Day 6 - January 6

Avery started her standardized testing at school today which lasts for the remainder of this week plus the first part of next week. They sure don't waste any time jumping right back into the school work either! She had a regular load of homework her first night back and again tonight with tests scheduled for the end of the week, wow!

One of Avery's favorite times to talk is while we are laying in bed during "special time" each night. This is usually when I get random tidbits of information both big and small. Tonight she told me about something that happened at school that totally impressed me and I just had to share. A little background first (Avery has wanted a pair of lime green Chuck Taylor's for a while and was super excited to get a pair of high tops with purple laces for Christmas). She wore them to school yesterday and told me last night that one of the boys at school called her a "psycho" for wearing such weird shoes. We talked about it and she decided he was just being a silly boy and didn't really let it bother her.

Fast forward to tonight. While laying in bed, she tells me that several people at school today were talking about her shoes. One of her friends overheard their conversation and told them it wasn't very nice and Avery was her friend. I asked Avery if it bothered her and she said, "a little." We proceeded to discuss how other people's thoughts don't really matter as long as you like something and are comfortable with it. I also told her that if she was uncomfortable wearing the shoes (or anything for that matter) that she shouldn't and it wouldn't hurt our feelings at all either.

The moral of my lengthy post is simply this. My 8 year old daughter knows "who she is" more than I ever did at 16 much less her age. I can only hope that she continues to be this confident in her decisions. As I tucked my sweet baby into bed, kissed her goodnight, and walked out of her room; I realized she's growing up pretty fast.