Epiphanies

I had a major epiphany about Ruby the other day. She doesn't really have her own little friends, and I realize that she's only 4, so it doesn't really matter. She goes to preschool 3 times a week and there are only about 8 kids in her class. A photographer came to take their school pictures a while ago and we were able to look at them online, along with all of the other kids in her class. As we were clicking through the pictures, she could only tell me one girl's name, but no one else in her class. Then, a few days later, we went out to lunch with my friend Kristen and her little boy Nixon. When it was time to go, Ruby latched onto Kristen's leg and begged her not to leave. She kept saying goodbye to her over and over again. When we were driving back home, it all started clicking. Ruby is friends with adults, not kids. A couple months ago, our babysitter Rebekkah was leaving and Ruby was freaking out, crying and begging her not to leave. She probably thinks we beat her or something! She cried for an hour once because she thought my friend Kate didn't hear her say goodbye after we left her house. No mention of her kids- just Kate. She practically mauls the other Mom at the bus stop every morning, hugging her and showing her her latest trick of walking backwards. She gets very attached to her aunts whenever we're around them. I imagine that she likes the attention she gets from grown ups. And the hugs. She's very snuggly and wants to hug all throughout the day. Maybe she's figured out that kids her age won't let her sit on their lap and wrap her arms around their necks? I absolutely love Ruby and love figuring out little things about her personality. She is definitely one of a kind!

She's also been asking to take pictures with my phone or my camera a ton lately, so Santa had an epiphany about what to get her for Christmas!

Ella has been having her own epiphanies lately as well. Yesterday, she came off the bus so excited because she had figured out how to snap her fingers! It's a soft snap, but she's definitely getting it. She practiced all night and couldn't wait to get to school to show her friends. This morning, her thumb looked like it had a blister on it!

She is also really doing well at school. We had parent/teacher conferences a couple weeks ago and her teacher had so many wonderful things to say about Ella. She said she was polite and happy. She was excelling in each academic area and really grasping the concepts. I was smiling from ear to ear. Ella tries so hard and is really maturing (as much as a 5 year old can). She has much more control of her emotions and can really stop and figure things out. Not to say that every moment is perfect, but her disposition has really mellowed out in the past year. She loves school and reports that every day is a great day when we pick her up from the bus stop.

It is so fun, as a parent, to see her learning new things every day. A couple nights ago, she picked up a book I had checked out from the library (one of the easy reader-type books) and read the whole thing out loud. I was amazed! I love kindergarten for her! We read "The Indian in the Cupboard" last month, a chapter a night before bed and she really liked it. Last night we started "Little House on the Prairie", which I have never read before. Ruby tunes in once in a while, but mostly likes to roll around and play with Annie.