ada charlotte {9 years}

Dear Ada, 

Oh, how I love having a 9-year-old, and I love that that 9-year-old is you 😊 It's just so fun watching you become a full-fledged PERSON, with ideas and opinions and emotions, and to see you starting to mold those parts of you into a wonderful person. I love seeing this person who came from me, and who is like me in so many ways, but you're also your own person, and I love seeing that, too! I love watching you unfold into the person you're choosing to become :)

Lately, you're very into getting books from the library that are about crafting or various activities, and you constantly ask me for supplies or opportunities to do the things you read about (most of which I say no to . . . we're both still trying to figure out how to get you doing the things you want to be doing without it being a constant ask on me 😅). You also check out tons of chapter books at a time -- lately you've loved the Whatever After, Ivy & Bean, and Dory Fantasmagory series...es.

You love your sister and you love to play with her, but it feels like the two of you don't play together quite as much anymore. You spend more of your quiet time reading or listening to books, or doing your own thing. There's still playtime though. You also love to play with Peter and make him laugh.

You have gotten so good at recognizing what needs to be done and doing it. I can usually trust you to clean your zone well, help clean up dinner, and put away your laundry without complaint.

I just can't get over how wonderful you are. I love you so much, and I'm forever grateful you're mine :)

Love always,

Mama

Stats

• 70.8 pounds (69%) & 52" (44%)
• Wears size 10/12 since 8/10 doesn't seem to exist?

Milestones

• She's still reading like crazy, something beyond her grade level but not sure how far exactly. 
• She picks up math quickly and easily but sometimes tests below "grade level" because we don't usually do math how they do it in school. So she's actually very smart with math, but for instance, she'll do a math problem in her head rather than add two 3-digit numbers in the typical way on paper, so she's slower to do it but is actually doing more complicated math sometimes? But also, I've started teaching her math more traditionally, so she's catching up.
• She got her ears pierced for her birthday.
• Once/week you're the daily chef for breakfast and dinner. You have gotten really good at making pancakes, eggs, and toast for breakfasts, and although I still help quite a bit with dinner, you'll be doing it on your own in no time!

Favorite things

• Color: Brilliant purple (Rumi's hair color)
• Animal: Panda
• Tv show: Still Bluey (even though we never watch TV)
• Movie: Live Action Snow White
• Food: Bolognese (she's had this a grand total of once, but it was last night 😂)
• Book: Harry Potter
• Things to do: color, play with friends, read
• Things to do with
• Mom: cuddle
• Dad: explore
• Holly: play Barbies
• Peter: give him hugs and kisses
• What you want to be when you grow up: kind, strong, & honest (I responded to this question similarly a few months ago, and now that's usually how she responds)

Funny things she's said:

• When I took her to see Wicked, she said, "In movies, when the good guys, like, punch the bad guys, I think it's so funny!" 😂
• "It feels humiliating to wear my unicorn helmet!" I guess even if you're homeschooled, you get the idea of when something feels too young to wear!
• She doesn't do this as much lately, but sometimes she'll say something really unique, and it's all because she reads so dang much. Some examples include: "Holly and I were squabbling," and "the idea that went off like hot cakes was . . . "
  
• She calls herself a "book bug" rather than "book worm" because she likes bugs more than worms.

Random tidbits:

• She's so impressionable. She regularly says things about how she wants to do things just like we do them when she grows up, or she'll get kind of judgmental about other people doing things in a way that is different from us. It's kind of hilarious, but also I'm trying to teach her that people do things differently and that's okay. This comes up mostly with regards to our efforts to spend a lot of time in nature and us being screen-free, but also in other ways. For instance, after she attended a birthday party and witnessed her friend opening many gifts, Ada went off to a friend of mine about how we don't do gifts at friend bday parties, and how overwhelming so many gifts would be.
• She participated in the Children's Craft Fair at the library last Christmas. She spent a bunch of time creating many washer necklaces, all on her own. Then she sold some at the craft fair! I was so proud of her for investing effort and trying something new.
• We go on a walk most every morning. In the summertime, we'd often go for a walk, then pack lunches, and then leave to some activity like co-op or a park, where we'd eat our packed lunch. One day, she got home from the walk before me, and by the time I got home, she was busy making peanut butter & honey sandwiches because we didn't have enough frozen sandwiches for everyone to take with them. I love how she just took the initiative!
• She can be SO helpful with the little kiddos -- jumping in with creativity and kindness at the exact moment when I've lost my ability to be creative and kind. (She can also be unhelpful, so she's very much a 50/50 human, like all of us 🤣)
• She's such a sweetheart. Sometimes I get really frustrated with Holly. Like, REALLY frustrated. And it's always when I'm being extra nasty that Ada shows how much she loves her sister. She'll offer to help Holly when I've said I won't give any more hugs or snuggles. Or she unbuckled herself and started getting out of the car, saying she was going to stay with Holly, when I told Holly she couldn't come home with us (Russ was being level-headed and dealing with Holly). But not only is she super sweet toward Holly, but she's also sweet and forgiving toward me in these instances. After I left Holly and went to my room to calm down, Ada followed me, and cuddled me like she was the mom. She let me talk about all my frustrations and let me cry, and she just held me quietly and sweetly. After a while, she said, "You're just like me, mom -- you just have to get your feelings out so you can calm down." She can be so tender, thoughtful, and wise.
• She definitely still has tantrums, though, sometimes VERY big, which is always surprising. But she's very good at apologizing for bad behavior, which I find so endearing. It's true what they say about how repairing a relationship makes the relationship stronger than if no repairs were needed!
• Sleep: Everything is pretty much the same as last year: we send her to bed at 8:00pm, and then she listens to her Yoto or reads in bed until about 8:30pm. She seems to fall asleep pretty quickly after that, and then wakes around 7am. She gets ready for bed at the same time as Holly, and then when we're ready to send her to bed, we give her hugs and kisses and send her upstairs on her own. Bedtime with her is an absolute breeze :)