summer is six

yesterday, baby girl turned six years old:

summer is as warm and sweet and easily distracted as her name suggests.

to her, the world is sunshine and rainbows and butterflies and unicorns with sprinkles on top. (except when it's not, and then she throws herself into her room and down into a pit of dramatic despair, flailing about and wondering aloud how she could ever go on).

she is a perfectionist (a characteristic that often leads to the aforementioned flailing about in the pit of despair). she is a lover, an inquisitor, a rememberer. she carefully watches out for her little siblings and (almost) always shares.

summer wants to do what's right. she accidentally cut in line the other day at school, and when the little boys behind her chided her for the injustice, she was just in tears about it because she a) hates to make mistakes and b) *really* hates to be chastised publicly. (i told her that, nonetheless, she did learn an important lesson about the sacredness of "the line.")

she dislikes bringing attention to herself and was anxious for weeks before the primary program where she would have to speak (for thirty seconds with a group) in public. 

she is not very picky about what she wears or how she does her hair except when she thinks she'll stand out too much. i bought her the cutest little button-down shirt a few days ago, and she refused to wear it because it was a "worker" shirt (like the ones her dad wears, i guess), and she insisted all the kids would make fun of her (are kids really that desperate for mockery material these days?) and when i wore a tie to church last week, as i'm apt to do occasionally, she nearly flipped out at the audacity.

summer is our straight arrow. our anchor. our optimist. our sugar in the sugar and spice. the kind of child who may confuse folks into thinking we know some secret about parenting that we don't.

happy birthday, sweet summer elyse. may this year bring you all the happiness, joy, and excitement your little six year old heart can handle. and ps, please do your parents a favor and stop growing out of all your clothes. xo