Julia was the only one in her class to complete all of her punch cards, which are awarded and worked through by doing good things in class like behaving, being a good listener, being helpful (including helping other students if you had already finished your work) and other schoolwork related tasks. If there is such a thing as a teacher's assistant and student, Julia probably came pretty close.
She is definitely out of her shell and is completely independent now. She practically reads a small kid's book a night...otherwise, just wants to play with Jonathan or her other friends. Although she is still taking piano lessons, she has yet to show much interest in anything athletic or activity-based. She seems to really enjoy learning and spending time with others.
Below are some pictures before heading to the last day. Her neighborhood friend Hope and her teacher, Mrs. Bratton, are also pictured. When I came home from work at the end of the day and saw Julia, the tears instantly began to flow. She walked over to me and buried her face in my chest crying and saying how much she was going to miss Mrs. Bratton. You see, she's moving after the school year and Julia "won't ever get to see her again". I think she was a little tired and will quickly forget, but it was very sweet to see the impact her teacher made on her.
