SEVEN Years Old!

 Zoe Kayte, you are 7 today! Here's what you've been up to:   

- You love to play outside! You tan the easiest of your entire family, besides Daddy. You love catching frogs, hiking, taking care of our animals, running, biking, swinging on the monkey bars, swimming in our pool, and more! You are game for nearly any adventure we go on in nature! You had such a fun time at swim lessons in July with Miriam and your teacher Hailey! You passed to level 2 and are feeling so confident in the water. You even jumped and swam in the deep end! 

- You are silly! You love to laugh, tell jokes, and, apparently, make silly faces while taking selfies 😆

- You are learning how to read directions and follow a recipe. For our end of year project, you made us pink lemonade for family movie night! You enjoyed it so much, you made more the next day for our Family Dinner at Smithville Lake. 

- You continue to love art! You are always creating something in your room or at the table. You finally attended your first art class at Orange Easel this summer and had a great time. We have you signed up for a homeschool multimedia class for the month of September. You will be learning about pastels. You have been doing watercolors with Daddy on the weekends and have made some beautiful creations together! 

- You enjoy school! You have a lot of focus and energy, so if we can get it directed at your school work, you can really accomplish things! You are learning to read and are starting to sound out more and more words correctly. Math seems a little tricky for you, but you are finding ways for it to make sense to you. You are a great at being consistent in getting your work done every day. You are making progress in your piano books and love to sing and dance. I can't believe you'll be starting 2nd grade in just a couple of weeks! 

- You don't like to wear dresses as much as you used to. We have finally found your niche - athletic clothes! The material is smooth and often doesn't have tags so we have fewer complaints from you not liking your clothes. I think you are going to be a great athlete! You are very strong. We have started a small exercise habit in the morning and you seem like a natural doing your planks and push-ups and jog. You have decided you want your two sports to be CrossFit and Swim. I'm excited to see how that will come to pass in your life!  

- I love to find the two of you sleeping together like this still. You are a great big sister! Sometimes if I've made Naomi upset, you will go to her and calm her down, reason with her, talk it out together. You know how to get down on her level and calm her down! I am so thankful for you. 

- You like to help me in the kitchen. You are getting better and better at making your brownie recipe! 

- You love animals! You do a great job helping to care for Dora. You really wanted a pet this year and I had thought we might be able to get you a cat when you were 6, but it just didn't work out. You have been extremely patient and understanding. Hopefully soon we will be able to get you a pet of your own! In the meantime, you do great with both Marshall and Dora and had a great time when we visited the cat café earlier this year. 

- Your first lost tooth last fall! Now you've lost 4 and 3/4 of them have returned! The top two you both lost on two different taco nights :) 

- You still sleep with Kitty -- the red panda you picked out at the KC Zoo on your 4th birthday. Even in the middle of the night, if you wake up and can't find her, she must be found before you fall back asleep. 

Birthday Interview: 8-1-2022

What is your favorite color? Pink 

... movie? "Tom and Jerry" 

... TV show? "Chip and Potato" 

... book? "Paddington" 

... fruit? Strawberries 

...animal? Cats 

...song? "Cheerleader" 

... thing to eat? "That's a hard question. Pizza! Fruit or pepperoni." 

... thing to do every day? "Color." 

about Naomi? "She's my little sister." 

about Levi? "Hmm... that he eats fast." 

about Zeke? "That he's 10." 

about Mommy? "That you're my mommy." 

about Daddy? "He fishes a lot." 

Who is your best friend? Aliyah 

What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That we get to be at home." 

What are you looking forward to about being 7? "That I'm grown up!" 

Zoe Kayte, I love you so much! You are full of life and zest! You love to shop so it makes it more fun for me to go with you. Today for your birthday lunch you chose tortilla roll-ups with lettuce, baked beans, fruit salad, and strawberry ice cream bon-bons (we need to get those finished soon!). We are having a Wingfeather themed party for your party on Friday night. You are having some family and friends over; we're planning to swim, color, play games, eat pizza and bbq pork, and have chocolate cake! I am so excited to see how you grow and mature in the coming year. I love spending time with you on Tuesday nights, to hear "your side of the story" about life, to watch miniature baking shows on YouTube, to grow closer to you. I can't wait to continue our little traditions together. Happy Birthday!