Evelyn

As I'm sure you've figured out from past blog posts, my kid is awesome. She's an angel impersonating a human being. And even with her current Jack-O-Lantern smile, she's the cutest thing on earth.

First off, I just want to say that God clearly was blessing us with quality over quantity. We may not have (anywhere near) as many kids as we'd like, but the one we have is the best one there is.

Most people have kids who don't heed their parents' warnings, and have to find out the hard way that touching a hot stove/climbing on the car/putting forks in an electrical socket/using the bookshelf as a ladder is a bad idea.

We have a kid who listens to us, understands the logic behind the warning, and is very cautious about not doing anything too dangerous.

Most people have kids who live by the philosophy "What's yours is mine, what's mine is mine, and whatever I might want is mine."

We have a kid who is (usually) really good about sharing. Not always, but usually.

Most people have kids who believe they are the center of the universe, and everyone around them is merely an extra on the stage.

We have a kid who actually seems to understand empathy. She notices when other people are feeling bad, and goes out of her way to help them or cheer them up.

Most people have kids who refuse to sit still for a picture, or even look in the camera's general direction.

We have a kid who smiles for the camera - a real smile, not the fake, scary ones that most kids do. She actually enjoys having her picture taken, and is very photogenic to boot.

Most people have kids who throw tantrums when they don't get what they want.

We have a kid who says "Please? Please? Please?" a lot, but who takes it without a fuss when the answer is ultimately an unchanging "no." She's not necessarily happy about it, but she doesn't throw tantrums.

Now, I don't mean to say that other people's kids are horrible. Not at all. All of the above things I mentioned in the "most kids" sections are perfectly normal! That's how most kids behave, because that's totally normal child behavior. My point is that my daughter is a freak. A wonderful, weirdly well-behaved freak.

That's not to say that she's perfect. Far from it. She moves really slow in the mornings and often leaves us running late to get to school. She "cleans her room" every day, but it still usually looks like a disaster. She almost always complains about doing her chores (although she's good about getting them done fairly quickly). She can be fairly bossy with other kids, and has a very rigid view of fairness. If something isn't fair, or someone is being "mean," she's quick to tattle. Not my favorite thing.

But all things considered, she's a pretty amazing girl. I'd say quite a bit above average, really.

She has a great sense of humor. She makes me laugh out loud on a regular basis - although not always intentionally.

She's always willing to take on a service project with me and help people in need. She also performs good deeds on her own, helping kids at school.

She's very smart. Ever since I told her she would get a treat for every 100% on a piece of schoolwork, she's been emptying the house of ice cream.

She loves to snuggle with me. This is very important, especially when her dad is deployed. She always makes me feel loved.

She has never once, in her entire life, smeared poop on walls (or any other surface) or hid it in a bucket under her bed (or anywhere else).

She has no problem adapting. She makes friends easily, and she's perfectly fine spending a few days with friends so Ben and I can go out of town. She doesn't get unduly stressed out about that kind of thing. She's very chill!

She knows all sorts of amazing things about animals, and can make a huge variety of fairly-accurate animal noises.

She draws pictures and makes cards for people. She's very creative and artistic with them, too. She made a pop-up apology card for her teacher earlier this year when she was unusually naughty one day. It was very innovative, especially for a six-year-old.

She's a graceful dancer, and has a lot of natural musicality.

She's got a memory like an elephant. Maybe because elephants are her favorite animal? She can watch a movie once, and recognize music from it weeks later. She also can quote all of her favorite lines after the first viewing.

She loves her Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Seriously, best kid ever. There's not a whole lot more to add to that.

I'm so lucky to be her mom!