The Lee Family: Sofia at 12 Years Old!

Sofia is TWELVE and not so sure she's ready to grow up. She is really growing up fast and is going to be as tall as I am in no time! She is currently 5'3" (91st percentile) tall and weighs 125 lbs (90th percentile) and I just bought her size 9 (the same size I wear) running shoes for school! She still loves wearing skorts and we've found a good supply at Land's End, which offers up to size 16, which is the size she is currently wearing. She loves her "Nerd/Nasa" shirt and all of her shirts that are graphic t-shirts. She doesn't even own jeans, since she finds them and all pants to be too uncomfortable. She wears her turquoise Crocs every day and really needs a new pair soon since she wore them all over Europe and has worn them for over a year. She generally only wears dresses on Sunday and she looks so cute in them, bud doesn't chose them any other time.

Sofia still loves to play pretend, make up very elaborate stories, and just be a kid and she often says she just wants to stay a kid and not really grow up. She still loves reading her fantasy books, especially if they involve dragons, but she is becoming more interested in other genres too. Recently she started reading the Nancy Drew series and is hooked. She also enjoyed several mystery and other non-fantasy books while we traveled through London and France. She absolutely loved our trip to Europe and her knowledge of history and mythology really served her well while we were there. She immediately fell in love with London and has said since the third day we were there that she wants to go to school in London. She was a very adventurous eater on our trip, trying and enjoying foie gras, roasted duck and truffle. She really fell in love with the baguettes and the baguette sandwiches in France too. She has also really turned into an easy traveler and went along with our busy day with a smile and was encouraging to Olivia when her legs were tired.

In March, after we returned from Spring Break, Sofia got her braces! She was not looking forward to getting them and begged to put it off longer, but then as soon as they were on, she loved them! She was so excited to get them and couldn't wait to show them off at school! She never even complained about how they felt! Also in March, Sofia made the "A" Honor Roll at school! It was her goal after she made "A/B" Honor Roll in the Fall. Her classes and grades come easy to her, other than math. She tends to overthink math and makes simple mistakes or thinks she doesn't know it and makes a mistake. We hired our sweet 16-year old neighbor to tutor her each week which really helped her so much! Within two weeks, her grades jumped up and she was getting As in math. She just needs a little extra explanation on some problems and concepts and is too embarrassed to ask in class, so having Hailey help her has been a huge help!

In May she was initiated into the National Charity League! One of my tennis friends, Kim, has told me for years that she planned to sponsor us to be selected into the mother-daughter national volunteer organization. It's a huge honor to be part of it and we've spent nearly every week volunteering with kids to help with homework at the Valuable After School Time (VAST). Sofia has loved it and it's been a fantastic experience and such a great experience for both of us. We look forward to helping others together over the next eight years!

I've always said that Sofia is just a genuinely optimistic person and I think that is the trait that will end of serving her best throughout her life. One of my favorite stories of Sofia took place in the spring. Olivia and I picked her up from school and I asked how her day had gone. She loves to share what she did in each class and how her day went. That day, she said "really good" and then she relayed to us all the things she'd done in her classes. She said during P.E. she'd been hit hard in the face by a ball during dodgeball and had to "sit down and cry for a minute" and it was "fine" and she still considered that day to be "really good." In fact, she had maybe three days that "weren't great" but perked up quickly after she'd told me about each of the issues. It's such a great trait for anyone to have and I hope she embraces her optimism throughout her life! She lives in the moment and enjoys whatever she is doing at the time. She doesn't get sad or pensive easily. She is social but loves her solo time either reading or being on her own. School has been a great social outlet for her, although she desperately misses recess in 6th grade. She wishes she had 30 minutes to decompress during her day and actually play with her friends. Sixth grade has been a huge change for her from 5th grade but she really loves it. She loves switching classes, all of her teachers and the challenge of each accelerated class. She had a sweet friend, Carmel who was new to the Aspire Program for 6th grade and they were immediate friends. They seemed like two peas in a pod. Unfortunately, Carmel and her family moved to Ft. Worth in March and Sofia was very sad for that entire week. But, she slowly got back into her normal happy and easy-going mood and texts Carmel from my phone nearly every day. I hope there is someone new like Carmel at her school in 7th grade, although she really is one of a kind.

Sofia still loves staying in her pjs all day long, if she can do so and she loves just lounging, reading, playing MineCraft, etc. The things she really enjoys doing, like going to a water park, playing with friends or being with her sister are important to her and she loves doing those things, but otherwise she is happy to stay at home and relax and/or play. She enjoys the lake and really loves spending time either playing in her room or riding the inflatable for HOURS. She really loves being pulled around on the lake, as long as the boat goes straight. She gets frustrated with her Papa if he tries to add any turns. She still likes to know "the plan" instead of feeling like things change for her. So she goes along with outings if she knows what the plan is for our day.

When she grows up, Sofia wants to be an author. She wants to write fantasy children's books that include dragons and magic. She actually spends a good amount of time writing on her laptop now and I keep pestering her to finish one of her stories, since she has several going at the same time. Her ideas are really endless and she's a very good writer and editor already. She loves to run dialog past me so she can get my input on whether it sounds authentic or not.

Her favorites include:

Breakfast: Breakfast sandwich (English Muffin, A slice of cheese and an over easy egg)
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich and an In-N-Out burger (with cheese and raw onions and ketchup only)
Dinner: Spaghetti casserole
Vegetables: carrots and radishes
Favorite Drink: Lemonade
Animal: Leopards, dogs and hawks (or any bird)
Books: Too many to pick just one
Show: The Flash
Movie: Spiderman
School subject: Independent Study

Our sweet, smart girl is 12!