Why does school have to last so long?

Summer really wishes school days were shorter and fewer in number, but she seems to like it nonetheless. When I drop her off to school, I still walk her and Lexie to their classes. The past two days, she has had me do Rock-a-Bye Baby in the hallway after we hung up her book bag. Yes, she allows me to pick her up and rock her like a little baby in front of her peers. Oh, if only this could last!! I think I actually told her today that I hope she never outgrows it. I think she may in size before she is actually over it, but maybe not. Despite her weighing 43 pounds and standing 42 3/4 inches tall, I still manage to carry her around on occasion. And, she loves it! She's definitely my baby and always will be more than likely. Lexie pretends to be a baby at times and will put one of Summer's old pacifiers in her mouth and let me coo at her while I cuddle her in my arms. So sweet! I really hit the jackpot with these two being a part of my life.

Yesterday, Summer asked me if there was chapel and I told her no that it was today. She was disappointed stating that she liked it. So, today I attended with her and Lexie to see what it was all about. When they saw me, they ran over to sit with me. Summer's friend Brody, who just so happens to be a boy, sat down right beside her. Apparently, he follows her around most days, but I'm going to try not to read too much into it. The word boyfriend is not even going to be in our vocabulary for quite some time!!!! His mom was there too and told me she had heard a lot about Summer and had even come to eat lunch with them one day. Uh-oh! A little girl named Alex tried to wave her over to sit by her, but Summer was not leaving me. She sat quietly in front of me while Lexie climbed all over me proclaiming her love for me during the chapel service. It was quite precious, but I hope next time she will sit and listen. We sang a few songs and the rector went over a Bible lesson which was on the fruits of the Spirit. At the end, Summer got long faced and tried to fight back tears when she knew it was time to say goodbye. It was at that point that she asked me why school had to last so long. It was a sad moment, but her teacher told me she would get her busy when she got back to the room. I hugged and kissed her many times and then she was off with her class. I'm sure she was fine in no time, but goodbyes between her and me are usually not the easiest thing unless she is going with her Memaw or cousins. Then I'm chopped liver.

Instead of crying over homework this week, Summer decided she would do the whole week in one night and get it over with. She wrote B's, b's, C's, c's, D's and d's. She drew a green apple because that is the kind she likes. She counted 13 pennies and then tried to write "I counted 13 pennies" but could not get the 3 correct so we stopped at that point in the phrase. I don't think she was really trying, but I didn't push too hard and just let her move on since writing wasn't even part of the assignment anyway. Then we did a graph on the number of girls/women and boys/men in our house. She was done in no time and even wrote the letters 6 times each instead of 5 so she could get a little extra practice. So, today when she got home, she was free to do whatever she wanted which just so happened to be watching Barney goes to School and eating kettle corn. The movie was so entertaining that she and Lexie watched it twice before I got dinner ready. They were contemplating a 3rd viewing, but instead we played Carnival Games on the Wii.

Last night we had a family game / movie night. The girls had an early shower so Summer could spend as much time as possible with her dad after he got home and before bedtime. After they were all clean and dressed in their pj's, Summer won a game of Candyland while we waited on her Dad to get home for dinner. After we ate, she, Lexie and her dad headed to her room to play. I later walked in on them jumping off their beds, Summer holding an umbrella as she did. Thankfully, I only had to witness it happen once before Summer decided instead to show me and her dad a disappearing act. Lexie got a turn too, and it was funny how Summer had us close our eyes so they could sneak in and out of the room and thus disappear from under the umbrella. They both loved it and were all smiles at their trick. After they were all played out, Summer snuggled up with her dad on the couch to watch Ernest goes to Jail for the 3rd time. She has seen it several times at her cousins and always tells me how funny it is when I pick her up. So, when I saw it was going to be on TV last night, I made sure the channel was set so we could watch it with her. During the movie, Lexie and I worked a few puzzles and tried to play Chute and Ladders, but she's not quite at that level yet. When the movie was over, it was bedtime. Instead of books, we did songs because it was a little later than normal. Lexie wanted me to sing Go to Sleepy Little Baby to her. I sang that song and You Are My Sunshine to Summer. Tonight, after story time, Lexie requested Lullaby and Goodnight. I also sang You Are So Beautiful to Me to her. After one verse of I Love You, Summer, Summer wanted me to sing You Are So Pootyful to Me to her. I obliged her silly request, and she went to bed smiling. On my way out the door, she let one rip. How did she do it? I'm not even going to ask. I just love days like these. What would I do without my sweet little girl?