The Lee Family: Olivia at 81/2 Years Old!

Olivia is halfway to 9 years old, which is crazy! She is a fun-loving, very thoughtful girl who can be either very silly and outgoing or very shy, depending on how she is feeling and the circumstances. She seems to be growing up so quickly and is now wearing size 10/12, even though she isn't even 9 years old! She is so tall for her age, so the size is mainly for the length. She loves her shoes and likes to wear certain shoes with her outfits when she isn't in her tennis shoes for school. She really loves school, seeing her friends, playing with them at recess and really loves having playdates. She is a very good student and takes her studies very seriously. Both of her teachers, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Seifried adore her and love her attitude and love of learning. They have both told me that they wish all of their students could be like Olivia, since she is so easy to teach and such a joy to have as a student. Such a sweet and glowing commentary of our sweet girl!

Olivia loves to read, and she and her friend Marisa enjoy reading the same books and discussing them, although Marisa reads a lot faster than Olivia and sometimes shares the plot with her, which is very frustrating to her. Olivia enjoys writing stories like her sister. She also loves to play make-believe with Sofia and they spend hours sitting or jumping on the trampoline making up stories and playing together. They get along very well, for the most part. Olivia and I have loved watching The Great Pottery Throwdown together. It is a British show that focuses on a pottery challenge between 12 regular potters. It has been so much fun to watch, and we are both sad that there were only 3 seasons made. She also loves watching My Little Pony and other shows with Sofia.

Olivia loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sliced cucumbers, macaroni and cheese, goats cheese on crackers, hamburgers with lettuce and ketchup and vanilla yogurt. She is a fairly adventurous eater, although I do wish she liked salmon and shrimp. Instead, I always have to buy her a small portion of cod. I'm not sure why she doesn't like salmon, but we eat it weekly, so I'm hoping she changes her mind. She does enjoy salad as well as all the veggies I make for dinner, which is good. Olivia loves oranges and apples too.

Even though she is halfway to 9 years old, Olivia always reaches for my hand when we are walking together or while we are reading together or watching a show. She still loves to rub my belly (and my back), especially just before she goes to bed. I asked her if she ever misses sucking her thumb and she said "Yes, sometimes." She said she misses sucking her thumb when she's hurt or tired and sometimes when she wakes up in the morning she sort of wants to suck her thumb. When I would wake her up in the morning for school, I would find her sucking her thumb maybe once every six weeks or so, but it's been a long time since that's happened, so I think she is completely done sucking her thumb. When I would tell her that I found her sucking her thumb, she didn't believe me and would get mad. So, I stopped telling her. I love that she is so thoughtful about her thumb and the comfort she used to get from it.

We can't wait to watch Olivia continue to grow up and see where her interests lead her as she continues to grow.

Olivia's list of bed time lovies and the rotation she has in place so they each get to sleep with Olivia equally! Only Giraffey gets to sleep each night with Olivia.

A makeshift picnic with Antonio.

Sweet girl.

Olivia and her best friend Hannah.

Sassy girl in her favorite pjs.

She loves reading and writing her own story, just like her sister.

Silly faces - she loves making crazy faces.

Her 3rd grade photo! She has a little case of 80s hair...She left that morning with her hair up in a cute bun, but she decided to take it down before her photo.