31 August 2018

Ruth Michael, this is a time of transition for you. My heart is bursting with pride over who you are becoming. I have shed a few tears over the baby that you will never be again, but most of me is just in love with the person that you are right now, and I can't wait to see the beautiful woman you will grow into. You LOVE to be read to, you love to do art, you love to play outside with your friends. You are responsible, and very much able to express how you feel. I'm so thankful that I always know what you are thinking and how you are feeling. You don't keep things from me. Sometimes you will take my hand and say, "come draw with me, mama."

One day recently we were talking about bad dreams. You said that when you have a bad dream you pretend there is a library in your head and the librarian is a mouse. You tell the mouse, "Can you give me another story? I want a nice story."

You had a swim meet on 30 June. You got one silver and one bronze medal. I was so proud of you for competing and doing your best. You are an excellent swimmer! And you were so proud of your medals, I didn't think you would ever take them off:)

You call cupcakes "pupcakes".

You can say the whole Lord's Prayer and 23rd Psalm. We were laying in bed after reading I love You Forever and you asked if I would be the grandmother of your children. I said, "Yes." You said you thought I would make a good grandma. Then you told me I was a really good mom. That made me cry! AJ was getting sad about me getting old because of the I Love You Forever book, and you said, "That's just the way it goes. We all get old one day, and that's just the way God made us, and it's okay." You are so intelligent!

9 August- You lost your second top, front tooth! You were wrestling with Israel. He knocked it loose. Then Papa pulled it out. You look adorable with your front teeth missing.

You are kind-hearted, conscientious, and detailed. This morning when you were waking up, you put your hand over on Abby Jones' stomach and she put hers on top of yours. You and your sister are very close. You like things done the right way, and everything in it's place. When you come home from school, you tell me exactly how things should be (white socks up to the knee, books not covered, name on the front page of the books, two different snacks, swimming clothes in a separate bag, etc.) When your teacher tells you to do something a certain way, she can be 100% sure that you will do it. And this morning, you led your whole class in a song in front of the whole school assembly! I was so proud.

You turned 6 years old on 23 August this year. We were in Nairobi and took you to Java house for breakfast. Then we rode back to Mombasa on the train that day. We had a birthday party for you on the 25th. We had Dina, Naomi, Nora, JJ, Amber, Cooper, Erin, Keith, Katja, Sven, Maila, 3 little girls that were staying downstairs at the time, Perla, Mama Perla, Joyce, Elizabeth, Suleiman, Walid, and Ahmed. It was A LOT of people (and I think it was too much for you). You kept fretting over what we would do next, when we would eat the candy, how long we should wait for your friends, etc. I finally told you that I was in charge and I would figure all those things out and you should just go have fun. After we did the beads and ate hotdogs and samosas and sang happy birthday and had cake, you seemed to finally relax. Some of your friends left and some stuck around for swimming. Overall we had a great time, and I think you felt celebrated. Me and Papa got you an easel that we had made locally with some new art supplies. Maila gave you a book where you design shirts, and you have loved that. You use it with your easel and new art supplies. She also gave you a couple of new dresses and a new shirt and skirt and a new purse. Perla gave you a new purse. Elizabeth gave you and AJ Dora/Sofia the First t-shirts. Nora gave you a new skirt and top. Cooper gave you a new coloring book, exercise book, play dough, and beaded purse.

Just a few days later, on the 28th, you had your first day of school... first grade! You didn't cry or get upset, even though we couldn't get you the right skirt for your uniform on the first day. You wanted me and Papa to walk you to class so we did and you went right in and sat next to Perla. Your new teacher, Mrs. Angeline, is so sweet and very attentive to you. Your class is big, about 20 students, and they are almost all boys! But you are doing fine and getting used to being a big girl. You seem to feel a little anxious about school, but Papa and I talk to you about it a lot, and we are keeping a close eye on things... making sure you are okay!