setting a new record for procrastination

Worst record yet... a whole year between postings. Netsanet continues to grow tall and slim. She can read all letters and numbers, and can sound out some words. She's got some basic addition and subtraction going on, and she can write her own name (that's a long one!). She also recently learned how to tie her shoes. In a nutshell, she's about two or three years ahead of where Ken and I were at her age! She continues to amaze us every day.

Last spring and summer we helped our friend build us a cabin on our site. I'm very pleased with how it turned out! There's still tons to do but we can sleep in it. Last August we spent a week there, and we've spent several weekends (more this spring!). It's very hot in the summer, but it's comfortable in the cabin up to about 90 degrees outside...then it all turns into an oven! It's good to know our limits, and we'll think about investing in solar panels and an A/C unit in the future :) For now, there's the pool a mile away and lakes nearby.

The cabin has been our main source of getting away. Ken and I went to San Diego for a few days last month since I had a conference to attend. It was wonderful, and we want to take Netsanet with us next time! I'm also thinking a Disney trip may be an inevitable event in the next year or two.

This fall Netsanet will start kindergarten at a school nearby. We're not sure which one yet, and apparently we may not find out until fall... but any of our three options are exciting, and I think she will love school. She enjoys making new friends and learning new things. Even when she's frustrated that she can't do something immediately, she does keep trying and she's so proud and excited when she achieves it. She's still very high energy, and I think we will need to find a way to help her channel that energy into something positive (like sports). She's been in an art class for the last several months and loves it. She is also fascinated by music and dance and enjoys that as well. If we stay in our neighborhood, she'll have many options for all of those things within walking distance of our house.

I love hearing her observations on life, and it indicates how she perceives the world around her. She's such a huge personality! It's fun to see how her preferences change every few months, and see hints of who she might be. So far, she's intense, analytical, confident in her ability to do anything, and quite the little romantic. She told me about a dream she had where she was a pilot flying an airplane to all kinds of places, and then she met a prince and so she became a princess pilot with a crown and fancy dress and they fell in love and lived happily ever after. The princess theme is obviously huge lately. But I'm happy, because so is the "I can do anything" idea :)

Life has been so busy lately, and it's amazing to think how it will change as Netsanet enters this next big phase of life. (probably no less busy, but different...)