I'm glad she still marches to the beat of her own drum.

From time to time I find myself worrying about the girl Elaine might be coming. I've seen her be a sassy little thing, almost mean girl like. Of course the minute I see that kind of behavior I'm all over her. But it doesn't seem to make much difference. Either she doesn't understand what I'm saying to her, or she doesn't hear herself.

She desperately wants to belong at times. So much so, that she'll follow whoever seems to be the dominant person in the group. I know this is what kids do; particularly girls. But it doesn't mean I have to like it.

She's constantly changing who her best friend is, and then having girls get "mad" at her. "So and so doesn't want to be my friend anymore because I told her I was going to play with someone else today." All of these five and six year old girls are fickle - flitting around from girl to girl. I've tried to encourage her to not have best friends. To be friends with everyone. To not get caught up in it and just be kind to all the kids.

This past weekend, we attended a girl scout daycamp. The girls in her girl scout troop aren't necessarily her good friends. In fact, though they all go to our school, everyone except her is in PM kindergarten so she doesn't have much interaction with them outside of our meetings and activities. The other girls in the troop seem to have paired up - as they see each other more often - and Elaine tends to be the odd man out. I worried about this at first, but honestly, it seems to be a good change for her.

I watched on Saturday and she did her own thing. Participating in each activity regardless of the girls in our troop. She said hi to other girls she saw from school as we passed by them on our way to activities. She paired up with strangers when need be. She was kind, nice, didn't whine or sass or boss. It was SO very refreshing. As I watched her be independent, I realized she is just like all of us. Desperate to belong, but still wanting to be her own person.

I'm glad she still loves to be herself and hasn't changed.

Elaine randomly rocks out Sunday night in the kitchen. Because anytime is a good time for an impromptu concert! Watch for the swim toward the end of the video. It's a riot. Oh and I think she's a mime trapped in a box at the very end.