My big girl

Tonight Sierra had gymnastics, and we realized after we got there that it was parent watching day. Brian was home with Luke and Autry, but I watched from the track that circles above the gym floor. Having a solid hour alone just to watch that girl was such a treat. She is suddenly so beautiful and grown up. I loved watching her little mannerisms, hand movements and hops that I am so familiar with. She kept shyly looking up at me the whole time to make sure I was watching. I was. After gymnastics she was really excited and chattered away. It was so much fun, it is usually hard to have a conversation because she is ALWAYS reading. ALWAYS. She gets really antsy if she doesn't have a book with her, like an addict worried about where they will get their next fix. Any time she chooses to take a break from reading and interact is exciting. Now that she has her own bedroom (after sharing with Luke and then both kids for the last three years) I see even less of her. She shuts the door and listens to music, keeps everything extremely tidy, puts away her own laundry basket, gets up in the morning on her own. She has also been much more helpful and cheerful in general lately. She is so funny and clever and geeky in such a terrific way. I think a lot about her as an adult, it's not to hard to imagine, Brian calls her and her friend Mia the little old ladies. They love that. But it's true, she has been an old soul from the moment she was born. Much more intense and serious than either of her siblings. Although she definitely can get worked up, her affection is much more subdued. She will not throw herself at you, like Autry, or talk your ear off, like Luke. So those moments when I have her all to myself are just golden.