milestone 10, 8.5, 6.5, 2

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!