Rita

Although it took her five days and a pink cowgirl hat to quit crying, there was never a kid that loved kindergarten more than this kid right here. She would come home and say, "Mrs. Kliewer said this..." and "Mrs. Kliewer said that..." She really came a long way as she was so attached to her momma, it was painful for her to branch out.

This year, she is in Mr. Lenahan's 1st grade class and has really bloomed! She loves to read, jumping rope is her favorite sport, and she has an impressive collection of mini food erasers!

When she was born, she would cry and cry and cry. I would pack her up in the car, turn the radio up, and drive to downtown Chicago. We would make patterns throughout the city streets, weaving in and out of the skyscrapers. Next, we would drive by the frigid Lake Michigan, which looked like a black abyss that late into the winter night. I remember thinking that this was going to be a long row to hoe taking care of this little one. You'd never know how much she truly is a ray of sunshine in our home today.