all grows up

this girl.

even when we might feel a bit plateaued in certain skills or stages, she keeps pushing through to the next thing, simultaneously surprising me and joining her typical peers' milestones.

our ride to school often includes an older friend. most mornings, the two girls exit my car in the carpool line, and our older friend is an extra set of eyes as ruby walks into school. on days without our friend, we usually park and i walk ruby to the sidewalk for the school where i stop and watch her enter the building.

this morning we had no friend in our car and ruby told me she wanted me to walk her in. but by the time we pulled into the parking lot, she was telling me that she wanted to "put on my backpack. get out of car. walk in myself." i confirmed with her twice as we pulled through the winding line, but she was determined.

sure enough, when I pulled up to the front, she kissed me, opened the door and hopped out, waving back at me. i lingered for a few seconds to watch and make sure she was doing the right thing, but i didn't have to: that girl walked straight into school without looking back or getting distracted at all.

so proud.