Kindergarten messenger

Annie, smiling widely: "Mom, mom - today I got to be the class messenger! I got to walk 2 kids to the office by myself."

Me: "Wow! What a big job."

Annie, whispering in my ear, one 'grown up' to another: "They both wet their pants."

Annie is a darling little sweetheart who loves being a 'big girl'. She longs to have responsibility and recognition, and loves to help at grown-up tasks. On Saturday, she wanted to show me that she could take out the trash by herself, and pulled up the full bag, cinched it and carried it outside. I thought that this was a most promising development!

On Sunday, after she spilled a cup of milk on the table (argh - my least favorite kid mishap!!!), she grabbed a freshly folded bath towel and mopped up the mess, without being asked.

(Of course, both of the kids have heard me scold about spilled milk before and know that they'd better hustle. I strongly disagree with the old adage 'Don't cry over spilled milk', because spilled milk starts to stink in less than a day. I can't stand the smell of rotting milk. Who can?)

Annie is also excited to do schoolwork and has started to sound out letters and recognize her sight words. She gets excited if there are homework or coloring sheets in her take-home folder, and enjoys craft projects very much. Please pass the scissors! Yesterday's folder contained a "Positive Pal" (a recognition certificate) since she had earned green circles (the highest) every day for the past six weeks - this means that she's well-behaved in class, a good thing, and she was beaming.

She's also a trooper, one who plays chess and baseball with Graham, and listens to music he likes much of the time. She wrestles him and tickles him with the energy of an 8 year old boy.

Of course, my sweet daughter is capable of powerful whining as well, and I've never met anyone who could pout more fervently :) ANY time we go to a store, she finds at least one "treasure" she absolutely cannot do without and begs for it. That's not to say she gets these special items, but she does not give up easily.

On a recent errand run, she was still begging & asking at the fifth stop, despite a lack of success at other stores. However, the only thing for sale that she could find at the locksmith's shop were pink flowered keys. Not a great selection for a diehard consumer! However, she still made a valiant attempt at persuasion - "Mom, I've never had a pink key before!!!"