Drew's 11th Year!

I'm going to get these yearly updates finished in January, yay! Last but certainly not least is our baby with the first birthday of the year. Our small but mighty girl is 11, and she just keeps getting better and better.

Stats:

Height: 54.5" {21.8%}

Weight: 63.8 pounds {8%}

BMI: 15.1 {12%}

Clothes size: 6/S and 7-8/M

Shoe size: 4 or 4.5

Teeth lost: 1

This girl continues to be the sweetest of our children. She has the purest heart and is always the biggest helper. She keeps her room clean {most of the time}, will help with any chore, loves to help with cooking, just a big help to me! I have to remember not to take advantage of her kind nature since her brother and sister complain quite a bit more about pitching in!

She is also very silly! She has her 'weird' moments where she is being extremely goofy and loves to say silly/outrageous things for a laugh. She's showing signs of growing up and maturing but also has some little girl in her still, which I love!

Drew LOVES basketball! She played in a summer league and really thrived - we didn't realize she was so competitive and fierce. She's currently in her 2nd season and truly loves it. She is also still enjoying Girl Scouts and takes piano lessons {begrudgingly}.

She has really developed a love of baking and is very artistic overall. She loves drawing and painting, writing stories and music, and she loves photography - she's talented in ways I am definitely not.

Drew is thriving at her new school, but it took some time to settle in. She definitely has anxiety in new situations, but I think we've managed through the worst of it. She has excellent grades, has made new friends {but still has her bestie, Zara}, has some great teachers, overall it's been a great transition, and I think she's going to be very successful here.

Clothes have historically been such a challenge with Drew, but we found a new store this year, Tilly's, and it has been a game changer. It reminds me of a '90s Pac Sun, and we've had a lot of success finding clothes she likes there. We used to end shopping trips with one of us in tears, and now we leave Tilly's every time with a few purchases, yay!

She is a great eater still - lots of fruits and vegetables - and has gotten more adventurous in the last year in trying new things. She's started to be able to handle a little bit of spice which is fun! Her favorite snack is seaweed!

Electronics aren't an obsession for her like Trent and Paige, but she definitely has some apps she enjoys - she loves the editing apps, like Cap Cut, to make little videos. She loves to FaceTime her friends and play games. I'm really enjoying watching movies with her - we are making good pace through some of my favorites from growing up!

Drew loves her family something fierce. She loves to spend times with her grandparents and cousins - she is always down for a sleepover with family. She and Blair have a super close bond, and I love that so much for them.

She has such a nurturing heart. She LOVES animals {wants a dog so bad she can't stand it} and loves babies. I fully see a career in babysitting for this girl when she's a little older. She is just a nurturer!

This girl is beyond loved and it is such a joy to be her mother! I can't wait to see what her 12th year brings!!

Paige - Heavenly Seven

I finally had Paige and Drew's well checks last week, so we are on the home stretch of ALLLL the updates needed. {grin}

Height: 46.5 inches {24%}

Weight: 45 pounds {21.4%}

BMI: 14.6 {29%}

Clothes size: XS or S

Shoe size: 13/13.5

Teeth lost: 1 {for a total of 8}

When I think about our caboose and the year she had a lot has stayed the same - she is still our funny, joyful, helpful, happy girl - but some things have changed for sure - her style, new school, new activities. There has been a lot!

Paige changed schools in November, and she still loves school and loves her new classroom and teacher. Her first progress report at her new school was a GLOWING review. She is exceeding expectations left and right and is doing great socially too. 

This girl makes friends wherever she goes. She has an infectious personality - she is joy personified and people radiate to her. I can't wait to see what she chooses to do with all this charisma, ha.

One big change this year has been her sense of style. She went from a girly girl wearing dresses non-stop to morphing into a mini-Drew with athletic pants and crop tops being her style of choice. It has also led to A LOT of meltdowns over clothes, and I'm seriously about to implement a uniform for this child. Looking back at Drew's 7 year update, and she hit the style switch at the same time - between 6 and 7, very interesting!

Paige is still involved in Girl Scouts and is loving it! She played a second season of soccer and is playing basketball right now. She did cheer camp last summer and loved that as well, she wants to do it again this summer and try volleyball - I think we're going to have a social butterfly and will spend a lot of time coordinating her activities ha. When I think of her in high school I see SO many paths for her.

She continues to be a really good eater. She loves fruits and vegetables and tries A LOT of foods! She tells me all the time to 'make me a plate of food' and I can give her a lot of variety and she scarfs it down. She is our best eater.

Paige still sucks her thumb and LOVES her Sackie. She did a round of speech therapy this year which helped a lot but we still have a ways to go with her tongue thrust, and we won't really be able to complete all that with her still sucking her thumb. She is starting to get self-conscious about it and doesn't suck her thumb at school but also tells us she isn't ready to stop. So we are just being patient and letting her decide what is right for her. 

She loves to play board games {Uno is a big favorite right now}, loves to read - graphic novels {Dog Man!}, I Survived series, Magic Treehouse series, Owl/Unicorn Diaries, and of course our beloved Baby Blues comics. She is weirdly into Calico Critters right now too. We got rid of almost all of the Barbies and the Barbie Dreamhouse {she pitched a HUGE FIT over that, yet hadn't played with it in months}, but she is big into Calico Critters ESPECIALLY if Drew will play with her. She likes art but nowhere near as much as Drew who remains our little artist.

Her 2 favorite things are candy and her iPad - both habits I understand but also don't like ha. She is way more addicted to screens than Drew - about on par with Trent at this age. 

Paige has made big strides in the sleep department, yay! She still struggles to fall asleep alone but is consistently staying in her bed at night! She sleeps in Drew's top bunk a lot, but even when she sleeps in her room, she stays almost every night. This has been HUGE!

She is such a social butterfly. Every new thing she tries with new people, she has a new best friend. She is always asking for play dates and is very frustrated she can't have sleepovers yet!

Basically, this kid is the cat's pajamas, and I am thankful every day she is mine! 

10 Looks Good on Drew

Our Drew Baby turned 10 on January 2. Double digits for this girl who is no longer my baby!!

Stats:

Height: 4'3" {10%}

Weight: 54.6 pounds {5%}

BMI: 14.76 {13%}

Clothes size: 6/S

Shoe size: 4 or 4.5 {even with her Mama!}

Teeth lost: 0

When I think about Drew, the first words that come to mind are: kind-hearted, compassionate, shy, silly, creative, and fun. She is the best big and little sister! She is our natural peacemaker and 3rd parent to Paige.

She is doing fantastically in school. The start of this year was rough - moving to Upper Elementary she went from being the oldest in her class with a core group of friends to being the youngest in the class with none of her friends and a new guide. It took her a while to settle into her class, but she's really happy now. And she's doing great academically and socially. We talked about her changing schools next year when Trent goes to high school, but she wants to stay at Goodwater, and I'm not sad about that!

She LOVES kids and cannot wait to babysit. She is always trying to take care of our neighbor, Emmett, and my cousin's young kids. I imagine she'll be babysitting before too long! She also loves animals and REALLY wants a pet! I'm working on Brent about this...but not making much progress, ha.

She is very much our silly child. Sometimes a little too silly! She loves to make people laugh and makes the weirdest faces! It's the only negative feedback we ever get from school - she can get a little wild once the sillies get started.

Drew is super creative! She loves to draw, is taking piano lessons, and just has that creative edge that I just don't ha!

She is still doing horseback riding and LOVES it. I'm really curious if she will do something with animals as an adult...

She likes to read but not to the extent of Trent. She really likes graphic novels and doesn't like to challenge herself with reading {even though she reads on an 8th grade level}. I've always said I didn't care what my kids were reading as long as they were reading, but I've had to work to get her to challenge herself. She LOVES to write though - she always has multiple stories going at a time. 

She's starting to enjoy more mature 'play' with friends - really into certain apps on the iPad or FaceTiming friends to be able to talk. She still likes Roblox/Minecraft. BUT she still plays a lot of things with Paige {lifesaver as a mom} like Legos, Hatchimals, and imaginary games.

Truly my biggest challenge with Drew is CLOTHES. She is so particular about what she will wear - her 'uniform' is black workout leggings from Old Navy {she has 3 pairs}, typically with her black denim shorts over them, and a forest green hoodie {also from Old Navy, she has 3 variations}. It's a fight to get her to pick anything else!

Her 'uniform' ha

Drew has finally wanted to cut her hair! We had several years of trying to get it as long as possible, and her hair is so find that it tended to look stringy. So glad she's decided to keep it shorter, yay!

She's still a great eater - has a big appetite for fruits and vegetables! She does not like anything spicy or any drinks with carbonation {not that I'd let her have a soda but even carbonated water}. 

 She's gotten pretty independent, which is amazing! I can give her some directions and know she'll get it done. It is a HUGE help!!

Brent and I love this little girl something fierce and I see big things in her future!

Paige's 6th Year

We finally had Paige's well check on Wednesday! I cannot believe my BABY is 6! Where has time gone?

Stats:

Height: 43.5" {20%}

Weight: 39.2 pounds {17%}

BMI: 14.56 {30.75%}

Clothes size: 5T or XS

Shoe size: 12

Teeth lost: 5 {7 in total!}

When I think of a word to describe Paige, it's JOYFUL. She has an infectious personality and smile. We get comments ALL THE TIME about how sweet and fun she is, and it's true! 

Paige LOVES school. She loves her teachers and being a helper in class. She is a leader, and her teacher is always telling me how she helps enforce the rules and gets onto kids who aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing. She loves to learn and is doing amazingly in Kindergarten. She is reading on a 4th grade level and has had amazing scores on their MAP testing {tests that compare their knowledge to what is expected of them to know by the end of the school year}. I'm a little sad thinking about her moving out of her beloved Sassafras class next year, but I know she'll be ready!

Paige is a great eater - pretty adventurous for trying things {she's been eating raw onion, definitely doesn't get her taste buds from me}. She loves fruits and vegetables. I am so thankful for this after what we've gone through with Trent.

Paige loves to draw, color, be read to {right now we are reading a ton of Baby Blues comics together}, play board games and with Hatchimals. She's not much into her Barbies anymore. She loves stuffed animals and Squishmallows. She struggles to play independently, but we're working on it! She is my little shadow a lot of the time when we're at home. We're also working on being helpful - cleaning up after herself and doing chores {without complaining}.

Paige still sucks her thumb and loves her Sackie. She also grew attached to Trent's old blanket {Blankie} and a Girl Scouts koala Drew earned last year named Kate BUT Blankie and Kate got left in Hawaii. Kate got flown back from Hawaii {I found the same stuffed animal on eBay}, and she now has a little Elf doll one of her school friend's mom made her named Elfie. She has all 3 with her at all times but Sackie is still #1. 

Speaking of thumb sucking, we're going to start working a little harder to break that attachment. She has a speech evaluation next week, so we will see what the speech therapist says once we start her actual treatment. She misuses her tongue for speaking and has a lisp {just like Trent}.

The other big hurdle we're working on is her sleep! She still struggles to fall asleep on her own, so I sit on the floor every night, but she has still been consistently coming in our room in the middle of the night for WAY TOO LONG {and a regression from last year}. We've got her sleeping back in Drew's room in the top bunk, and I'm hoping we can keep that going - she hasn't come in our room in 3 nights!

Paige tried soccer for the first time this fall and had a great time {even though their team lost all their games and only scored 1 goal all season} and is looking forward to the spring season. She also joined Girl Scouts this year as a Daisy! Cookie sales start next week, and she's so excited. She and Drew are also still doing horseback riding lessons, but I'm not very consistent at signing them up for their lessons. My goal is 2 times/month, they both love it!

Paige largely likes to wear dresses, but she's recently discovered jeans! It's fun seeing what outfits she puts together every day, ha. She doesn't let me fix her hair very often which makes me super sad, but I like seeing her independence and style. {grin}

I'm surprised she's lost so many teeth! By this age, Drew hadn't lost any! Could be the thumb sucking, but I find it wild to see her big teeth coming in.

Paige is addicted to 2 things {besides me}: sugar and screen time! We struggle with tantrums over those 2, and I think part of it is me babying her a little too much. So we are definitely working on this!

Paige likes Roblox and Minecraft - what is it with kids and these games? All 3 of mine have loved these! She also likes to watch YouTube and has a handful of people/families she's allowed to watch. She also really loves music! She has a very extensive playlist on my phone and loves to listen to it.

I know I say this over and over again, but I am so glad I got my 3rd baby - she is such an amazing person, and she completes our family perfectly!