t blame you) and simply said ‘no thank you’ and did something else. No questioning, drama or regret. I know adults who don’t handle things that well!

You make friends wherever you go and school has really fostered that. Daddy and I are always hearing from other parents and school employees that you are so ‘sweet’, ‘friendly’ and ‘polite’. Literally, everything we want for you.