two hands

susanna turned two hands on friday.  up until now, my baby girl could proudly display her age using only one; today, she becomes the big Six and needs that extra finger.

so, in light of her newly acquired number, here are the six things i love most about our sweet daughter:

1.  she's determined.  she'll plod through a difficult book from start to finish, sometimes faltering on unfamiliar words but insistent on working through it until the last page.  when she got her first pair of lace-up shoes, she asked me to show her how to tie them, and then retreated to her room to practice.  a half-hour later, she proudly called me in to show me a dozen bows made with her grosgrain ribbons -- tied around the doorknobs, the pulls on her dresser, and even her bedpost.  she'll bite her lip in concentration but plow through any task at hand.

she's a master puzzle solver -- she'll sit down with a new one and won't get up until she's finished.  which is usually pretty quickly

 2.  she's still a little shy slow to warm up (a phrase a pediatrician friend of mine suggested), but is gaining confidence every day.  in an unfamiliar situation, she's understandably hesitant.  but i've watched her enough to know that she's just scoping it out and observing.  within a few minutes, she's joining in the fun, making new friends and always hitting it off with anyone she meets.  is she an outspoken leader?  no. and she might never be.  but she's our accommodating, easy-going, agreeable child that everyone loves to be around. and we'll take that any day of the week.

3.  she knows her talents.  she's an excellent artist and has a musical ear, and she flocks to activities that draw on these talents, whether it's laboring over a special drawing for her aunt on her wedding day, or practicing the next song her choir will perform in Big Church.  we're planning on starting piano lessons in the fall, and i have no doubt she will love them.  and, by the same token, she knows where she doesn't excel -- namely sports.  but rather than agreeing to register for teams and then winding up miserable and complaining, she acknowledges that athletics just ain't her bag.  and she's okay with that too.

titled "Aunt Leslie and Uncle Richard's Wedding Day" by susanna atkins mann ~ may 14, 2012

 4.  she's the best sister.  how many times can i mention the amazing relationship our two children have?  she adores her big brother.  liam adores her.  the end.

5.  she's funny.  she has a keen understanding of plays-on-words and often will surprise us with a creative joke that she's made up herself.  today's was, "what is a chick's favorite food?  PEEP-za!"  (all right, that's not going to be on any comedian's set list ... but for age six, i think it's pretty impressive.)

that snaggle tooth hung on for weeks ... and she thought it was hilarious to stick it outside of her top lip and speak reeeeeaaaaal southern-like

6. she's just a big ball of love.  she asks to cuddle; she'll stand on her tippy toes for a kiss; she'll often come up and just hug us for no reason whatsoever.  and every morning, without fail, i wake up to her warm little body climbing into bed to snuggle with me.  with a beginning like that, how could i possibly have a bad day?

six reasons why she's our best girl, and two hands to show off her age.  and, as we say in this house, "infinity squared" to quantify our love.  happy birthday, sweet susanna!