You've come a long way, kiddo!

This morning I went to a party at Andy's school to celebrate the last day of class. We sat on the floor, nibbling M&M cookies and sipping lemonade, while Miss Terry, who has the most soothing story voice I've ever heard, read us a book about spitting watermelon seeds all over town. After that, all the kids stood up to sing us a selection of their favorite songs of the year...well, all the kids except for Andy, who wanted no part in performing for a huge group of camera-wielding moms jocking for position and whisper-screaming "Ryan, look at me!", "Julianna, smile!".

Nope, he preferred to stay seated right where he was, on the edge of the crowd, studying his lei and resolutely refusing Miss Laurey's gentle attempts to get him to join the group.

If you know what an overachiever I was in school, you might think this disappointed and embarrassed me, having the only kid in a class of 16 who refused to participate in the end of the year show. But to be honest, I sat there feeling so ridiculously proud of that kid.

This is a kid who started out the year reluctant to get even the tiniest bit of paint on his fingers, who today brought home a fingerpainted sun to hang on the fridge next to dozen of other messy works of art he willingly created.

This is a kid who just 9 months ago flat-out refused to let any stranger get within 5feet of him, who today scooted up close to both his teachers for good-bye hugs and pictures.

This is a kid who at the beginning of the school year would cry the moment we got in the car to go to school, who today released his death grip on my hand and quietly said "Bye Mom, see you after school" when it was time for class to start (even if he still made sad, little puppy-dog eyes as I was leaving).

This is a kid who has far exceeded my expectations. Even if he had stood up and belted out a solo of that sleeping fish song, I couldn't have been prouder.