Changes at 7

It's starting. Chiara is showing more and more signs that she is moving away from being a "little" girl. She is slowly moving toward independence. Ugh. She has always been mature, in our eyes, and she is very smart, but this is different. She helps without being asked. She takes care of things and her sisters just because she wants to. My heart sings. She is also wanting more breaks from her sisters. She wants to listen to my IPod with the headphones on and sing along.....loudly. David and I find ourselves exchanging glances while she rocks out to The Chipmunks Soundtrack or Hannah Montana (yes, she is still cool in our house). Yes, we monitor everything that she watches, reads, and listens to, but we are giving her space too. She asks to listen to the IPod with headphones every day but she is not aloud to just use it. I see so many kids, little kids, who are already tuning out. We will not have that here. Chiara, so far, is respectful of the boundaries we are setting with her independence.

I am glad that she is changing and growing into the girl God created her to be, but I can't help but look at her baby sister Emma and think, "Wasn't she just turning 1?"