Ten

Happy Tenth Birthday Audrey!

I really can't believe that my baby is ten! I'm so sorry that this special birthday has to be celebrated while we're still in the middle of a pandemic. I know you would love nothing more than throw a huge party with all your friends. This is definitely the year to throw a half-birthday party!

I hope when this situation is over and we can look back with some distance, you can appreciate the good parts of all this family time we had and all the important lessons you learned and forget all the bad stuff like the isolation and the anxiety and the insomnia. You have shown yourself to be so resilient through all this. And while I know that remote learning isn't your favorite, you are doing your best. You're a person who just craves new experiences and sensations...being stuck in your room, looking at screens is kind of terrible for you. When school started back in the fall as a real six hour school day (rather than the limited versions of school last spring) it was really hard for you to adjust. Somedays, you'd roll around in the cold wet sand after school just to feel like a human again, I think!

But on the other hand, I can't imagine any other kid taking advantage of all the extra time to work on their creative projects the way you have. Last spring, when everything felt so uncertain and scary, you got up early before school every morning so you could work on your novel. And then through the summer you did all the illustrations. I was so proud of your discipline and your dedication! 

You've also done tons of artwork and you even produced a couple of YouTube shows for a little while. The Not So Late Show was my favorite, although Drawing Boredom was a little longer lasting. Your personality really comes through whatever you do!

And when you need a costume, you just disappear into your room, and come out with a costume! For Disney Day at school, your friend Ella wanted you to be Wreck-It-Ralph to her Vanellope von Schweetz. You didn't even tell me what you were doing, you just showed up to breakfast as Wreck-It-Ralph!

I think the big lesson of this past year was that when there was something we REALLY wanted to do, we just had to get a little creative to make it happen. 

Of all the things you missed last year, I think missing your recital was saddest. thing. You love your dance friends, you love to perform and you get such a sense of accomplishment from your recital every year. It was a huge loss to do your dance lessons and your "recital" in our living room. 

                                                

So when dance started back up in September you were SO happy. 

                                             

There have been some bumps and setbacks this year, but I have hopes you'll get your recital this year. *Fingers crossed*

This year we've also been lucky enough to have homeschooling friends, who invited us to do a weekly science lesson with them. Then afterward, you and Lily have a "book club" meeting afterwards. And then after THAT you guys do all kinds of creative stuff...LEGOS, sewing, art, putting on plays. Again, this year would be SO much harder if you weren't as creative as you are!

You are so good at keeping up with your friends with video calls! You have a whole group of girls that you work really hard at staying connected to through video games and calls. You are so open to being friends with anyone, and I love how you just love getting to know people and you really do believe that everyone has something interesting about them that you can learn from (though between you and me, you think most boys are pretty idiodic. And you're not wrong!). You have a bestie (Ella) but that hasn't stopped you from cultivating other friendships. You show a maturity in your relationships that I'm so impressed by.

This fall soccer was one of the things that felt a little "normal" so we were all grateful for that. When given the choice between seeing other kids virtually or in real life, real life interactions will win every time. I'm looking forward to seeing you get back into travel soccer in the spring.

In general, being outside has been a huge bright spot throughout the last year. We've made a point to take a walk somewhere different whenever the weather is not bitter cold or actively raining or snowing! You can get a little grumpy when I hound you to take a walk, but I think you end up enjoying it in the end.

There are some things that the pandemic has not changed, and one of those things is your love of animals. When we visited Kentucky this summer you were so enchanted by all the animals....dogs, chickens, barn cats...I think you would have moved in with Patrick and Heather if we'd have let you! You are such an expert in anything relating to dogs and cats, I'm always impressed with how much you know. Who knows if you will follow through with your plans to become a veterinarian, but you have a great head start!

Another casualty of the pandemic...age-appropriate TV watching. Oh well. We never tried too hard at that anyway. Between you being the youngest, and us being desperate to entertain ourselves we've definitely made lots of questionable parenting decisions related to our TV watching. This year, you saw two different versions of Sherlock Holmes and loved BOTH!

It's hard to believe that we're coming up on the one year anniversary of living through this pandemic. Even though it's been a challenging year, seeing you grow into the awesome person you are becoming has brightened our spirits. You are nothing, if not entertaining ....as well as smart and funny and empathetic a million other good qualities!

Happy Birthday Audrey!