Happy 8th Birthday to Our Olivia Cate!

To My Jolly Gal on Your Upcoming Birthday (it's Friday, 2/25!),

You have grown by leaps and bounds this year, and you have changed drastically this year thanks to the fact that you lost both top front teeth and grew your adult teeth all in one year.  Those new teeth have completely changed your look, and you look so grown-up!  I’m so grateful that you’re getting older and growing as you should be, but darn it, I miss those two front baby teeth of yours so much! 

This past year, you completed your first-grade year at school, and as in previous years, you completely rocked it.  You read over a million words and you were rewarded with a Millionaire Bash complete with a limousine ride and a banquet.  Your grades were stellar, and you’re still reading on a level that’s well above your age and grade. 

You transitioned to second grade seamlessly in the fall, and just like every other year, you are loving every second of it.  Every single thing about it.  The learning.  The writing.  The helping.  The socializing.  And you adore your teacher and your teaching assistant.  Adore them.  Every morning you jump out of bed eager to start the day, and your zest for learning amazes me. 

Your current AR level is higher than normal for your age group as it always has been, and just recently we received a letter from the Challenge (gifted) teacher at your school saying that you’ve met some qualifications for the gifted program at school and that they’d like to do further testing.  You are one smart cookie, lady!

You’ve kept your close friends close this year and you’ve also welcomed new friends with open arms, and I pray you continue to pour into those relationships so you can watch them grow as you do.  You’re such a thoughtful friend, always writing sweet little notes or drawing pretty pictures or making friendship bracelets for them, and I’m sure they appreciate your kindness very much.  And speaking of friends at school, yes, your boy crush is still going wrong after all these years and you don’t even care that he still thinks girls are yucky.  Haha.

Even though your reading level is above average for your age, you’re actually not a huge fan of reading.  But somehow, you still manage to devour your AR books in record time and you always test well on them, too.  You may not want to have your nose stuck in a book all the time, but that’s because… you’d rather be writing them!  Yep, that’s right, this year you have turned into a little writer!  You’ve written loads of short stories, essays, and even a couple of poems, and they are always the cutest things to read.  You also keep a diary, although, you only write in it sporadically, and you also started a joke journal.  Haha.  The absolute cutest!

You still chatter nonstop, about anything and everything, and if you’re not chattering then you’re singing your lungs out.  You sing constantly, and your voice is beautiful.  You’ve requested to take voice lessons and we’re hoping to make that happen this summer.  Your song of choice right now – anything from Encanto.  You are obsessed with that movie, and I don’t think you’ve loved anything this much since Frozen 2.  We Don’t Talk About Bruno is your personal favorite, and you also love Surface Pressure and What Else Can I Do?

As for other extracurricular activities, you’re still loving dance, and this year in addition to ballet, tap, and jazz, you decided to add lyrical to your repertoire.  Lyrical has been your most favorite class of all, so I’m glad that we decided to add it.  This will be your fourth year dancing in a big recital and it cannot get here fast enough.  You recently informed me that you don’t even want to be in class… you just want to be on stage all the time! 

When you’re not dancing and singing and writing, you love coloring, crafting, painting, and playing board games.  You still love Legos, although, maybe a little less than last year, and this year you have found a new love for all things Barbie.  You asked for a Barbie Dreamhouse for Christmas, and ever since your wish was granted, you have played with Barbies so much.  You also still love playing Minecraft with Jacob on the Nintendo Switch.

This past year, you broke your first bone… your elbow.  And man, was it a rough one.  Unfortunately, you remember every little detail from that day, but as with anything else, you’ve taken it in stride.  You never dwell on it or worry about it, and you talk about it as if you were discussing the weather.  You were such a champ during your long recovery. 

“Pocket peanut and jelly” AKA Smuckers Uncrustables are still your favorite food ever, and you’d eat one for every single meal if I’d let you.  You do still love pancakes, Mexican cheese dip, and fruit snacks, too.  You’ve also started loving the s’mores Quaker Chewy granola bars recently and they’re currently your snack of choice.  You wash all of that down with water, and only water.  Yep, all these years later and you still only drink water.  Literally nothing else. 

You’re still a little tornado, always leaving stuffies and blankets and paper scraps and beads in your wake, and you couldn’t care less about a tidy space.  It drives me insane, but I’m trying so hard to just let you be the person you are.  I do feel like it’s our job as parents to teach you the importance of taking care of your things and being respectful of your space, too though, so it’s a very fine line that we walk every day trying to let you be your carefree self while also teaching you a little bit of discipline.

You still need to be around someone all day, every day and you hate being alone.  Even if you’re just reading or coloring quietly, you will park yourself somewhere near somebody… you just need that companionship even if you’re not directly interacting with someone. 

Your bond with Jacob has gotten even stronger this past year, and y’all just love each other so very much.  Yes, you bicker and occasionally get upset with each other, but my goodness, your relationship is the sweetest thing.  I would venture to say that y’all get along well about 90% of the time. 

There have been many instances this past year where y’all have been separated due to sports or sickness or something similar, and when you reunite y’all are always the most excited to see each other.  Last week was particularly tough for you because you had to stay home for three days with Covid while Jacob was at school and you missed him terribly.  I even overheard a conversation between the two of you last week, and both of you were talking about how it would have been so much better if you had both tested positive at the same time so you could have stayed home from school together.  Be still my momma heart.

You are the jolliest, most go-with-the-flow gal and I love that so much about you.  You are a one-person party all the time, and you radiate sunshine.  You are almost never sad or mad or glum, and your positivity and love for life is contagious. 

You are simply magic, and we love you so, dear girl.

Love,

Mommy

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