Olivia at 7 1/2 Years Old!

Our girl is 7 1/2! She is 4'4" tall and weights 68 lbs. She also is growing out of her clothes faster than possible. About a month ago I actually had to pull out Sofia's size 10/12 clothes! I forgot that clothes sizing goes from medium (7/8) to large (10/12) without a size in between. She would benefit from a size in between, since the large leggings and shirts are all a little too long, but fit otherwise. She also doesn't like anything that "feels weird" or has a strange tag or rib inside a shirt. Plus, she is extremely picky about her socks! We finally found socks that work for her from Academy and she will only wear them. However, even in putting them on, she has to arrange them just perfectly so the sock seam sits just so on her toes. It can take her at least 10 minutes to get her socks and shoes on before school! There are several of Sofia's old shirts that Olivia won't wear because they don't feel right when she puts them on, so I passed them on to someone who will wear them.

Olivia loves to read, almost as much as Sofia does. She loves reading different books and hasn't really zipped through a series but will go back and forth. She enjoys reading The Magic Tree House series and is up to #47 now, but she is also currently reading a few of the Bad Kitty books, and has tried various other chapter books. Before bed, she loves to pick out nine picture books and lets me pick 2 or 3 of them. From there, she picks out 2 that she reads to me. She really loves to read out loud and will never let me read them to her. She always reads them to me. She will even grab a stack of books and sit on the step stool as I cook and read to me. I love it. She is super excited for her school's book fair which is next week. I told her I would only buy books and wouldn't spend money on posters, toys, etc. She said she only wants to buy books.

I can't believe she's already in 2nd grade already and it feels like Olivia was just a toddler watching her sister play trains and read books to her. They still play a lot together, especially on the trampoline when the weather is decent. Although, they have been known to spend two hours jumping and making up stories together on the trampoline when it's in the 40s. The girls love to play together and enjoy playing dragons together or making up stories and playing make-believe. They also enjoy playing Minecraft together, with Sofia on the iPad and Olivia on my iPhone. Apparently, they can be in the same "world" that way and often play hide-and-seek together. They also love to watch My Little Pony episodes together and then make up stories with the many My Little Pony little plastic horses we've had for years. I nearly got rid of them about 6 months ago, but they have reemerged as a favorite toy to include in their storytelling. Otherwise, the girls really don't use many toys anymore. Olivia really likes to play with her sister or with her friends during play dates, but they don't really use toys much anymore other than her My Little Pony figures and sometimes make-up when Hannah is over.

Olivia is still our social girl and wants to have at least one play date a week and often asks to have sleepovers, mainly with Hannah but loves her friend Cora, Riley A and Hana B. Olivia is playing soccer for the Rockets again this season and really enjoys soccer and is good at it. She also takes piano lessons, right after Sofia takes her lesson. Olivia doesn't enjoy piano as much as Sofia, but is progressing and doing well. Recently, Olivia started taking tennis lessons, and she is actually quite good at it. Originally she started with private lessons, but it just became too expensive for her age, so I asked Hannah and two other girls, Annabel and Gabby to join. At first, Olivia wasn't super excited to switch from a private lesson, but she still enjoys tennis and is getting better. I can't wait until we can go out with a can of balls and have fun together.

When she grows up, Olivia wants to be....she's not sure. She doesn't want to be a teacher, because "it's too hard."

Her favorites include:

Breakfast: Pancakes or French Toast

Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly on sourdough or In-N-Out burger (without cheese and lettuce and ketchup only)

Dinner: Spaghetti

Vegetables: cucumber, carrots, bell peppers, apples and sweet potatoes

Animal: Giraffes and ducks

Books: Geronimo Stilton

Snack: Goat cheese on crackers

Show: My Little Pony

Movie: How to Train Your Dragon

School subject: Reading

Our big girl is 71/2 years old.

The girls love playing together but they also love to read together and Sofia loves reading to Olivia.

Her two biggest buddies - Hannah and Cora

Crazy girl!

Stilling missing those front teeth and still so cute!

Pigtails!

Olivia and her friend Hana B.

Olivia with the Valentine's box she made.

Olivia with Hannah and Cora at the hoedown.

With Hannah after one of Olivia's soccer games.

Snoozing on the way to the lake.

Olivia with Hana and Hannah

Trying to stay warm!

She loves apples...but they are hard to eat when you don't have front teeth!

Sofia's Disco Cotillion

Last night Sofia went to the 3rd night of Cotillion, which was disco night. Thankfully we had a full disco outfit borrowed from Sofia's friend Alexa. It included a cute dress and awesome knee-high white boots. The boots actually had about a 2" heel and Sofia was excited to wear heels, although after about 30 minutes she realized her feet already hurt. I told her she would really be feeling it after a night of dancing. I planned on making Sofia's hair look awesome by curling it and teasing it so it was thick and full and curly. However, our afternoon went a little differently than expected. Olivia had her friend Hannah over and they were going to have a sleepover at our house. Meanwhile, Sofia begged not to go to Cotillon. I was really surprised since she hadn't mentioned anything about not wanting to go. The third and final How to Train Your Dragon had just come out and she really wanted to see the movie and hand out with Hannah and Olivia. She really begged to stay home. So, I told her if she went to Cotillon I would pick her up and take her to the 9pm showing of How to Train Your Dragon. She agreed! She got dressed and I curled her hair as much as I could in the limited time we had. Her hair is just so much fun to work with! She was all ready to go and started to get excited. I took her to Oscar's where she met up with Liliana and Frankie for manicures. Sofia wasn't sure what she thought about getting a manicure, but she started to get excited when she found the perfect color blue to match her dress.

The girls got their manicure and Sofia didn't love when her cuticles were pushed back but after that, she thought it was pretty cool. She was soon done and her nails really did look super cute. The color was perfect for her outfit too. Once the girls were done, they ate Chik-Fil-A nuggets and fruit before Frankie's mom, Crystal, took the girls to the Cotillon! Sofia really wanted me to chaperone, which I love, but I had the little girls at home. I returned home and we had tacos for dinner. Neither CK or Olivia like their tacos with tortillas, but Hannah and I did and they really were delicious. The perfect dinner for Friday night.

I picked Sofia up at 8:30pm and took her to the movies at the Colleyville Cinema Grill. Unfortunately, I didn't know anyone who chaperoned the event, so I have no photos or videos of disco night. Sofia said she had a good time at the Cotillon disco night, but her feet were killing her. She took her boots off and said she had a fun night, although the 50s night was still her favorite. She liked dancing with a partner and also said the electric slide was impossible for her. She said she just never got it, so I told her she likely got her dance rhythm from me. Poor girl! She had a fun evening and was glad she went, so I'm glad we forced the issue. Unfortunately, I didn't know anyone volunteering at disco night, so I don't have any photos or videos of Sofia's evening other than before she left for Cotillion.

We got to the movie and were both pretty excited to watch the final How to Train Your Dragon movie. We got our seats and ordered drinks and sat back to watch the movie. I wanted to order popcorn, but Sofia can't eat it with her expander, so I figured that wouldn't be very fun for her. Plus, I really didn't need popcorn. The movie ended up being really well done and a great ending to the series. We both enjoyed it wanted to watch it again with Olivia. However, we agreed that we wouldn't tell Olivia that we had already seen it. The movie ended around 11pm and we were both tired and ready for bed. We got home and snuck into the house, past Olivia and Hannah sleeping in Olivia's room. Such a fun night.

Sofia in her awesome disco outfit!

Love her hair! It is so full and thick!

Such a beautiful disco dancer!

Her hair!

Getting her nails done.

Frankie, Sofia and Liliana.

Her finished nails - the perfect color to go with her dress.

The girls are ready to learn some disco dance moves!

Ready for the movie to begin.

Olivia's Hoe Down!

Tonight was Olivia's and her fellow 2nd grader's hoe down! Her and her classmates have been practicing their square dance moves with Coach Traphagan and Coach Baze during P.E. for weeks. Unfortunately the school has been hit very hard with the flu and strep in the past few weeks, with several of the classes having only 10 of 21 kids present! At one point, over 100 kids were absent from school for a few days. So, some of the kids had a hard time learning all of the dances and some were still sick on the night of the hoe down. So a few of the squares didn't have enough kids to make a full square, including Olivia's, but obviously the kids were used to it, so they covered it pretty easily by having the girls move a square after each song so they had a partner at least for some of the songs.

I really wanted Olivia to wear a cute skirt and the pink plaid collared shirt Sofia wore for her 2nd grade hoe down, but Olivia was dead set to wear jeans. We no longer have the pink tulle skirt Sofia wore, but we did have other skirts that would be perfect. After trying to convince her and bribe her, I finally just agreed to her jeans. It really doesn't matter that much and I wanted her to be comfortable. She chose her star jeans which are really comfortable and cute on her. She paired it with the pink plaid collared shirt and wanted the turquoise bandana in her hair. She chose pigtails instead of braids and put on her new pink cowboy boots. She looked great and was super excited to get started dancing. We took a few pictures at home and then headed to school so Sofia and I could get good seats. Unfortunately, CK was out of town for a work meeting and couldn't be there. So, we planned to take lots of photos and videos so he could watch them once he was home.

Olivia was nervous and said it "felt like butterflies were flying around in her tummy" but she was calm and seemed ready to dance. We headed into the gym and actually found two actual seats right up front! It was pretty amazing! Plus, the seats were right next to Olivia's dance square. It was actually a little too close for video purposes, but great to watch. Sofia and I had to keep our feet close to our seats because we were so close.

The square dancing began and Olivia was very serious, but focused. She did a great job and looked like she was having fun but without a smile. She was all business. Everyone in her square did a great job and they clearly had paid attention when they practiced. The dances became more and more difficult as the songs played and the kids started to get a little confused as to their "left" and "right" but they recovered well and had a little giggle. It was so fun to watch! The final dance was a line dance that went faster and faster. It was so much fun and the kids loved it!! We took a few pictures with Olivia's best friends Hannah and Cora and then headed home. Such a fun night and Olivia said she had a great time!

Our little cowgirl is ready for her Hoe Down!

What a cutie!

She untied her shirt because she didn't want her belly to show.

Sofia during her Hoe Down in February 2015

Such a cutie!!

Ready to dance!

Olivia in her square and ready to dance.

It begins!

The final dance!  So much fun!

Olivia and her best buddy, Cora.

Olivia with Cora and Hannah, her two best friends.

Sofia's Western Cotillion

Yesterday evening Sofia and her fellow 6th graders had their second Cotillion, which was a Western theme. Thankfully we were able to borrow cowboy boots and an adorable western shirt from Alexa, who had her Cotillion a few weeks ago at Colleyville Middle School. Alexa's cowboy boots are 8.5, so half a size smaller than my cowboy boots, and were a better fit for her. Alexa let Sofia borrow several western shirts and she picked the cutest one! Sofia was also adamant that she would not be wearing jeans, since she hates the way jeans feel and she actually hasn't owned a pair of jeans in years. So, she chose to wear her blue tulle skirt which looks great on her and is very comfortable too. She also really wanted a bandana in her hair. I wanted to do two french braids, but she wanted pigtails which looked great. Plus, we got a later start to getting ready than we planned so we needed her to get ready as quickly as possible. It ended up being a beautiful 75 degree day, so Sofia, Olivia and Antonio hung out on the trampoline and played together. I really wanted them to have fun and enjoy the day since we've had so many cold and wet days lately. Sofia didn't get into the shower until just before 5pm, when we were supposed to be at her friend Lilliana's house around 5:15! Sofia was ready pretty quickly and after a few pictures, I got her to Lilliana's around 5:45. Just as I dropped her off, I realized I offered to pick up the coffee at Scooter's which was donated for the parent volunteers at Cotillion. I was wondering who exactly would be drinking coffee at 6:30pm (other than me).

Sofia, unlike many of the other 6th graders, really wanted me to be at Cotillion for the whole evening. I dropped off the coffee and ended up staying to help out. I was at CTMS earlier that afternoon to help decorate and was super impressed by the moms who were in charge of the event. They were all very nice and super focused on getting everything done quickly. In less than two hours we were done and it looked super cute! We were done just in time for me to pick up Olivia and then Sofia! It was so super cute!

The two instructors were great and showed the kids how to do the Texas two step, the waltz and line dancing. Once again, there were many more girls than boys, so several of the girls danced together. I noticed Lilliana didn't have a partner, so I asked Principal Fingers if it would be appropriate for me to dance with her, trying to give him an opportunity to step in and dance with her. He said I should go ahead and dance with her. So, Lilliana was the girl and I was the boy and we shared the first dance together. She's such a sweet girl and actually has good rhythm! Better than I have! After the first dance, the instructors told all the girls who had a girl partner to hold up their hand so a boy could come ask them to dance. After each dance, the instructors were very good at having the boys pick a new partner and they were told they couldn't walk by a girl without asking her to dance. They took a break at 7:20pm to have a dinner that included a bag of chips, a brisket slider from Meat U Anywhere, a chocolate chip cookie and water. The sliders were awesome! The kids loved it all and many of them wanted extra waters, since they had worked up a sweat dancing! They all had a great time and they are all very well behaved. I was so glad I stayed to be there. Sofia kept giving me hugs and I just love how much she still loves us still!

The night ended as boys walked the girls individually out to their cars. It was so sweet! Sofia got escorted toward the doors and I reminded her to stay with me, since I would be cleaning up after the dance. Soon the kids were gone and Sofia and I helped take down all the decorations and re-arrange the tables, etc. She was a great help and a lot of the parents stuck around the help out, so we were done in about 20 minutes. We gathered our things and headed home after a super fun night! Sofia said she'd had a great time and loved dancing with Liam, Jack and several other boys as well as some girls. She said the best dancer was Jack! I missed seeing her dance most of the night because I was busy with the other moms plating food for the kids' dinner. Plus, even when I was able to watch, it was hard to find the kiddo you are looking for on the dance floor! I tried to take photos of Abby to send to Kelley, since she sent me so many photos and videos from last week. I also took pictures of Jack, Lilliana and several other kiddos I knew.

The entrance to the dance floor

The Registration table

The decorated tables with the dance floor in the background

So cute!

Our sweet Western girl!

Sofia and me

Sofia and her giggly silly sister who lost a tooth just before this picture!

Sofia, Frankie and Lilliana are ready to go!

They have arrived!

The kids listening to the instructors talk about the Texas two step!

Dancing with one of her partners!

Sofia and Lilliana are dance partners

Sofia and her first boy partner. She said she didn't really know him.

Dinner!

Dancing with Lilliana

Dancing with another boy partner!

Line dancing!

Dancing to Cotton Eye Joe!

Sofia got escorted out by Lachey! They were at CES together!

Sofia getting one last photo before we head home!