So, on her actual birthday, she had a fun mini party with friends Olivia, Vera, and Enzo coming over from 11-3. They did some string art, decorated aprons, decorated and ate cupcakes, played inside and outside, ate tacos for lunch, and did a little dancing and watched some of Leap.
Then, the 4 of us went to the Olive Garden, her new favorite restaurant, for dinner.
So, that was Wednesday. Saturday, she, Anna, and Bob went to Concord for modified Uncle Camping due to the rain. They had a blast camping in the garage at the Summer house! Sunday after church, everyone else came over and we had a fun pizza party lunch, cupcakes for her, Chris, Cooper, and Maria's birthdays, and lots of playing outside after the rain stopped. We also had mini trick or treating, and Finley got to meet Olive for lots of puppy playtime!
Her last birthday celebration was this past Sunday, when we got to see Grandma and Grandpa F. for lunch and celebrate Erin's and Grandma's birthdays! So much fun!
So, Erin is now 11. She will have her checkup in December, so we'll have to wait for that update. She is really wonderful. She continues to love playing school, but has also branched out to include other interests as well. She recently purchased a "kidney table" from neighbor friend Ella and loves having her class sit there work on things. This year, she is Ms. Megan the ELA teacher (shhh, don't tell her that she is practicing reading while she plays!).
Ballet is also still one of her favorite things. She has said that she always feels happier after going to ballet class. She is planning to audition in January for a summer intensive camp in Raleigh, which will be a new 2-week experience of full-day camps for her. She also wants to try out for a ballet-based dance theater performance in January-March at her dance school. Ballet is not for everyone, but Erin really seems to enjoy the quiet gracefulness of it, and she is always working to improve her positions and moves.
This year is her 4th year studying piano with the wonderful Ms. Margaret. The lesson book (2B) she has now has gotten more difficult, but she keeps at it and doesn't get too frustrated. She is considering participating in a regional piano event in March where she would memorize 2 pieces and perform them for judges. Though that may conflict with the ballet thing; we will see what happens.
Erin has several good friends at school and has really become more confident with talking to other kids and raising her hand in class. She has such a great personality - mostly serious, but also very silly at times. She always tries her best and is so very disciplined about her work. She is extremely faithful to her friends and family and is still super serious about her Catholic faith, as well. This year, she started serving at Mass as an altar server, and she loves it! In true Erin fashion, she has taken to making sure she can see the servers when she isn't "on duty" and watches to make sure they do everything right.
She continues to be our human calendar and calculator, which really comes in handy a lot! She has become such a great helper and also is so much more independent this year. She has become really great at showing empathy and noticing when someone might need help or if something isn't right...this excludes the dog, though...she and Finley are not close...but she does enjoy walking him with me, and she will offer to feed him or put him in his crate.
Erin has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several years. It really blows my mind to think about how far she has come and what all she has accomplished. She is truly amazing, and she's done it all on her own without us pushing her. She makes us proud every day, and we can't wait to see what the next year brings her!
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