As she reminded me yesterday, April marks Josephine's half-birthday. She'll be six and a half.
Six is a great age, and she's great at six.
- "I love reading," she confides to me. And she does. She reads all the time - she even reads (aloud) from the cereal box at breakfast, including the nutrition information. She reads the Ritz box ("Open for fun!") as if she's auditioning for a commercial spot. She reads t-shirts, street signs, checks, trucks, labels.
- And then come the questions. "What does 'TM' mean?" She is still much more comfortable asking questions than answering them.
- Like her mother, she continues to love to sing and look at herself in the mirror. And dance, and defy the limits.
- Yes, the arrogance of 6 that I've seen in other little girls has indeed descended upon little Jo. She knows EVERYTHING. She ascribes to knowing it at least. She's always been on the nosy side (like me, I'll admit) - a detective of sorts - but now she's also on the declarative end of things, willing to contradict adults (ahem) and anyone else, refuting this and that, even when she has no clue.
And, as the photos above attest, she loves to play outside, and this was her the other day, demonstrating to me how she could climb a tree (below which, Sam informed me, is his secret hideout).
And I love this self-portrait she did in art class. I mean - it reminds me of an iconic religious painting, or of a folk art piece - the way the heart is illuminated, the eyes rolled heavenward, the two moons on the body and the abstract hair/sky behind. She's always had this element in her - like the hands she used to make with flames and stars - and I just think this is fantastic! I'm a fan, at least.
She starts her new gym class tomorrow. I can't wait to see what she thinks of it, now that she's older!
