Six-and-a-half-year update
Speaking of excited, Zoe was very happy about a certain milestone today: She’s six and a half! (We sang to her, and she’s also hoping for a half cupcake, or donut, when she gets home.)
A snapshot of what she’s like these days… She’s a happy, fun girl – someone who can be quiet in new settings but also energetic and silly when she’s playing with her friends or with family at home. She’s also uber-responsible (I have to remind myself sometimes that she’s only in kindergarten) and the ultimate big sister – often playing with, teaching, watching out for and loving up Avery. She’s competitive with her sister at times, too – they most often quibble over which carseat they’re going to use (they both favor our new purple one) and who gets the best spot (next to their dad) in our bed in the morning – but overall the two get along really well.
I sometimes think of Zoe as a bit of an old soul; she has a very sensitive, sweet side – often comforting me when I’m sad (or I might be sad) and reminding me to calm down if I’m upset over something silly. (The phrase that the two of us recently adopted? “No problem” in Hebrew.) She is very thoughtful – often bringing us gifts and making us cards when we’re upset (or for no reason at all) – and she recently offered to use money in her piggy bank to buy her sister a toy Zoe thought she would like.
Zoe can be a bit of a deep thinker, asking us thought-provoking questions about things like God and death. A sampling of some recent questions from just one conversation: What were the last names of Adam and Eve? How did more families come in existence if there were originally only two people on Earth? Who was the first person to have the Browdy last name, and why does everyone take the dad’s last name? Why are there more Christians than Jews in the world? And why are there more boys than girls? (I corrected her on the last one.) And she made me laugh (and reminded me of her age) just a few nights ago, when we were talking about how, should I die before she did, I would watch over her. “So if I wanted some peanuts, I could just say, ‘Hey, Mom, I want some peanuts,’ and you’d throw some down from the sky for me?” she asked.
She likes being helpful – her teachers told us in our recent conference that she often jumps up to help them (passing out papers, etc.) without being asked – and she can be very organized and efficient. (She likes making lists of things to do – like her mom!) When she recently heard that, due to our remodel, our water was going to be turned off for a day, she promptly gathered and filled with water six cups, which she proudly stored on the bathroom counter. (“Just in case we need them,” she told me.) And she also drew “do not flush” signs for us to put on our toilets that day.
Speaking of drawing, she loves doing artwork and making little books. Other interests are sewing and doing other little craft projects, playing make-believe school or shop, reading, and “doing research” on my little pink laptop. She also loves being goofy – dancing and making up songs and playing games like hide and seek.
She loves school – PE and Jewish Studies are two of her favorite classes – and we hear a lot at home about what she’s studying there. She recently learned about bees and came home every day buzzing (ha, ha) over something new she had learned. (She was particularly interested in the proboscis.) She has made several new friendships this school year, and most of her close friends are still boys.
Milestones since our last update: She completely stopped sucking her thumb, she lost her first tooth (and then another since then), and she went on her first elementary-school field trip. And most exciting: She’s a full-fledged reader now. She started reading in the fall but since then things accelerated to the point where she can read almost anything (not just the level-1 books she started with). I’m still kind of amazed by it – especially since she showed little interest in reading when she was younger – and it still feels somewhat magical to me. One day a child can’t read, and it’s like the next day they can!
-M