Ann Catherine had a couple of firsts in her life this week. She had her first spelling test on Friday and she was finally invited to her first birthday party. Well, maybe I shouldn't say that she was invited to her first birthday party. She was invited to a friend's party this summer but it was the same weekend as our family reunion so we were out of town. She also went to another birthday party when she was three for a little boy from daycare. (Oddly enough, that's where she received her first kiss!! :-) But I'm not sure that party really counted since she was so young and remembers nothing about it. Anyway, I guess you could say that this was her first REAL birthday party with friends from school. She was so excited! They held it at a local "Jump Zone," which is basically a room full of those huge inflatable bouncy things. They had seven HUGE inflatables, including one that looked like a roller coaster and another that was about two stories tall! This was every child's dream come true. Of course, you know Ann Catherine's shyness is always a struggle between she and I and, of course, I was the one to take her to the party. She started out excited and ready for fun because she loves inflatables - until she walked into that room. Then, she suddenly became overwhelmed and refused to talk to anyone. I had to drag her into the room where they put all the gifts and then try to convince her to go play with all the rest of the girls from her class on the inflatables. She refused, almost in tears, and I was getting more and more frustrated and ready to just leave. Finally, I found an inflatable shaped like a firetruck that was empty and she decided to get brave and go down the slide on that one. She enjoyed it. So, she went again. And loved it. And from them on out, she had a ball. As a mom, I worry so much about her shyness because I remember how few friends I had. I don't want that life for her. So, I try to encourage her in as many activities as possible to give her more ways of making friends. So I was thrilled when she finally decided to not just play on the empty inflatables but to try playing with one or two girls from her class. Finally, by the end, she was running around with them. So, needless to say, there was nothing more thrilling than watching my little girl run around with some of the girls in her class! So, it was a good day of firsts.
By the way, she didn't miss a single word on her spelling test! GO ANN CATHERINE!!
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3 comments:
Yay Ann Catherine! And good job, Amanda, on encouraging her to work on overcoming her shyness...she'll get there.
Good for you, Amanda, for not giving up and leaving. I, too, know how hard shyness can be to overcome and how lonely life can be for someone that shy. Unfortunately, she comes by it naturally, she must have that shy gene. Anyway, I'm glad she ended up being able to conquer the fear that day with your persistence and encouragement. And tell her I said congratulations on her perfect spelling test. And even if it's not always perfect, I still say Yea!, just for being her sweet self.
What a smarty-pants that little Ann Catherine is. I'm very proud of her (her aunt Julie thinks spelling is very important). I'm also glad she was able to have fun at the party. I hope she makes some great friends at school. Give her a big hug from me.
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