To be 5 going on 20

As a child I was terribly shy and quiet.  So when Kate went through her shy stage I chalked it up to one more thing she had inherited from me like her skinny feet and hatred of green food.  So imagine my surprise one night when she snapped out of it and began regaling my former co-workers at a group dinner with stories of Barbies and Dora.  The shy streak was over.  But never in my definitions of an outgoing pre-schooler did I include the idea that along with sharing secrets of Princesses and Ice cream cones with the girls, that she would also be chasing boys and kissing them behind the slides.  When I was even a middle school student, the mere thought of talking to a boy that I was crushing on was absolutely out of the question.

I'm not certain I was supposed to know about the kissing part.  Once when my Parents were visiting she let a story slip about her previous day on the playground and that she had kissed two of the boys in her class.  When our shocked voices and dropped jaws registered she quickly retracted her statement and denied the whole thing.  Fast forward to this year and her Pre-K crushes are over; she's moved on.  I may have mentioned she's developed a new boy obsession by the name of Grant.  Grant is adorable and tall and she remembers what he wears everyday.  Just ask.  She thinks his eyes are beautiful and you may recall the story of her tripping him.  Not on purpose of course.  No not at all...

In the car on the way to school today she said, "Yesterday on the big playground Grant was running towards me."  I asked, "Did you talk to him?"  "No!!  I ran away from him.  I'm not ready for that!"  Good to know that maybe a little of my shyness did rub off on her after all.