Katie, 3 1/2

It's amazing to think of how much Katie has grown and blossomed since we've been in Dallas. I think part of it was that she was just so ready for school. She soaks up all of the learning and activities and wants to learn more. We have a ritual when I put her to bed that we talk about our days and she tells me her favorite part. On Sunday she told me she didn't have a favorite part because she wasn't at school. Now this was after going to a playground with Nana & Papa, the Frontiers of Flight Museum, and another playground with us.

I love hearing about her days and adventures at school. The most random things stick in her mind and seem noteworthy to her. Her classmate Riley only gets rice krispie treats when he has yogurt for lunch and he didn't bring the same juice as he usually does. She knew it was Luke she saw on the playground with her grandparents because he has dinosaurs on his shoes. Collin wasn't in school because he had an earache. Henry and Wyatt are twins which means they were in their mommy's tummy together. And today she told me that the sukkah in Gan Shalom wasn't there any more, "but don't worry, it will be back next Sukkot."

She loves all of the activities. The school she goes to has a really great variety of enrichment activities and our daughter who only did ballet in NYC science, art, ballet, imagination, and sports. She's so tired after school and I think it's because she does so much in a day. Peter and I joke that she would never do so much with us, she says she only wants to do "one thing, not three things." I think some of the activity and excitement must be having a peer group and you don't have a choice about what you do in pre-school. Everyone goes to the library and everyone follows the rules of the classroom. And if you're friends are doing it, I imagine you'll want to do it too. And I'm sure it helps that Katie loves everything.

There's certainly more room for argument with her parents. We were talking tonight about where Katie's bossiness comes from. As I've probably said before, I prefer to think of it as a "leadership quality" than being bossy. She's very into directing "Daddy, you go first then I will do it." "Mommy, you do it this way. You're not doing it the way it's supposed to be." Actually, as I may have mentioned, Ania called Katie "the director" because she was always telling people where to go and what to do. That still fits.


Katie with Apollo 7 at The Frontiers of Flight Museum. Peter really wanted to see the Apollo 7 before it left. My dad would love this museum, lots of historical airplanes. Katie loved the real astronaut suits, the astronaut food, and the piece of moon rock. Her shirt has Lucy from the Peanuts and it says (appropriately) "I recycle tantrums."