The Lee Family: 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.