kindergarten baby?

not anymore!

this BIG girl is moving up the ladder to first grade.  and from the sounds of it, she's one smart cookie.

yep.  Ella received rave reviews, her teacher having informed us that she's already reading at a first grade, second semester level.  and get this: apparently, she has an aptitude for math.  say wha...?  she definitely didn't inherit those math skills from this birdbrain, I mean, her mother.  that would be a trait passed down from her father; aka, GEEK, which stands for Gary Electrical Engineer Kesti, get it?  ha ha ha.  I know, LAME.

last week we had the opportunity to attend the kindergarteners' end of the year concert and "graduation," as they call it.  I don't know, but kindergarteners are just so darn cute, totally earnest in their singing, all the while grinning from ear to ear, beaming.  gets the tear ducts flowing every time.

afterwards, we went to her classroom where she received her diploma, a picture book, and a packet of some of her more prominent schoolwork; writing, poems, projects, artwork, you know, the stuff you're never quite sure what to do with.

it was fun to see how much she's changed since the first week of school.  she looks so grown up!

she was just sooo excited, I couldn't help but smile.  

way to go Ella!  we're so proud of you, sweetheart!

-jessica

PS. I can't help but think of these feelings of pride as a welcome of sorts.  as in, Welcome To It Finally Paying Off.  years of sleepless nights and temper tantrums, and out of the tangled mess comes a human.  watching these little ones learn to function on their own is a definite highlight of parenthood.  it is the most satisfying part of sacrificing so much of yourself to this endeavor.  it's like, YES!  these things learn!

that said, I'm holding out that there's still hope for Rowan.