And The Race Is On

And I was worried...

Last year when we went to an Easter Egg Hunt, Emily had been so slow at gathering eggs that she ended up with maybe one or two.

And that was with me egging her on, so to speak.  I had even taken her hand to help guide her to some eggs at one point.

When it was over, she had a huge pout on her face while the other kids sat and opened their eggs.  Then, she asked me why she didn't get as many.  There were even tears on the way home.  My heart broke for her.  Her little legs were no match for those of a seven year old.  She was so shy when it came to running around grabbing up eggs and she seemed overwhelmed by the sheer number of kids around her.

Have you ever seen kids at an Easter Egg Hunt?   It is sheer chaos and every child for themselves.  Easter baskets go flying as kids whoop and race around scooping up eggs.

This year I figured she would figure it out.  Herself.  And she did.

She beat kids twice her age to hidden caches of eggs, grinning and laughing as she went.  I couldn't believe how much she has changed in the last year.  She is a completely different child.  Precocious and silly, she is full of questions and is a total ham.  She loves anything creative and delves into things enthusiastically instead of holding back.  I love watching the person she is becoming.

And she is not afraid to go up to kids bigger than her and start talking to them.  Recently, we were at a church book sale and she asked me if she could go talk to the "bigger boys".  They were probably in second-grade.  She didn't want to talk to the girls next to them. She wanted to talk to the boys.

I don't think I am quite ready for that yet.