Can you spot the difference in these two pictures? It’s subtle, but it’s most definitely there. The difference is one is starting her first day of Kindergarten, and the other one is graduated from Kindergarten. Amazing, isn’t it?!

The first girl is almost three inches shorter.

The second girl now has two baby brothers instead of one.

The first girl can only write the first letter of each word in a sentence.

The second girl writes pages upon pages of stories, complete with quotation marks and illustrations.

The first’s favorite thing at school is snack time.

The second’s is Library.

The first draws stick figure people with one large egg head with lines out the sides for arms and legs.

The second draws full-color pictures, with fully-clothed people, background scenery and speech bubbles.

The first is scared to get on her bike with training wheels.

The second rides her two-wheeler around the neighborhood for hours.

The first girl can count to 100.

The second girl can add, subtract, count money and is starting to tell time.

The first might have a panic attack if her schedule or routine had to change.

The second can roll with the punches and is becoming adept at handling disappointment and scheduling conflicts.

The first girl likes to play computer games.

The second girl instant messages her dad, has an address book, and calls family members at will.

I’m sure I could go on forever. The difference in these two little girls in just 9 short months is nothing short of miraculous. I can only imagine what changes first grade will bring.

And just for kicks because these pictures make me giggle:

Another year, another successful birthday celebration!

This year, for Mylie’s 6th birthday, we really lucked out. Kindergartner’s last day of school happened to be on a Monday, but the rest of the grades ended on Tuesday. So, we decided to go for a middle-of-the-week approach and host it on Tuesday while everyone else was in school!

This year’s theme:

Dance, of course!

We started the party in the morning at our house. We had Mylie’s favorite dance songs playing as the guests arrived, and they all got prepped and warmed up.

They greeted each other with glee and silliness.

Next, we played “Ballerina Says” (a version of Simon Says) and then they got to watch Bella Dancerella, a dance video, and show off their super cool moves.

After a pizza lunch, we opened presents and ate cake.

And then we hauled ALL TEN LITTLE KINDERGARTNERS over to Skate World for an afternoon of roller skating. I’ll be really honest and tell you that the REAL reason we chose this particular Tuesday to hold the party was not because Kindergartners were out of school and no one else was. No, the real reason was because it was “Cheap Skate” day at Skate World, and I could get all 10 girls in for $1.00 each, saving me almost $70.00 in admission charges! That was my proud mama moment Plus, they’re party rooms are cramped and nasty… not nearly as cool has having the party part at our house.

Most of the girls had never been roller skating before, and those that had had only been once. So it took a bit of coaxing, hand holding, and crawling along the edge of the rink, but within a half an hour of being there, most of the girls were “flying’ as they liked to put it. They even got gutsy enough to participate in a round of “Red Light, Green Light” and danced along while they skated to “YMCA”.

It was a super fun experience, and the whole day went rather smoothly. The girls all got along great, had fun participating in all the activities and had a good time skating. After 90 minutes, though, most of them called it quits, as their poor little legs couldn’t hold up those heavy skates anymore. But by that night, Mylie was begging to go back the next day! Yea for having another activity to add to our repertoire this summer!

Happy Sixth Birthday Mylie!

We started a new tradition of going out to breakfast on the morning of your birthday, and while at IHOP this year for Mylie’s birthday, we decided to interview her. Here’s her responses.

What’s Your Favorite:

Color – Pink & Blue

Number – 6

Thing at School – Library

Song – Teddy Bear’s Picnic

Music - Interpretative Dance from the book on CD, Doobie Doobie Moo

Kind of Dance – My Solo (Jazz)

Food – Mac & Cheese…. with Whip Cream (?!?!)

Friend – Lucy

Place to Visit that you’ve already been – IHOP

Where would you like to visit? – California

What do you want to be when you grow up?  - Firefighter (we’ve moved past the Gravedigger phase, I see)

What does Daddy do for work? – Get Money

What does Mommy do for work? – Watch the Winters Kids

Who are you going to marry? – Brayden… because Landon doesn’t want to, and Brayden said, “I’ll marry you.”

How many kids are you going to have? – Three. Two girls and one boy.

What will you name them? – Daisy, Rachel and Evan.

This year has marked a big turning point in Mylie’s dance “career”. Not only did we switch studios, but she started on the competitive team. She’s only on the part-time team, which means fewer competitions, but she was the tiniest little thing on a team where the rest of the girls were ages 7-13. And I have to say, I’m pretty proud of her. I’m grateful to her coach for giving her the opportunity and working with her, and I’m proud of Mylie for keeping up and holding her own. Sure, she’s not on a scale with the older dancers, but she knows her job and she gets it done. And she’s darn cute while she’s doing it!

She’s also had to learn the hard lesson that will only become more common if she chooses to continue down this dance path. The challenge of time conflicts. This year one of the competitions was Easter Weekend – the same day as all the Easter Egg hunts! She was pretty upset about not getting to make it to any of her favorites, but it was a valuable lesson in prior commitments and being there for your team.

So for your enjoyment and ours… here is Mylie and the Element Part-Time Jazz Company in “White Stripes.”