Well, it's here. Last year at this time I was lamenting that in just one year, we'd have a kindergartener on our hands. And as of four days ago, we do. Also like last year, in looking back at the previous 12 months, there's not so much physical change evident as mental change. LG can actually play games now, and wants to. All. The. Time. She's still not super at video games, but she's getting there.
As reminder, each of these photos was taken within a few days of the 12th of each month.
So let's take a step back to before she was wiping the floor with me in Wii boxing. Here's
where we left off.
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| September 2014 |
LG's pretty good at receiving gifts and getting better. She's just super enthusiastic about opening things. Now we just need to work on saying "Thanks!" a little more often.
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| October 2014 |
The changes are subtle, but it's great how she's just better at certain kinds of things. You forget that drawing, coloring, and creating are learned skills, and when you practice them often enough, you improve. So yeah, she's just painting a pumpkin here, but she went in with an idea and executed it. I think it was a witch. Yeah, let's go with witch.
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| November 2014 |
My kid is not a cool kid, but sometimes, you start to think she might be. Sunglasses help.
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| December 2014 |
I will be super sad when this hat no longer fits her. I'm pretty sure G2 took to wearing it by the end of winter last year, but that's because he's totally at the point where he just wants stuff because she has it. It's still her hat, unless we find that it's too small when we get it out of storage this winter. That will be a sad day.
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| January 2015 |
I'm sorry, did I say sunglasses make you look cool? I was mistaken.
It's pink butterfly umbrellas that make you look cool.
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| February 2015 |
And butterfly wings.
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| March 2015 |
It's like every day is a different costume. One of her favorite things over the past few months has been draping a very large silk scarf around her in various ways and pretending to be something new. For some reason, she decided a toga-like orientation was perfect for dancing to "Walk like and Egyptian." It doesn't really make and sense, but it's adorable.
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| April 2015 |
LG begged, BEGGED for a scooter for months. She's had a bike for more than a year, and while she's still not great at it, she took to the scooter immediately. You could argue that it's easier to balance a scooter, but mostly, I'm just impressed at the speed she builds up on that thing.
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| May 2015 |
As you'll see in the next picture, getting a good smile from Millie when she knows the camera is pointed in her direction is hard. Better then to take as many candids as you can manage, because then and only then will you get a smile and not some weird facial contortion.
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| June 2015 |
If this year can be defined by anything, it's theater. We took her to see Annie in December, Lion King in June, and Shrek the Musical in August. She took two different sets of musical theater classes in Philly. It was adorable. I still don't want to be a stage parent, but I totally get the impulse. She's an enthusiastic performer and an engaged audience member. You can't go wrong with that.
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| July 2015 |
Our second family camping trip proved two things. First, we need to camp more (but when the weather isn't quite so hot). Second, kids do not care how gross the lake is, they're going to get in there anyway.
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| August 2015 |
I won't say
The Boxtrolls was her favorite movie this year, but she did watch it four times in the space of a week. And after I cut holes in this box, she wouldn't let me throw it away.
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| September 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
At the beach this year, it became apparent that she is too tall for the crop size I've allowed myself for this collage. So in order to illustrate the true change over the past year, I'm going to share this:
If she wasn't in the ocean in water up to her neck, she was on the sand trying to get someone to take a picture of her jumping. It's better than peace signs and duck-face selfies.
And as it turns out, she's totally tall enough for nearly all the important rides at the boardwalk now, which means two things: I get to go on much more fun rides, and I spend a lot more money on tickets. It's cool though, because it means that someone who hasn't taken a regular nap since March of 2013 passes out in the middle of the day.
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| Vacation-induced naps, September 2013, 2014, 2015 |
She can be a handful, but she's a delightful, energetic, thoroughly intelligent and adorable handful. Just look at that smile!
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| September 2015 |
