Double Digits for Anya!!!

And just like that I no longer have little people in my house.  Today, Anya turns 10.  Double digits!!!!   Today though I want to celebrate this milestone of Anya’s by sharing 10 things that I absolutely admire, adore and love about my youngest daughter.

1.     Her heart.  She literally has a heart of gold.  I know I am her mom, but she truly is  aware of other people feelings and is always striving to be a helper, a healer, and a good friend.  

2.     Adventurous.  She is willing to take risks even when they are scary, or to appease us.  From trying new activities such as camp, switching schools, trying wakeboarding/kneeboarding/water skiing, and even going on scary rides at DisneyWorld just to make the rest of the family happy. 

See her in the front row, holding on for dear life.  Hahahahaha.

3.     Her hugs fill my bucket.  She knows innately when someone needs a good.  When she hugs, she hugs tight.  She hugs so that she can transfer her love onto to you.

4.     She is SOOOO creative.  You guys this kid is an inventor.  My favorite of her inventions was the bike helmet with a built-in bug spray.  She has wild, innovative and unique ideas and she throws herself into them and makes them come to life.  Though this creativity does get her into trouble, and results in  many messes around the house, I also fully admire it.

5.     Extrovert.  Yep.  I see so much of myself in her.  Full of life.  Chatty.  Wants to be friends with everyone, not for popularity, but she truly wants to know them.  Doesn’t want to miss anything.  She just wants to soak it all up.

Besties!

6.     Teacher in training.  She is sooo good with the little ones that come to our home. On more  than once occasion  her teachers over the years have mentioned how she can gently work alongside peers having trouble.  I can see her making an excellent caregiver whether it be in the role of a mom, a teacher, or  someone who cares about the elderly.

Bedtime songs and stories for her little cousin.

7.     Cultural.  Over the years she has become more and more interested in learning about not only my cultural back ground, and that of her grandparents, but also of Saskatchewan cultural history.  She truly seems to honor and respect this learning.

8.     Performer.  The creative side once again comes to life as she loves to preform for an audience and makes up dances, silly skits, challenges for the family, pulls pranks around the house, whatever will make you enjoy yourself.  She absolutely would love to be a YouTuber, hahahaha.

9.     Cooking/baking is quickly becoming a passion.  From dance, to guitar, science experiments to the kitchen.  She loves trying out new recipes and cooking for the family. Her favorite food is sushi, though she doesn't know how to make it YET.

10. Love Language =  Acts of Service & Physical.  Anya really loves to give hugs, says I Love You in a meaningful way.  She also communicates her love by willingly putting dishes always, picking up the dog poop in the backyard, makes little gifts for friends, helps us tidy up, cooks for us, etc..  She does it all because she wants to communicate to us, her grandparents, her friends, and people in the community, that she cares.  She is the first to give up a new birthday gift to donate to the school toy drive, or to approach us about helping the homeless in the community, or raising money for the polar bears.  

Raised $50 for the Polar Bears after learning they were endangered.

     She will always be my little girl.  You guys, I am so not ready for her to grow up.  It’s likeshe knows I am struggling so she gets me to lay in her bed occasionally, or she will sneakin for a cuddle on the couch or in our bed.  Gone are the days of her coming to our bed,which she did for years and years and years.  Lately I have become much more aware thateverything might be "the last time".  The last time she sleeps in our bed.  The last time shefully believes.  The last time she plays with her dolls, etc.  So today I am capturing asnippet of our life with her at this age so I will have it to look back on and hopefully it'llhelp me conjure up these memories of her for years to come.  To my littlest girl, 

I love you for ever.

I like you for always.

As long as I am living, 

my baby you'll be. 

         - Robert Munch

Love, Mama

Anya is 9: Reflecting on the Past Year

Dear Anya,  

How did you get to be 9 so quickly?  Each and every year this exact thought runs through my mind and I get sad that you are growing up so quickly, yet I am immensely proud of who you are becoming with each passing day, month, year.  Here are some of the tidbits, highlights and accomplishments from this past year. 

 

Adjectives:

Kind.  Energetic.  Lively.  Silly.  Witty.  Gentle.  Loving. Brave.  Dramatic.  Creative.  Goofy. 

Loves: 

Dance.  Sing. Acting. Art.  Oreo.  Lego.

 

BFF: 

Myalle

 

Birthday Party Theme: 

Movie Theater party was a HUGE success with 14 children!

 

Sports/Activities: 

Skating is still your number one.   

You tried soccer last spring and we you were really good at it.  We’ve love to see you pursue this a little more. 

You started dance, ballet & jazz, but you’ve quickly realized that its not for you. 

You successfully got up on the wakeboard when you were 8.5 years old and blew us away. 

 

Reading: 

You’ve ventured into the chapter book world but you still haven’t found any one series that you just love to read.  You try whatever is in front of you.  I think your favorites are still picture books or when we read to you.  

 

 

Watching: 

There are lots of shows you are watching these days such as Free Rein, Fuller Huse , reruns of Jessie, and I really like when you introduced me to Nailed It (cooking show). 

 

Playing: 

Lego, dolls, crafts, board games (Harry Potter Clue). 

Traveling & Firsts: 

You went on two trips this year without mama and tata. 

 You took your first plane ride alone, just you and your sister to Victoria, BC.  You spent five days with your aunt Tiki, uncle Sasa, and cousin Alen .  Mama and tata drove out and then we traveled back through BC, Alberta and home to Saskatchewan.  You got to hold an kangaroo, visit the Enchanted Forest, went on a 20km  bike ride on the old Kettle Valley railway in Myra Canyon Park, visited the Calgary zoo and more. 

You also traveled with your grandparents to Washington, DC for a family wedding!!!  You didn’t enjoy all of the sight-seeing activities but you did enjoy swimming in the hotel pool, going out to dinner and being with family.  Unfortunately you got sick the night of the wedding.  

What else is New? 

A new school for you this year.    At first you were missed  your old school, teachers and most of all friends.  But you've adjusted and made some great  friends that live right in our neigborhood.  

 

Also new this year, was Oreo!  It really was you that pushed us to welcome a new puppy into our home.  You two are a perfect match. 

Something Scary: 

You had your tonsils and adenoids removed.  You were extremely anxious prior to the surgery but you put on a brave face.  You were a trooper throughout the recovery phase though it bothered you, it gave you excruciating pain at times, and you had to miss a couple of weeks of school.  You also had a complication that landed you back in the ER.  Let’s just say that the trip to the ER was VERY dramatic and has lent itself to many stories to be told and retold for years to come.  The ENT even thought you have a bright future in acting.   

 

I wonder what this year has in store for you.  I know it's going to be an adventure, as you always keep up us on our toes.  I love you to the moon and back.  

xoxo, Mama

Happy Birthday Anya: Saying Goodbye to 7 and Welcoming 8

Baby girl turns 8 years old today.  It's always a bittersweet feeling for me and this year is no exception.  I am not going to get all mushy and sad again, so I am going to give you 8 fun facts about Anya as she turns 8.  Each year I sit back and reminiscence about the year that has flown by and it's one of my favorite reflective traditions.  So here we go.  

1.  Daredevil or Scaredy Cat?
This is a tough one and we are  still trying to figure her out.  For whatever reason Anya is the spontaneous one when it comes to being out on the lake.  She takes risks and seems to thrive on the adrenaline of going fast behind the boat.  She also seems to have no fear of being in the lake and even ventured out several times on the paddle board into openness without the slightest worry in the world (we on the other hand were not as sure).  That all being said, she is absolutely terrified and has been since the age of 3 of going on rides.  In Disney World she went of the scary rides but only because it was expected and it wasn't without total and utter horror.  In fact she doesn't really want to go back for fear of having to experience the rides again but otherwise loves Disney.  

She is absolutely terrified and her face expression (front left) is priceless.

2.  Miss Smarty Pants
The kid is quick and loves to read, converse and explore all kinds of topics and concepts.  She has an extensive vocabulary and tries out new words, not always successfully, but she loves to play with words.  She enjoys reading and has finished 11 chapter books since October Fairy Ones and Princess Posey.   She loves learning and comes home on a daily basis full of information from school.  The one subject she doesn't feel confident with is math.  We will make this a priority in 2018 so that we help her build up her confidence.

3.  Social Butterfly
She hugs everyone.  She loves everyone.  She chats with everyone.  She is her mother.  Seriously the kid loves and feeds off of peoples affection for her.  She is a crowd pleaser.  Teachers pet.  She loves to be loved and craves the approval of others. 

4.  And then SNAP
Yep, gets that from me too.  She is happy, happy, happy until she is not.  Being an adult I tend to be able to control it a bit more than she can.  At school it's always positive but at home when it's not her way it's the HIGHWAY baby.  Doors are slammed.  Eyes glare.  Feet stomp.  The good news is that when she is in a mood, generally if she is left alone in her room, she calms herself down and plays with her stuffies or draws until he emotions are balanced once again.  She  reemerges feeling totally happy once again.

5.  Chef Anya
Anya has taken up a love of cooking in particular this year.   She has always enjoyed cooking with me but this year has really taken it to the next level.  She is using Cooking by Rainbow cook book and pretty much can follow a recipe step-by-step by herself.  She only really needs me to help with some of the chopping that requires an adult. 

 

6.  Skating
Skating continues to be her passion.  For her birthday this year she was gifted a pair of skates from my sister and parents.  We have now graduated from regular skates that you can just buy at the local Canadian Tire or Walmart into more specialized Figure Skates, which means more $$, but also allows her to develop her skills in figure skating by providing her with more support in the boot and a larger toe pick for jumps and a blade that is built for clearer edges.  We are all learning together about the art of picking out the 'right' skates. 

7.  Harry Potter vs. Descendants.  This is a toss up in Anya's world.  I would say Harry Potter ruled the majority of her 7th year of life starting off with our favorite birthday party of all time, Harry Potter theme read about it here.  The highlight of our Disney World trip was visiting the Harry Potter world at Universal Studios, read about it here.  Everything about this past year has been Harry Potter, backpack, reading books, games, puzzles, etc.  With the release of Descendants 2 she has now turned towards being obsessed with Mal and is getting a new bedroom Descendants spread and bedroom decor from Santa.

8.  Generosity.
Anya is extremely generous with her love and with her stuff.  She is not only willing to give away her toys, clothing and share her goodies, mostly chocolate, but she is also willing to part with her money in order to buy something for someone.  She is constantly creating cards, pictures, letters and gifts to share with friends and family.  She is extremely conscientious of making everyone feel equally loved and appreciated.  People were commenting at both birthdays how Anya ensures that everyone's gift is given extreme praise and welcomes them with equal enthusiasm.  As parents we are extremely proud of her.  

Anya celebrated her friends birthday and family birthdays already.  She is so very loved by us all.  Today we will take her out for a special dinner and have a quite evening just the four of us.  We can't wait to see what the next year brings us.  We love you to the moon and back.