Five!!

Wow!  Unbelievable that Maya has already reached 5 years old.  It seems like such a big milestone - we are officially reaching "school age".



Some of my favorite things about my soon-to-be-kindergartner:

- Her excitement to learn.  Once it clicked, she picked up reading very quickly.  She knows a giant list of sight words and is getting quite good at sounding out words she doesn't know.  She received a watch for her birthday and is working hard on figuring out how to tell time.

- She is thrilled to be starting Kindergarten next year and quite often asks when it will be September.  After a lot of back and forth, we decided to send her to the nearby elementary school instead of her current daycare which does offer a private kindergarten class.  We visited the school for a tour and she likes to tell anyone who will listen that it will be her school.

- Her love for her sister.  They can bicker and argue like no other, but it is the quiet moments where they show their love without knowing we are watching that make my heart melt.  Laurel was struggling with some painful constipation (sorry for the TMI kid, but it is a big part of your life) and I walked into the bathroom to find Maya with a stack of books "reading" her stories so Laurel wouldn't have to be alone and sad.  We had a special "Maya and Mommy" day not too long ago and halfway through the day she began to ask about Laurel and said that she wished she could be there with us.  Until recently they had afternoon recess together at school and I was told by both teachers how great they are together and they really look forward to that play time together.

- She is constantly making up songs.  On our car rides, she always asks me what I want to hear a song about and then lists categories of songs and specific songs within those categories for me to pick from.  Lately it has been the "Fourth of July" category with specific choices of fireworks, sun and american flags.

- Knock knock jokes are a big favorite.  I would be a happy person if I never had to hear the banana knock knock joke again.

- She loves her sleep.  It is very difficult to get her up in the morning as she hides under the blankets saying "two more minutes, two more minutes".