L, 10 years old
Favorite color: teal,
peach
Favorite food: sushi,
cheesy potato casserole, stuffed mushrooms
Favorite treats: royal
chocolate cake, cheesecake, dark chocolate covered mango
Favorite movie/show: The
Greatest Showman, Annie, Newsies
Favorite music: Taylor
Swift, Greatest Showman soundtrack, musicals soundtracks
Favorite book: Wonder
Favorite activities: dance,
singing, reading, watching chick flicks, sleeping in, competing
Favorite toys: tablet
Favorite animal: lion,
tiger, sea turtle, dolphin
Favorite restaurant: Ichiban,
Zupas, café rio
Favorite place to go: movie
theatre, shopping, planetarium
Favorite game: wii, Mario
monopoly
Favorite holiday: Christmas,
New Years
Favorite vacation: Hawaii,
Caribbean cruise
Dream vacation: Italy
What I want to be when I grow
up: schoolteacher
I dream about: winning
lots of money and getting to spend it
I worry about: not being
able to dance/having to quit
I’m good at: dance!,
reading
I want to be better at:
tumbling, fluency in reading outloud
If I could have a superpower:
freeze time
Someday I want to: dance
en pointe, become a tutor in math
I’m thankful for: my
talents, getting to dance, family
I like it best when I am: on
a cruise!, sleeping
Life with her is so fun
and exciting. I love seeing life through the eyes of my kids. And with her, as
our oldest, its always a first for both of us. She is maturing quickly, ready
or not, we suddenly have a tween on our hands. She’s had some rough moments and
has worked hard to balance her emotions and steady her confidence. She’s very
smart and loves to read. She continues in piano, perhaps more because I insist,
but hopefully seeing the long term value. Her passion is dance. She can’t help
herself, she’s always moving, stretching or swaying or finding the energy in a
song. She devotes a lot of hours to it but has very rarely ever complained. (It
probably helps that she dances with her best friend!) She’s gotten to have a
lot of “spotlight opportunities” this year, doing the dance duo and have a solo
spotlight in one of the team numbers and it has been such a great experience to
build her skill and confidence. She When she’s not dancing, she’s most
comfortable in her pjs, ready to watch a chick flick with me or dive into a
book. Her sisters can still talk her into playing dolls or barbies occasionally.
But more often we play board games or watch a show for some much needed down
time. Together we’re finding the balance of her growing up. I love talking to
her and joking with her. I hate how less and less I can “fix” the things that
upset her. She’s been eager to accept a little more independence and we’re
trying hard to let her have more decision making. We’ve had lots of “maturing”
conversations lately, some sooner than I expected! It’s so fun and exciting to
see the person she is continually becoming!
A, 8.5 years old
Favorite color: peach
Favorite food: sick soup
(Lipton noodle soup), tortellini, pasta and vegetables
Favorite treats: chocolate
cake, Twix, Hersheys
Favorite movie/show: The
Greatest Showman, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat
Favorite music: Goo Goo
Dolls, Taylor Swift
Favorite book: Magic of
the Rainbow, Island of the Blue Dolphin
Favorite activities: ice
skating, rock climbing, playing with cousins
Favorite toys: Barbies,
legos, my bird
Favorite animal: kittens
Favorite restaurant: Ichiban,
Olive Garden
Favorite place to go: rock
climbing, Kamas pool, Museum of Curiosity
Favorite game: Mario
monopoly
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite vacation: Legoland,
Hawaii
Dream vacation: New York
What I want to be when I grow
up: veterinarian, teacher
I dream about: dragons, pink
fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows
I worry about: nightmare
monsters
I’m good at: rock
climbing, math, jump rope, imagination
I want to be better at:
ice skating
If I could have a superpower:
teleportation, no more being late to school!
Someday I want to: get a
scholarship and have my own house
I’m thankful for: family,
kittens, barbies
I like it best when I am: playing
barbies or playing on the computer
All my kids have such
passion! Hers in deeply rooted in her imagination. This kid dreams and schemes
and leads like no other. She’s so creative and irresistibly friendly. She leads
dragon training during recess at school. She coordinates and conducts playgroup
talent shows. She is so fun to be around and is good at everything she tries.
She has a bossy streak and tends to overreact when things don’t go her way. And
yet is so tender and compassionate. She adores babies and is so cute playing
with baby Z. I love how she dreams so big. I believe she is truly gifted in so
many ways. I particularly love when she plays piano. Already her long graceful
fingers make it looks so beautiful and she learns so easily. She still loves
art, and has been taking karate and gymnastics this year. Everything comes so
easy to her that I think it’s been hard to settle on any one thing to be really
focused and passionate about! Instead, she is a very gifted, well rounded, delightful
person. She’s so creative and independent in a lot of ways, needing much less
guidance or encouragement about anything. She’s just running full speed, doing
as much as she can and taking on the whole world on at once.
E, 6.5 years old
Favorite color: blue,
pink, purple, rainbow
Favorite food: ramen, ham
and cheese sandwich, hard tacos, tortellini
Favorite treats: Hershey
bar, M&Ms, skittles
Favorite movie/show:
Moana, Cinderella (cartoon and real), Matilda
Favorite music: All Eyes
on Me, Moana soundtrack, Greatest Showman soundtrack
Favorite book: adventure scrapbooks
Grammy made
Favorite activities:
spending time with activity, playing with friends, trampoline, dance
Favorite toys: Barbies,
big dolls, My Little Ponies
Favorite animal: panda
Favorite restaurant:
Ichiban, Panda Express, Taco Bell
Favorite place to go:
skiing, movie theatre,
Favorite game: Pandamonium
Favorite holiday: my
birthday!
Favorite vacation: Hawaii,
Kanab
Dream vacation: New York,
Florida
What I want to be when I
grow up: dancer, panda trainer, vet, doctor
I dream about: riding a
unicorn
I worry about: having
nightmares
I’m good at: playing
Barbies with sisters
I want to be better at:
not fighting
If I could have a
superpower: to not fight
Someday I want to: be nice
to everyone, see a baby panda
I’m thankful for: this
world
I like it best when I am:
I play with friends and sisters
Oh this kid!
She is precocious and beautiful and sweet and fiery in every way. She loves to
be my helper and has such a tender heart. She’s so smart and I’m so impressed
with how fast she’s learning to read. She has an impeccable memory, recalling
things I said and forgot or the details of a certain event, oftentimes something
that happened when I didn’t even think she was paying attention. I really think
her fantastic memory has been a huge help in piano. She’s been able to keep up
with her class, despite them all being at least a year older than her and she’s
been really dedicated to getting her practice in every day. I’m so proud of
her. She’s so fun to talk to and she loves to make up dance performances and
sing songs for me. She teams up well with her little brother and they play
great together. She wants so badly to mother him and help him. Her obsession
with pandas continues to be adorable. I don’t think there has ever been another
stuffed animal more adored than Penny. She’s my little negotiator, sometimes to
fault, and knows how to charm her way in and out of what she wants. She can be
coy, stubborn, devastated and just plain happy, all within the space of
minutes. There’s a saying, “whole lot of sunshine, little bit of hurricane.” That’s
her.
Z, 2 years old
Favorite color: blue, red
Favorite food: asparagus,
eggs, pancakes, French fries
Favorite treats: popcorn!,
chocolate, marshmallows, dumdum suckers
Favorite movie/show: Mickey
Mouse Clubhouse, Cars, Wreck it Ralph
Favorite music: “Happy to
you”, “twinkle star”, “5 monkeys”, “itsy bitsy”, “sunshine”
Favorite book: sofia look
and find, mickey look and find
Favorite activities: watching
mickey, wrestling, tickling, going to Sportsmans
Favorite toys: duplos,
tools, cars
Favorite animal: “elk!”,
“moose!”, dog
Favorite restaurant: anywhere
with French fries
Favorite place to go: Sportsmans,
Papa’s house
Favorite game: “peek-koo”
(hide and seek)
Favorite holiday: birthdays
Favorite vacation: Kanab
hot air balloon festival
Dream vacation: Disneyland
What I want to be when I grow
up: bigger
I dream about: mickey,
elk, eating
I worry about: not finding
binky
I’m good at: hugs, kisses,
compassion, making people smile
I want to be better at: not
spilling my food everywhere
If I could have a superpower:
super strong
Someday I want to: go to
school
I’m thankful for: family,
“truck” (my blanket)
I like it best when I am: watching
Mickey with truck and popcorn
Every morning he comes in
with the biggest grin, clutching “truck” and binky, ready to play. He’s just so
dang happy all the time. He’s so charming and sweet. I love to play with him
and get very little done. He loves watching Mickey (super adventures is his
favorite), playing with the little people toys, jumping on the trampoline,
playing with his cars and going to the park. He’s so fun to run errands with. He
makes friends with everyone in the store and from his seat in the cart, pulls
me in for hugs at least once every few minutes. Once we take “sissy” (or “tweet
tweet”) to afternoon kindergarten class, he takes a nap. He wants me to sit
with him until he falls asleep. And just like bedtime, he likes when I pat his
back and loves when I sing to him. He always asks for “twinkle”, just so he can
immediately interrupt me, “no no no! sunshine!”. After naps we cuddle until we
hear the girls coming home. He likes to make me hide with him beside the couch
so we can jump out and say “peek-oo!” Afterschool, we chauffer the girls around
to various lessons and he’s pretty patient about being stuck in the car so
much. He such a good eater, he tries everything and loves veggies. He’s so
sweet and compassionate. If I put one of the girls on time out, he patters over
to console them. He likes to sit next to them and offer his blanket and pat
them on the back. He gives the best hugs, a full, tight embrace like he can
squish all his happy energy into you. He adores his daddy and races to him as
soon as he gets home. I love absolutely everything about this kid and cannot
get enough. He is perfect in every way. I joke that he is our dessert. Three
girls in four years was wonderful but intense! And now we have our perfect
dessert. I love absolutely everything about him!
