How Hope works

At six and a half, Hope is still a little kid. But sometimes her heart and her thoughts seem so big, it's hard to believe she's only been around for such a short time. I know I've written dozens of posts about her unusual interests, her sweet heart, and her curious mind. But looking over these few pictures from this week gives a little glimpse into how she works.

Here she's doing a Pilates video. She likes to do the things I like to do, because it gives us "girl power," and she loves that we have something special. Daddy sometimes jokes that she and I are the "sweeties" and he and Grant are the "salties." For the record, they're pretty sweet too. Also for the record, Hope did this entire Pilates video without giving up or getting bored!

Here she is in her robe and slippers, of which she has five pairs! It's been cold in the house in the mornings lately, and just recently she's started putting on the robe and slippers before coming downstairs in the morning. She loves to feel "teenager-ish" and I think this is something that makes her feel that way. She certainly LOOKS like a teenager in this photo!

Homework, of course, is a chance for Hope to practice what she's learning in school. She still only has a small amount every day, but I love watching her do it. Her reading is blowing my mind, especially since I'd consider her a somewhat late bloomer. All through preschool she worried me because she just didn't seem to care about letter sounds. Now, suddenly, she can read above grade level! And math? She loves it. She usually does her entire week's worth of math homework on the day she brings it home. She's above grade level in math too :)

As she's always been, Hope is still super thoughtful. She loves to go out of her way to make someone feel special. For no reason at all, the other morning she decided to pamper me. She made me a little nest on the couch, turned on the TV show that Daddy and I watch at night, and went about making me toast and coffee. For a mom who wakes up every day earlier than I'd like to and spends much of my day preparing other people's meals, it felt very nice to have that little bit of pampering!

Here she'd thoughtfully drawn a picture for Mr. Mark's birthday, showing Mark and Daddy out riding their bikes together (which they do often). Mark was amused by the peace signs :)

 

I guess I'll just never be able to put it into words, but Hope blows me away time after time with her sweet-spirited, soft-hearted, big-brained, quirky little ways. I'm so lucky to be her Mama!