Penelope is the baby of the family. She's a tiny one. She still has a little voice. I have to tell her regularly to put some strength in her voice so I can hear her clearly. Sometimes, she'll hide when I'm handing chores out. I'm too busy instructing the other four that I forget she isn't helping. "Where are you P!?" When I catch her making poor choices (like eating three pb&j frozen waffles after school and leaving a mess on the table), she'll respond with "Oh, I didn't remember." or "Oh, I didn't mean to."
She likes going up to the nursery at church. We've allowed anyone five and under to go up after the bible lesson, and she always chooses to go. I remember thinking to myself a couple of months ago, she's almost six. Should I force the point that the nursery isn't for her anymore? The Sunday after her birthday she announced to me, "I'm six now so I'm not going upstairs anymore. It's for kids five and under."
The other girls have gotten their ears pierced on their sixth birthday. Penelope mentioned getting hers done a couple of months ago, but I wondered if she would be really scared and emotional about it. On the way to the mall, Maggie asked her if she was feeling scared or excited. Penelope said, "Both, but I'm trying to be like Ice Bear (some character on Netflix). I'm trying to say my emotions instead of showing my emotions." Girl did not even flinch or cry. She choose pearls.
There isn't another little human behind Penelope to help us comprehend just how much she's grown. And maybe her outward appearance isn't the best representation, but her mind and self and character are all getting just so big. If we didn't notice, she's letting us know.
Sometimes she asks to be picked up. I hold her for a minute and think this might be one of the last times that I will hold one of my babies. And then I put her down cause she's just heavy.
She learned to ride her bike sans training wheels this spring. She's on the cusp of swimming confidently. We are slowly working on her reading. She started kindergarten this year. She liked school. In April, her teacher said, "I've herd her talk more this week than the previous eight months combined." Teachers who know our other kids comment, "She's quieter, isn't she?" Yes. Stephen says she pivots from sullen and quiet to spazzy.
I asked her what her favorite things are; LPS (littlest pet shop), Roblox, Minecraft, YouTube, her grey & yellow birdie shirt, drawing, cheese, bouncing on the trampoline, her brother Schroeder, puppies. And slime because it's "satisfying". "Mom, isn't saying the word satisfying so satisfying?"
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