Good-Bye Pumpkin!

My first year teaching I had this adorable little girl in my class, Katie. Now I never call anyone pumpkin. Usually I refer to my kids as sweetie or sweetheart or bud or something else along those lines. But for some reason, I always called Katie, "Pumpkin". She was the cutest little kindergartner you've ever seen! I remember one day she told me that she would like to make an announcement about how messy and disorganized the art tub was. I had her stand on a chair and she began her lecture, "I just wanted everyone to know that the tub is very messy. There are markers without any tops and paper everywhere! It's not fair to have it so messy. So I think we should work really hard to keep it nice and neat." She cracks me up! She had a reward system at home, and one of her rewards was that she got to invite someone over for dinner...she invited me! As a kindergartner, she invited her teacher over and cooked me wonderful chicken nuggets and a milkshake for dessert. I got to know her family really well, and eventually I had her brother, Andy, last year. Well, this past weekend the family moved to Wyoming. I was so sad to see them go! Katie and her mom came by to hang out a bit and say good-bye and I took this picture of Katie and Brooks:

You've never seen a 9 1/2 year-old so good with a little baby. Brooks and I miss you already, Pumpkin!