Anna is 6!

Our Anna Kathryn turned 6 last week, and the event was marked by numerous celebrations.  Anyone who knows Anna would expect no less.  She is our social butterfly, a friend to everyone, and is a true delight.  She started out the fun with her super fun shared party with Logan in Concord at the end of April.  Then we had a couple of weeks "off" before her actual birthday, which was a school day, but was still special with presents from us, pizza lunch, Mommy coming to read to the class, birthday crown at school, and dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  I think she enjoyed her day.



Then, the birthday season culminated in her friend "camping" party at Crowder Park with most of her classmates, neighbor friends, and cousins Jimmy and Danny.  Luckily, the weather held out and we all had a great time!

She had her checkup yesterday and did well - her vision tested at 20/30, but the doctor said that was OK and that people can still pass a driver's test with 20/40 vision.  Her hearing, blood pressure, and exam all were good.  She is 48.5" tall (94th percentile) and weighs 58 pounds! (93rd percentile)  Now I know why she is so hard to pick up, even though she still tries to get us to carry her around.  She is a BIG girl.  Hopefully she will decide to channel her size into a sport like volleyball or tennis.  She has been practicing tennis, but refuses to take lessons yet.  Otherwise, the check-up was uneventful with a gentle reminder to Anna to try new fruits and veggies.  We will see if that helps. 

So, Anna.  She is observant, friendly, and very, very...Anna.  She talks non-stop, loves to pretend, play board games, build with Legos, do anything artistic, cook, be glamorous, and just be around people.  She always jumps at a chance to play with friends, visit family, or mostly anything.  If the doorbell rings, she runs to the door while Erin is running away from it.  That pretty much sums them up socially.  She had to invite her whole class to her birthday party because "they're all my friends"...and really, they are.  She is becoming less shy around adults who she knows.  She had a big adjustment this year with going to kindergarten after just a part-time preschool, but she did well.  She still gets tired after school, and I think the summer break will be really good for her to have some more free time.  She loves school and really does love to learn.  She reads like a pro and seems to be especially interested in science.  She remembers things like "echolocation", the way that bats and dolphins communicate with sound waves.  Mom definitely didn't know that one!  She's getting off of her astronomy kick, but that was another big interest for awhile.

Anna is a wonderful little person, a terrific sister to Erin (most of the time), loves her doggie Bella and all of her friends and family, and we love her so very much.  We are so excited to keep watching her grow and mature!

April!

We had a fun month of April!  It started out at the end of the girls' spring break week, and we had a very busy day on the 1st, meeting Erin's friend from kindergarten, Alyssa, and her mom at Marbles for lots of fun and lunch, then dropped Anna off at her friend Weston's house while Erin and I went to get her mole removed on her leg.  I had showed it to the pediatrician at her checkup in December, and he sent us to a dermatologist to have it biopsied and subsequently removed (and then the stitches removed).  So, between her 3 visits, as well as a visit for Anna and me to have "molluscum" spots removed, we have gotten to know this dermatologist very well!  They are good, but they are a long way away.  Hopefully we will not need to see them again soon.  Bella also went to the vet that evening for a check of her stitches and to have them removed.  Saturday the 2nd, we just had Erin's gymnastics, and then a fun visit from Grandma and Grandpa on the 3rd!

The girls went back to school on the 4th, and I began my 2 weeks of kid-free weekdays since Sawyer was tracked out.  I was able to do some yard work, spread mulch, help with the StMM spring festival, and lots of other volunteering at school.  It was great!  I hosted the neighborhood book club on the 4th which was a little nerve-racking for me, but they seemed to like my book selection (whew).  Bob was in New Orleans for a conference Tuesday through Friday, and we girls held down the fort.  Erin had her cardiology appointment on the 5th to follow up from that rapid heart rate she had with the flu in March, and everything looked good. We have instructions to monitor her and record the next time this happens and let them know.  We also had a fun playdate with Jimmy and Danny that day, as well as social skills group on the 6th.  We went to Concord the weekend of the 9th-10th and got to see Grandma and Grandpa Harvey who had just gotten back from a fun cruise!  We had a great time there with a fun dinner at Cole and Cooper's house and lots of fun cousin time!

The week of the 11th was more of the usual, with Bob making a cross-country trip to California and then Austin, TX.  Erin went back to the dermatologist to have her stitches removed, she also had social skills group, and I was able to help a friend from church with her kids on Thursday while the girls were in school.  I also got to help in Erin's class on Friday morning, go to lunch with some kindergarten mom friends, and then we had the spring festival!  It could not have been a nicer day - clear, cool, and dry - and it was a blast.  Anna and I can't wait for next year!  Erin was confused and upset by seeing school friends outside of school, but did warm up for the cake walk and snow cones.  On Saturday the 16th, we tried something new - we went to see Mary Poppins put on by the drama department at Panther Creek High School.  That school is FANCY, and the play was awesome.  We were really impressed, and the girls had a great time!

Bob got to see friends Josh and David on the 18th, and we both got to go to Erin's class play in music on the 19th, which was super cute.  I also went to a parent workshop at St. Michaels that evening that I enjoyed.  I am always looking for ways to use my brain!  Sawyer came back on the 20th and did pretty well with adjusting back to being here - much better than he did in January, but it was also a shorter break.  I went to a play on the 22nd that a mom from Anna's class was in, and had a great time!  It was a really funny play and she did a great job.  Bob and I also got to go to lunch and a beer festival on the 23rd with some neighbors for Tracey's birthday.  We had Little Flowers on the 24th, which was fun as usual!

Anna's class had a field trip to Yates Mill on the 26th, and Bob got to go with them! They learned lots about pond life and nature.  The girls were off on the 28th and 29th for "spring break" (apparently the week after Easter was "Easter break"), and we enjoyed playing at Erin's friend Olivia's house on the 28th and had fun with Sawyer here on the 29th, where we all went to Michaels and to Womble Park.  We went to Concord on the 30th after gymnastics for Anna and Logan's birthday bash, but since the party was actually on May 1st, you'll have to wait for next month!

So, April was good - we had beautiful weather and we stayed healthy (other than a cold for Anna and a sinus infection for me, but no school was missed which is my measure of health), and are in the home stretch before summer!  I think the girls are ready for a break from the school routine, even though Erin already has the first day of second grade marked on her calendar!