Mary Grace is SEVEN!

Dear Mary Grace,

Holy guacamole.  Seven.

Official Kindergarten School Photo

This is the part where I go on and on about how hard it is to believe that you're already seven, and you were just born yesterday, and so on.  It's all still true, but it's not very creative to repeat the same thing year after year after year.

I don't write about you very often, anymore, because you're getting so big and your stories are really your own now.  Don't ever think that it's because you're any less interesting than your brother and sister.  I just don't want to tell you who you are, anymore.  You are writing your story every day, and it's such a joy to watch.

I love to watch you when you don't know that I'm watching.  I love the way you lead when you're playing with other kids, but you're always careful to give everyone a turn and be fair.  You get your sense of right and wrong from your dad, I think, and you remind me of him in the way you treat other people.  I love to watch you work on something challenging.  You have such perseverance!  You get that from Daddy, too.

You and Claire and Jack are so close.  The three of you remind me of Aunt Mimi, Uncle Chuck and me.  

I hope that never changes.  It just melts me when you read to Jack.  You're such a lovely little mother hen with him, and it's a HUGE help to Dad and me.

You are exceptionally tall!  A full head taller than all the girls in your class last year, and you're already wearing size 8.

You absolutely loved your first year of school, and your teacher Mrs. O (and she loves you!).  Claire has her next year, too, and you're a bit jealous.  I know that first grade is going to be every bit as much fun as Kindergarten was, and that you're going to have another great year in school.  I can't believe school starts in 5 days.  It's going to be so quiet around here with just Jack, after I've had you three around all day all summer long.

You discovered Girl Scouts this year, and got to try all sorts of things you've never tried before, like archery.  You want to take up archery as a hobby, because of scouts and the movie Brave, which makes me a bit nervous.

Like your dad and Grandmother Diana, you are part fish.  You love being in the water, whether it's a pool or the gulf of Mexico like in this picture, and you are fearless.  You've been taking swimming lessons, and your swimming skills are really coming along.

You are so many awesome things, Mary Grace.  You are kind and helpful, you are funny, you are a hard worker and a great student, you are smart and insightful, you are beautiful, you are good at so many things...  Most of all you are adored by everyone who knows you, but especially by me and your dad.

Here's the checklist:

Your favorite toy for playing is: Star Wars guys, the toy bow and arrow you got for your birthday

Your favorite toy for snuggling is: your panda bears

Your favorite foods: spaghetti and pizza

Your favorite book is: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew

Your favorite activity is: recess at school

Your favorite place to go is: Christos for birthday breakfast

Your best friend is: Claire and Nala

Something new that you're doing: learning to ride a bike without training wheels

Something you've mastered: reading

Something people say about you: "She's so tall!"

Something that you're saying is: you've been singing Christmas carols all summer, I still haven't figured that out 

Something Dad and I are proud of you for: I can't pick just one thing.  We're proud of EVERYTHING you are, Cuppycake.

Something surprising about you: you have a sense of style and you're very serious about your clothes.  I'm a jeans and t-shirt mom, so I don't know where you got that.

What you want to be when you grow up: an astronaut

Love you bunches, Peanut,

Mom