Anna is 8!

Our beautiful, wonderful, Anna turned 8 on May 18th!  True to Anna fashion, her birthday was an extended event.  The celebrations began on April 22nd, when she celebrated her First Communion and birthday along with Logan's birthday at our family party.  Then, she had a special day on the 18th with Mommy and Daddy coming to help with her class during lunch and recess, and then we had a fun birthday dinner out at Red Robin.  Anna had her friend Sarah come sleep over on Saturday the 19th and they had a great rainy day with some pottery painting, lots of playing, pizza dinner, ice cream sandwich cake, and a movie!  I think she had a great birthday season.

So, what's new with Anna?  If I had to describe her in one word, it would be delightful.  She is usually happy, is extremely sweet and caring, and is just a ball of fun.  If there is a party, she will be there.  If someone is upset, she will hug them.  She loves being with people and interacting with them.  She is very sensitive and emotional, which can sometimes be difficult for her, but it is also endearing.

She and Erin are so very different in so many ways, which definitely keeps us on our toes.  In school, she does great in reading and in any subject where reading is involved (social studies, science, religion, etc.).  Math is not her favorite, but she did make some progress in that department last year.  It will be interesting to see how third grade goes when they learn cursive and the teachers are very particular about handwriting (you can read between the lines there).

Her hobbies lately include tennis lessons, which she took for most of the past year, as well as piano.  She is switching from piano to voice next year and is excited to learn how to sing.  Maybe she can teach me!  She is also going to try a modern dance class this summer and may continue with that next year.  We will see if she ends up choosing tennis or dance.  As far as at home, she LOVES Legos right now.  Ansley gave her a big bin of her old Legos which Anna is really enjoying - both recreating the sets and making her own creations.  She also still loves to be crafty and artistic, as well as has gotten into video games this year.  Her favorite game is Roblox because her friends from school play it too.  She is also a big reader and often can be found with her nose in a book.  She and I love to sit together and read side by side.

Anna has loads of friends of all ages everywhere she goes.  This phrase was used at her parent-teacher conference - "there is not enough Anna to go around" -  describing her being literally pulled in different directions at recess.  She plays with all ages, boys and girls, and will pretty much play any kind of game (though she did tend to avoid the after-school football games on the playground this year, which did look a little dangerous).

She had her checkup last week and weighed in at over 80 pounds (95th percentile) and was 54" tall (94th percentile).  She is still our big girl!  She checked out great and got a little nutrition pep talk.  She, like her mom, is a snacker and loves the sweets.  We can both work on that.

We are so very proud of our Anna.  She is such a great sister to Erin (most of the time) and they get along really well.  We love this sweet girl so much and can't wait to watch her continue to grow and shine!