Anna is definitely seven going on seventeen these days! She can be sweet and thoughtful one moment and quite sassy the next. Here we go! We are already getting glimpses into the teenage years!
She is loving first grade and is doing a fantastic job. She still reads like crazy and is branching out from the safety net of Little House on the Prairie and The Magic Treehouse series books, which she has read over and over and over. Will and I have been interested in seeing how her teachers handle her advanced reading. This year, they started guiding reading groups and she actually goes up to a second grade class for her group. We are glad she is getting what she needs and is being challenged in that way. They also started the Book It! reading program and she had her 20 books read for the month on about day 10.;) Will and I couldn't believe they were still doing this same program through Pizza Hut like we did in elementary school 30-some years ago!
I have also been impressed that Anna seems to be friends with everyone and hasn't really clung to a "best friend". A different friend has sat with us each time we've gone to eat lunch with her. On the class field trip, she was fine hanging out with whoever was around. She still gets together with her two friends, Ellen and Audrey, from preschool and they have sleepovers together. It's nice because they go to different schools but still see each other at soccer and church. And we are super comfortable with their parents and families so it makes it each much easier to send her off. I know the BFF days are coming but I'm glad we are not having to deal with that drama at present.
Anna has been blessed with (and a little cursed by) her parents' perfectionistic and slightly OCD personalities. Everything in her room is set up just like she wants it and, although she does play with her stuff, it remains in relatively the same orderly fashion. She panics (in all actuality, freaks out) when anything in her room is disturbed or even if she has to move things so her room can be vacuumed. This is a constant battle when you have a 3-year-old brother! We have even had discussions around friend play-dates because she wants friends to come over but doesn't want them to mess up her stuff. Will and I definitely understand what she's feeling, but we have to teach her that things can't always be just the way we want them in life, unfortunately. This is an ongoing battle.
She has become best buds with the two boys next door, Mason and Stabler, and lives for after school when she can quickly finish her homework and go out and play. I love that they will spend hours outside riding bikes, playing on the swing set, and coming up with new games to play and things to do. The boys are home schooled, so it has been interesting to hear them talk about school to each other and to get Anna's views on home schooling later.
Physically, she has grown so much this past year! She grew 3.5 inches since turning six and gained a whopping 2 pounds.;) She made it to the 4 foot mark and could ride almost every ride at the fair! She definitely needs size 7 clothing for the length but even her leggings are a little bit baggy on her. She decided to grow her bangs out over the summer and they are almost down to her chin now. Mommy is glad they are finally long enough to tuck behind ears, but she prefers a headband instead. My rule is that as long as we can see that beautiful face of hers, it doesn't matter how it's pulled back!
Despite wanting to be so independent and grown up, Anna is so very sensitive about some things. We have discovered that she internalizes a lot of things that show up as questions or comments or concerns much later down the road. The miscarriage that occurred last summer really got to her and in ways that have not been evident until recently. Before my sister had Baby Cam in August, Anna made some comment about "if Baby Cam dies…". I was initially appalled that she would say something like that but after thinking about it, I realized that in her world, babies do die sometimes. She has been super skeptical about Baby Drew the entire pregnancy and I don't think will completely believe he's coming until she holds him in her arms. And I completely understand why she feels that way! I am excited to see the amazing big sister that she is going to be to these little brothers, even though she's not super excited about being the only girl out of the three. We are counting on her to be an excellent helper in the coming months and I think she will embrace that role once she realizes Drew is really here!
It has been so amazing to watch her grow and mature these last few years. We know there will be struggles and battles to overcome, but we are so very proud of the person Anna is becoming. We are looking forward to encouraging her and discovering more about the amazing person God made her to be as she grows older. We don't know what we would do without you and love you so much, sweet girl!!
