Warm Fuzzies

When I think of my daughter lately, I get the warm fuzzies. While my son is going through a very saucy stage - where he will soon find his lips pasted on the wall - my daughter is the exact opposite and doing my heart some good. God has this way of letting them take turns and giving me a break so that they are generally not both too bad at the same time. For that I'm thankful.

She has been particularly sweet to her brother. I thought when they started playing school a couple of weeks ago that the novelty would have worn off by now. It hasn't. In fact, it's picked up a notch to the point that Hannah "teaches" Seth every day in school. I gave her some curriculum suitable for his age and she is going through the book page by page.

And miracle of miracles, he is listening. And cooperating. (I know, maybe he's not so bad after all. Just mouthy. No big deal).

She is also doing remarkably well in her own school work. Yesterday, she asked me if she could do school with Seth before she did her own school. I said that no, she couldn't. She needed to complete her own work first. So, very compliantly, she took out all of her subjects and asked me if she could choose what to do. I told her that she could.

To my great surprise, she chose something in every subject. Normally we do one or two subjects in a day, completing several days worth of lessons, making it all equal in the end. It just seems to work the best for Hannah. This time, she did some spelling, some language arts, some reading, some creative writing, some math, some cursive writing, and even some health. And she did it very well.

Having heard recent stories of Hannah's meltdowns over creative writing, my sister Laura bought Hannah a journal. She thought this might encourage her to write more, allowing her to build confidence. And she was right. Hannah has written a few entries in the journal; precious, unforgettable ramblings. And I'm very glad for my sister's bright idea.

Finally, she is becoming more independent and less anxious. Recently my kids and I were at Wendy's. Half way through eating, Seth informed me that he had to go to the bathroom. I asked him if he could hold it, and he was agreeable to this - for about ten seconds. I realized he really had to go and did not relish the idea of leaving all the uneaten food on the table while my kids and I headed to the bathroom. So, Hannah surprised me by offering to stay at the table by herself while I took Seth to the bathroom.

You have to know Hannah to realize how big of a step this is for her. She shocked me. And you have to know me to realize how big of a step it was for me to actually consider this. So, after some brief contemplation, I gave her strict instructions on strangers, and left her alone at the table while I took Seth to the bathroom. And she did fine.

My girl. She was just born yesterday. Tomorrow she'll be married. (At least this is what my husband likes to tell me, to which I sharply tell him to "hush up".) However, it's pretty much true. And it's especially obvious at times like these, when she shows tremendous growth in a very short time.

My Lovey. My Rosie. My Petunia.

My girl.