Savannah turned 6 years old on April 29th. Hard to believe! This is one of my favorite ages, and I’m excited to see how Savannah grows and changes over the next year.
Savannah had her checkup with Dr. Dudley on May 6th, and she was 45 1/4 inches tall (50th percentile) and weighed 42.5 lbs (35th percentile). She grew 2.5 inches and gained 3 pounds over the year. For years she was closer to 75th percentile in height and weight, so it’s interesting to see how that’s changed in the last year or two. Savannah is currently wearing size 6 clothes (although some 5T stuff still fits) and is wearing size 12 shoes. She enjoys picking out her own clothes, and I LOVE that she doesn’t fight me about wearing a hair bow when I pick one out for her to wear to church. She’s better about wearing hair bows than her little sister ;) She is good about getting dressed on her own and can buckle and unbuckle her own sandals. We haven’t worked on learning how to tie shoes yet, but maybe we’ll tackle that over the summer. Savannah has lost her first two teeth this school year, and she was so excited about it!
Savannah is still a pretty good eater for the most part. She will usually try just about anything. She doesn’t always finish dinner depending on what it is, but she will at least try it all. Her favorite food groups are definitely sweet and salty. She loves chips, popcorn, and crackers, as well as most fruits and definitely desserts. She never gets tired of PB&J, but I’ve been proud of her for branching out and buying lunch at school usually several times a week. She likes getting breakfast at school some days too, especially on Fridays when they have cinnamon buns! :)
Savannah is still a great sleeper. We aim for a bedtime of about 8 PM, although sometimes it’s a little later than that. On school days, she gets up at about 6:30 AM. Savannah is almost always still asleep at that time and has to be woken up. I love going in her room while she’s still sleeping because she must roll around in different ways every night. Some days her head is on the pillow. Some days she’s asleep sideways in her bed. One day recently she was asleep curled up in the fetal position ;) It’s just so cute. She is our best sleeper and usually the last one up (other than Daddy) on the weekends. Quiet time went out the door when school started, and generally she will only fall asleep in the car if she’s had a really busy or long day.
Savannah continues to be quiet and reserved around people she doesn’t know very well. We definitely see a different side of her at home than most people get to see. She is very much a rule follower and likes to observe her surroundings before putting herself out there. She doesn’t normally initiate conversation with others that she doesn’t know well, but will generally warm up to new situations with enough time. I really appreciated her teacher reminding me that there are actually a lot of benefits to a child being discerning and observant before jumping into new situations (especially thinking about the teenage years coming up). Hopefully she will be discerning about who she chooses as her closest friends and what kind of decisions she makes as she grows up too. I have no doubt she will put a lot of thought into those decisions!
Savannah is very caring and tenderhearted. She can burst into tears at the drop of a hat and hates getting reprimanded for doing something she shouldn’t. We have learned that she responds best to gentle correction and reminders. She can be hard on herself sometimes and frequently has a “glass half empty” mentality. We are working on helping her develop self-confidence, and hopefully we will continue to make progress with that over the coming years.
Savannah has gotten my “worrywart” gene in a bad way, and I can see so much of me in her. She worries about literally everything and is always asking “what if” questions. “What if this happens?” “What if that happens?” I recently ordered a book called “Raising Worry-Free Girls”, and I’m hoping that it will help both of us become better at worrying less. I want to equip her with the tools to get it under control now so that she’s not plagued with worry as an adult.
For all her fears though, Savannah has really had to make some major adjustments over the last year. We are so proud of her! Starting school for the first time during a pandemic is no joke. I don’t think that would be easy even for the most outgoing kid. It took some time for Savannah to get adjusted to going to school, but it was so fun to watch her progress over the course of the year. She had an absolutely wonderful teacher, Mrs. Curry, who gently encouraged her and helped her slowly come out of her shell. Savannah didn’t make a million “best” friends, but she did play with other kids at recess and PE. I loved hearing her tell me about her day on our walk home from school each afternoon. She was always very detailed, and I could tell she was carefully observing everything that happened around her throughout the day. She learned so much at school, and it’s crazy how well she is reading now! She couldn’t even write all of the letters of the alphabet at the beginning of the year. Mrs. Curry said she tackled anything and everything she put in front of her, and she always did her best. I’m really proud of Savannah for trying so hard and for all the ways she stepped out of her comfort zone this year.
Savannah has now played two seasons of soccer and really enjoys it. Each season, it has taken her a few weeks to really work up the courage to get in there and be aggressive, but it’s so fun to watch her once she gets her confidence up. She takes it very seriously, and when she scores a goal, she doesn’t even celebrate…haha. She just runs back to midfield ready to get going again ;) She is super fast and can chase down a player from the other team on a breakaway and kick the ball away before they score. She really loves soccer, especially running through the “tunnel” at the end of the game and eating the yummy snacks afterward too ;)
Some of Savannah’s other interests include arts and crafts, animals (especially polar bears), reading, drawing, riding her scooter, playing outside, and playing with stuffed animals. She and Brooklyn love to play with stuffed animals together, and they still enjoy making them talk in high-pitched voices. Savannah also really enjoys cooking and baking, and she is usually the first one to be interested in helping me in the kitchen. She says she wants to be a baker when she grows up :) She is a great helper around the house because she listens and follows directions so well most of the time. Savannah loves playing with her sisters, although she also enjoys her alone time too. Sometimes I will hear her telling Brooklyn “get out!” when she is tired of playing. We are still working on her manners ;) She is a very sweet big sister to Abigail. Just the other day, Savannah gave Abigail some of her allowance money so that Abigail could “buy” something from Brooklyn’s candy store. So sweet! They do fuss and fight with each other (Abigail isn’t the easiest to get along with…haha), but generally Savannah plays nicely with both of her sisters. Savannah loves reading Pete the Cat and Owl Diaries books right now and also really enjoys reading fact books about animals and nature.
Other facts about Savannah: She asks the most thought provoking questions sometimes out of nowhere. Her little brain is always thinking. She had a really bad case of molluscum over the last year, but thankfully it has finally gone away. Her skin is actually looking pretty good right now even without doing lotion and steroid creams, so maybe we are past the worst of her eczema and other skin issues. She is still working on learning to ride her bike without training wheels, but that is mostly because we haven’t practiced with her much over the last year. Maybe we will tackle that this summer. She loves carrying Gabby around like a baby. Savannah has turned into a bit of a pack rat and has artwork and trinkets stuffed in every nook and cranny of her room. She is naturally very serious, but definitely has a fun and silly side that comes out when she’s comfortable. Savannah’s nicknames are Pookie and various twists on it…Pookie Poo, Pookie Bear, Pooks, Pooksie, and Pooksie Wooksie, just to name a few :)
We love you so much, Savannah!! It is so fun to watch you grow and learn new things, and we are so proud of you!!
