Kate is Seven 4.12.10

Kate changed from six to seven in the blink of an eye.

Seven is a wonderful age. I love seven-year-olds. Still...does it have to keep going so FAST? Six is a wonderful age, too, and I would have loved six to have continued on for another couple of years at least.

At six, Kate moved from the beginning stages of learning to the intermediate stages. She has continued to be a fantastic student at school and in piano, a voracious reader, a sweet friend, and a happy happy girl. She continues to be the sunshine girl that she has been since birth. She just came happy into the world. I wish I could bottle her personality.

She loves to play with friends, to read out loud to us at bedtime or whenever we'll listen, to be outside, and she can still be caught playing with my hair when we're snuggling, one of the last remnants of her babyhood.

I love the little gap between her teeth. I love watching her eyes light up when some concept becomes crystal clear that was opaque just a minute before. I love her single dimple. I love that she sings very loudly when she plays pieces with words. I love that she still loves puzzles and enjoys doing them with Ben. I love to listen to her practice, going over and over her assigned sections almost always without complaint. (This is remarkable, really.) I love her green eyes and her freckles and her curly hair. I love that she's excited to pick up the mail and that she'll hold my hand when we walk down the street. I love watching her determined face while she practices rollerblading.

I do love that she is seven. But I also hate it. Where is the Life Pause button? I need it RIGHT NOW.

I mean, look at this little person:


And now look at this big person! Can you stand it?