TEN!

 Our little Peanut has hit double digits! 

The other day she said, "Ten is a big birthday! When you turn ten you unlock pierced ears and sleepovers!" Haha! Unfortunately for her none of her friends' parents are ready to "unlock" sleepovers so we weren't able to have one for her birthday, but we still had a fun party! Pictures from that later.

 Peanut is enjoying her status as the middle child. Whenever we do something fun with the big girls only she is included and same for when we do events geared towards the little girls. She is in that sweet spot and gets to participate in all the fun. This is especially evident at places like theme parks where she is tall enough to ride all the big rides but still short enough to go on all the little rides and playlands.

Peanut did a great job on her schoolwork this year. She is working on getting more and more independent. One more year of elementary and then the really hard work begins! I requested our favorite 5th great teacher Mrs. S and I'm really hoping she gets her! Mrs. S does a great job preparing them for the rigors of middle school.

Peanut did an amazing job, as usual, in AWANA this year and finished her book with flying colors! She loves going and hanging out with her friends. She is great at memorizing verses, as evidenced with her VBS work.

It was so fun to watch Peanut get back to dance this past year! She did a beautiful job and we love watching her! All three big girls are leaning towards not doing dance this year which is super sad to me. :'( We were just so spoiled by Miss A and Miss L that it was hard to go to a new school where they do things so much differently. The main issue for the girls was that the dance season lasted 9 months and they only learned one routine all year in only one style of dance as opposed to our previous dance school where it was only a 6 month season and they learned four routines in four different dance styles so I can definitely see how things would feel a little boring.

Piano is Peanut's other activity and she is excelling at it! She plays so well and is a joy to listen to. She practices often and has some really fun songs that we like to hear. It is such a blessing that Noni is able to give them weekly lessons and we can see their skills improving before our eyes!

Peanut is still our animal lover! She is always on the lookout for animals and makes friends with them wherever we go. She is also our nature girl and loves to be outside. She really wanted a new kitten for her birthday, but we are busy enough with the pets we currently have. :P 

She is really into crafting right now and that's what she chose for her birthday party theme. She is always making things out of found objects, trying new art techniques she learns online, and also just creating out of her own thoughts. She is getting to be quite the talented artist!

Here is her birthday interview:

1. Favorite color: black

2. Favorite toy: Lego Dots

3. Favorite fruit: blueberries

4. Favorite TV show: Mysterious Benedict Society

5. Favorite lunch: ham sandwiches

6. Favorite outfit: black dress

7. Favorite game: Ticket To Ride

8. Favorite snack: chips

9. Favorite animal: hoses and elephants

10. Favorite song: Nothing But the Blood

11. Favorite book: Imagination Station

12. Your best friend: S, B, M, L, and Jesus!

13. Favorite Cereal: Cap'n Crunch, Resese Puffs, Lucky Charms,

14. Favorite thing to do outside: climb trees

15. Favorite drink: grape juice

16. Favorite holiday: Christmas

17. Favorite breakfast: Pancake cereal

18. What do you like to take to bed: Te blanket and my Tes

19. What do you want to be when you grow up: a gemologist
 20. What do you want for your birthday dinner? hamburgers

 

Dear Peanut, 

Happy Birthday sweet girl! I can't believe you are already ten years old! It seems like just the other day you were our little Peanut, so tiny and wrapped up. You have grown into such a beautiful little lady and it is so fun watching you. You have brought joy to our family for ten wonderful years! 

I love your appreciation for God's creation. You make me "stop and smell the roses" just by watching your natural curiosity and interest in the the world around you. You find joy in the pattern of a rock, a butterfly flitting by, the seeds you plant, and so much more. 

I love watching you play sweetly with the little ones. You are a wonderful big sister...most of the time. ;) I know you get frustrated with them sometimes, but you love them dearly and always have big ideas of something fun to do. You also keep up great with your big sisters and have matured a lot in the last year. You are blossoming into a young lady before our very eyes.

I pray that as you grow you will continue to seek God. I love watching you memorize scripture, play the piano for Him, and seeing your kindness to friends and other kids at church and AWANA. You do a great job helping the little ones during children's church and can be very responsible when called upon.

We love you so much sweet girl. We can't even express how much. We are so very thankful for you. You are a bright and shining light in our lives and I pray that you never lose your joy and curiosity for life! It has been so fun watching you grow and change over the past year and I can't wait to see what this new year brings! Love you so much! 

Love, Mommy