An Abigail Update, on the Eve of Her Sixth Birthday

"Now We Are Six"

When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever.

 Author: A.A. Milne


Abigail has been looking forward to turning 6 all month.  Once we flipped the calendar over from September to October, she announced it was her Birthday Month.  The she lost another tooth, we all blinked, and the month is just about over.  

She had her first nervous day of first grade on September 8th.  Her teacher is a lovely, no-nonsense veteran with a style that reminds us of my dear mother in law, Kathleen Crosswell.  If only Kathleen were still around: she was my go-to source for "what the heck is going on with my kid" since she was a genius about children, whom she called "little ones" in the plural. I think she would like who Abigail is becoming.

First day of First Grade

Abigail is a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do.  Karate nights are difficult in our house:  Abigail gets home from school at 4 and usually is asleep by 7 or a few minutes after.  That gives us only 3 precious hours together every evening, (well, 2 and a half really, because we watch a friend of Abigail's until 4:30 every day because her parents work later than we do) and even fewer hours on karate nights.  And that 2 and a half hours has to include feeding the kids, bathing the kids, bedtime, and homework.

Currently, Abigail's favorite:
color is turquoise, movie is Lion King, drink is juice, book is Harry Potter, restaurant is IHOP, outdoor activity is playing with her brother, indoor activity is painting, outfit is collar-shirts, song is Let It Go, food is spaghetti and meatballs and dumplings, snack is Rice Krispy Treat and best friend is Aniyah.  She also says that "Joseph is my best-est friend ever."  Her nicknames are Abbers, Abs, and Jie Jie.  

She gets a weekly allowance of a dollar, which, together with money she gets from grandparents or the tooth fairy, she uses to buy clothes (she only has to pay half), toys to share with her brother, or small toy horses. She knows Hamilton is on the the 10 dollar bill and Washington is on the 1. She loves Broadway. She has lost 3 teeth and a 4th is wiggly.  It cannot be overstated how much she adores her brother and what best friends they are.