Our baby is a teenager! How scary is that?! Though anyone who knows Anna knows that she has been in training to be a teenager for years...not in a bad way, but more like she is wise beyond her years and mastered the art of communicating and building relationships well before most people do. We love her so much; she is easy to love and she is full of love that she gives to those around her!
Anna's birthday is being celebrated in an extended fashion; she started on her actual birthday, followed by a party with friends on June 2nd, and then finishing up with a mini celebration with family on June 5th. You won't hear any complaints from her about drawing it out! On her actual birthday, she had a Dunkin Donuts breakfast followed by presents from us and the California cousins, then went to school where she was loved on by her friends. After school, a gift card magically showed up in her email while we were literally on the way to go shopping. How does Grandma F. have such perfect timing?! She was so excited! We then had a Chick Fila dinner and lemon cupcakes at home between homework, Erin's dance class, and cat sitting. She had made the cupcakes herself the day before.
What's new with Anna this year? She played volleyball and soccer again, as well as winter futsal at the Y. She loves both sports, especially the teamwork aspect (read: social). She tried playing offense this year in soccer and enjoyed the faster pace and action on that end of the field.
She continues to do well in school, despite the middle school slump and the fact that school is less fun and more work now than it was when she was younger. Her favorite subject this year was probably ELA; her teacher complimented her on her writing on several occasions. She also seemed to enjoy social studies; this year, she learned about world history. For electives, she took Latin Dance the first quarter, a PE elective for the second quarter, and coding/computer programming for both the third and fourth quarters. She really enjoyed coding and might take more of that in high school. She was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society this spring. Other activities that she enjoys include: altar serving at church, doing service projects, and earning money by pet sitting and babysitting. She's got one regular babysitting client (a family with 5 and 2 year old boys) and several pet sitting clients in our neighborhood. She also enjoys fashion, hair, makeup, and, recently notable, body spray.
Above all, I would say that Anna continues to thrive on being social. She loves people and has many friends. Her phone never stops buzzing until her screen time is cut off every night. She has navigated the social minefield that is 7th grade fairly gracefully this year, and was instrumental in making peace amongst her friends on multiple occasions. She would tell stories about fights and drama amongst her friends that were so complicated and made my head spin. However, she doesn't bat an eye, keeps all the details straight, weighs the situation from all possible angles, and manages to help her friends make amends. She has become quite an effective peacemaker, and that is a rare and wonderful quality.
She loves to entertain and be entertained, and is always up for a good time. She is a great daughter, a supportive sister, and a wonderful friend. We are very proud of her for all that she does, but most of all, we are proud of her for always being kind and caring. She is fantastic!
No comments:
Post a Comment