Her favorite color is still hot pink, but right around her birthday she decided to tell me that light blue is her favorite color. I'm not sure what spurred this idea--if a friend's favorite color is light blue, if she just decided she loves that color, if she heard me talking about paint colors for her new room--but she seems to be holding strong that she still loves hot pink, but she loves light blue even more.
The week before Rowan's birthday, I took her to a ballet. She was slightly confused as to how adults can do ballet in the middle of the day and not go to work. When she found out that dancing is their work, she was thrilled. "You mean they actually make money dancing? Mom, that would be the perfect job for me!" So, yes, she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up. Or a "singer on a CD". She has decided that, instead of gymnastics, she'd really rather take dance class.
Rowan is a social butterfly. More than anything, she wants to play with other kids. Now that the weather is nice, as soon as she gets home from school she'll ask to play with friends. "Mom, Caleb and Josie are out. Can I go play?" "Mom, I talked to Zoe on the bus and she wants to come over today. Can she?" "Mom, I see Grace down the street. Can we walk over there?" On her days of no school, we definitely have to have a plan.
While Rowan and Tate fight with the best of them, they are also great friends. And this year Rowan has gotten so much better at compromising, sharing and caring about Tate. Generally, if there is an argument, Rowan is the one who will let Tate have the first turn or let Tate choose the story we read. Sometimes while I'm making dinner she'll sit on the couch and read a book to Tate. And they'll often play for hours with little direction from me.
Rowan's imagination amazes me. She makes up games and scenarios to act out pretty much constantly. She and Tate love to play Jake and the Neverland Pirates. She also plays "Monkey Island" on the trampoline outside and makes up games for the kids in the neighborhood to play. And, of course, it doesn't get any better than being the baby in a rousing game of house. All of these situations make me glad Rowan has Tate. I'm up for reading books, making crafts, doing activities around town, but I'm pretty deficient in the whole imaginative play arena.
Rowan, I love that you are maturing, but still are such a kid. You don't care about what you wear or what your hair looks like. You are friends with everyone. You chose Rice Krispie Treats for your birthday snack because even the kids with food allergies can eat them. You have so much enthusiasm about life in general. You have a memory that amazes me. You still let me cuddle up with you to read books (and I'm planning on this lasting a long, long time, so you better keep it up a while). You put on silly shows for me--dancing in the dark with glow sticks, acting like a chimp swinging from the bar on our swingset, singing songs with Tate in the front yard. You are my favorite little six-year-old and I love you very much.
