Seven

La Nina turned seven today and I thought I'd write a few observations of her at this age.  

La Nina is a thinker.  She's the type of kid who asks a question out of the blue, then a couple of weeks later makes some big observation based on the answer I gave.  When she makes the observation, it's clear she's been mulling the question for some time.  

She loves shoes.  This birthday we told her friends of her passion and she got six new pairs of shoes:  Three snazzy sneaker sets, two pairs of flip flops and a pair of purple sparkle boots she's been longing for.  It's been a little slice of heaven for our Immelda.

She's hooked on dance.  This year, during a quiet dance week, she takes five classes on two days a week.  (It's only 3.5 hours so it's not as bad as it sounds.)  Some weeks, like this one, she'll dance five of the next seven days. (And yes, that is as bad as it sounds!)  And what does she do with her free time?  Usually, she puts on music and practices or begs us to put on videos of past shows or YouTube so she can watch more dancing.  It's crazy.  I wonder if she'll feel the same way about dance five years from now?

All that dancing has left her very coordinated.  So, even if five years from now she decides she doesn't like dance, she'll be able to pick up something else as long as it doesn't require running and speed. She's not a very fast runner and she still doesn't like to sweat.  

She's made some very good friends:  boys and girls.  She's very enlightened in her relationships with boys.  There are a couple of boys in the group she eats lunch with every day.  She also runs with a very nice group of girls.  

She loves her sister.  I don't know what La Nina would do without her sister.  She and the Magster are very different kids, but they are very close.  It's nice to see.

She understands most Spanish.  She can answer any question asked of her in Spanish in English. 

She hasn't changed much since she was a baby.  Oh sure, she's learned to read, do math, tie her shoes, etc.  But she still sleeps more than any child I know, she's a great eater and she needs her routines.  So, even at seven, there's no doubt, she's still my baby.