AN

Here I brag all about N. If you don't want to read gushing, stop now.



AN=Amazing N.

She truly is. She is 4 and she is tall and beautiful. I sometimes forget how amazing she is because I get overwhelmed and she can be difficult, but only because she is very smart, energetic and 4. I know I have different expectations because she is a first born. I expect more from her. (I mentally apologize to her all the time about this.)

My expectations are higher because, though I "know" kids, (and have the degrees to "prove" it), I never had my own kid before N. (To all pediatricians who read this blog--I'm sure a LARGE number--and don't yet have kid(s), please get one or more. Our pediatrician didn't have a kid when N was born and then she had one and now she is the BEST. PEDIATRICIAN. EVER. We heart her.)

So I have all these expectations of N because she is baby girl #1. It may not be fair to her, but it is the reality here. When she was little I wanted to watch her grow and advance quickly because it was so much fun. With K and T, I know what is appropriate and what can actually be expected of kids at certain ages, so I expect differently, and probably not as much, because I always find that K is exceeding my expectations.

Anyway, N has taught me so much. With N, everything is exciting and new because it's "the first" time we do things. She taught me how to breastfeed, how to take care of a baby, everything. I love that girl! My N___a-girl!

Recently we went to her Parent teacher conference at Preschool. It was fun and exciting and as the teacher spoke, we were proud. The teacher talked about how friendly N was. How much she smiled. How helpful she was. How she was always excited about all the activities at school. How she would sit down quietly and encourage the other children to sit down quietly too. How she did this in a very nice way. How she was very social and played nicely with everyone. How well she shares for a 4 year old.

WOW.

And then we got to hear about her school work. She is doing very well there too. I am thrilled. The school is very academically oriented and N has mastered her pre-literacy skills. I am thrilled. The teacher gushed on and on about how well she was doing. And then I asked a question. I asked, "How do you think she is doing with learning to write her letters?" The teacher replied, "We're not working on writing letters here, just recognizing them and the sound they make. Many kids aren't coordinated enough to write at age 4 and we don't want to frustrate them." "Really?" I ask.

She is writing letters and spelling words at home. No one has shown her how to do this really. OH MY GOSH... She's a genius. She will ask me how to spell a word and then she will make all the letters as I spell the word. I've talked with her about writing a little, and so has her nanny, but not a lot... She just was ready to learn to write, so she did. My smart girl!

(She does hold the pencil in her fist and not in her fingers... but she writes... honest to gosh letters and she asks me how to spell words... and she can sound out short words... and she can tell you the sound the final letter of a word makes... and she is getting so close to reading... My baby!)

Okay... I'll stop gushing now.

Did I mention that I love that girl?