I love looking back through the years
and seeing what interested you
and what made you tick.
The funny thing is, you and your
sister don't really change much over time.
The personalities you each had as tiny little babies
are still the personalities you have today.
You are really just a more grown up version
of itty bitty Lexi.
Here's a snapshot of you...at age eight.
smart, confident, silly, sporty, strong willed, loud and social.
You were recently accepted into your school's
Gifted and Talented program.
Your Quest class meets every Monday
for about an hour or so.
We are really proud of you
and how much pride you take in your performance
and your schoolwork!
You have a wonderful class this year for 2nd grade...
you really like your teacher and your classmates.
The girls, the boys, Miss Stumphauzer...
it's just a great group all around.
can almost always be found with a book in your hand.
You read on the bus ride home from school,
on the way to skating,
whenever you have a few spare minutes
and at bedtime.
You're even in a sweet little book club
with several of the kids from your grade.
It meets one Sunday each month,
and you guys totally rock it.
"One Town, One Book" program,
and this year's selection is "Stuart Little".
You still love Junie B. Jones, My Weird School
and the Magic Treehouse series.
But, now, you also love Diary of a Wimpy Kid,
the Puppy Place books, the Bluebonnet recipient books,
Harry Potter and anything by Beverly Clearly
and Judy Blume.
We read "Little Women" and "The Secret Garden" together -
I loved every minute, and so did you.
In this regard, you are so much like your mama.
In fact, in nearly every regard,
you are so much like your mama!
You are super creative
and love tackling a brand new lego set.
Your current favorite is the American Girl lego houses.
You love setting up for a tea party and a picnic.
You could spend hours playing with your new Magnatiles
and can whip up a castle, or a train, or a house in 5 minutes flat.
You are a budding artist (in our opinion),
and you can always be found coloring and painting.
You take an art class locally with a good buddy,
and one of your projects was displayed at the town library.
You continue to say you want to be an artist
and an Olympic skater when you grow up.
and make each of them so much fun.
You can be wild and crazy,
and this behavior gets you into trouble.
You like being in charge,
and you have a bossy streak
that we are constantly working on.
On the flip side, you can be independent,
mature and self sufficient well beyond your years.
You get yourself dressed and ready for school,
you even sometimes make breakfast for
yourself and Ryleigh.
You take care of your homework without
any prompting and always know when a project
or assignment is due
and make sure to pack it in your folder.
You are highly motivated by sweets
and will do just about anything if you
are promised dessert.
You are so good, so natural with little children.
You are really helpful whenever you see your youngest
cousin, and you are like a little Mother's Helper
to our neighbors. You dote on the toddlers,
shadow them to keep them safe and play with them.
One of these days, you'll make a terrific babysitter.
You are also great with dogs,
largely because you are dog obsessed.
You girls keep asking your dad for a goldendoodle,
so frequently in fact, that I think one day he may cave.
In the meantime, you happily walk several of
the dogs in our neighborhood just for fun.
Basketball, softball, tennis, jump roping, and
especially figure skating are your very favorites.
You love playing soccer at recess,
and you can climb a rope, do the monkey bars backwards
and perform a strict pull up without breaking a sweat.
We just love cheering for you and your teammates
during your games,
and the time you and daddy spend together
driving to and from skating
and practicing together are some of his very favorite
moments of every week.
He still holds out hope that maybe someday
you'll give hockey a try...but I think it's a long shot.
You still love having play dates,
impromptu meet ups with the neighbors
and sleep overs.
Your current BFFs are Ava, Emory, Cate,
Maddie and Peyton.
You are always drawing them a picture,
giving them a special shopkin,
taping photos of them to your bulletin board
and working on memory boxes together.
sometimes she is your very best friend.
In those moments,
you girls have dance parties together,
love listening to songs on Alexa together,
play barbies and shopkins for hours,
create artwork and snuggle on the couch.
In other moments,
she totally exasperates you.
You like a little space and lots of order,
and Ryleigh doesn't believe in personal space
and can cause a spill or a mess
on command it seems.
It also upsets you that your friends invite
her to join in during every single play date.
"These are MY friends, mom!"
You are fiercely loyal to and protective of her,
though, and the older she gets,
the more awesome your bond gets.
spending time outdoors, hosting lemonade
stands and creating.
You love reading and cooking with your Nanny,
playing Checkers and Zombie with Grandpa Mike
and listening to his one-of-a-kind bedtime stories.
You love gardening and making raisin bread with
your Grandpa Tom.
Gone are the days of Disney Princesses for you.
Instead, you are currently crazy for dance parties -
you could listen to Megan Trainor and Taylor Swift
all day long.
You are your friends hope to perform
"Call Me Maybe" during the school talent show.
You have also become obsessed with roller blading
ever since Santa put them under our tree.
Daddy even got a pair so he can join you blading
around the neighborhood, at Durham and
at North Park. You are fast and quite a risk taker.
I often cover my eyes,
although I remember vividly back to when I was the
risk taking and thrill seeking little girl.
You love watching the Nature Channel lately -
shows about wild cats and elephants are your favorites.
I recently put on Troop Beverly Hills for you girls,
and you absolutely loved it.
Trolls is also a fave in our house these days.
Can't wait to see how you continue
to grow and change, my dear.
We love you so very much, Lexi.
Eight is certainly great!
