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!