Brooklyn: 7 Years Old

Seven years old. It just sounds TOO old. Another year has gone by so fast, and here we are. Brooklyn is growing into such a sweet and thoughtful girl in so many ways, and I am so thankful to be her mom.

Brooklyn’s annual checkup with Dr. Dudley is supposed to be next week (although with the COVID-19 mess, it could get postponed), so I will have to come back and update her stats after her appointment. Update: She was 47.5 inches tall (50th percentile) and 46.4 pounds (35th percentile) on 3/25/20. She did step on our scale at home recently, and it said she was 48 pounds. I can tell that she is definitely getting taller too. She is fitting pretty comfortably into most 7/8 sized clothes right now, although the pants are still a little bit long and sometimes a little big in the waist. She is still extremely rough on her clothes and has ripped holes in multiple pairs of pants for the second winter in a row. She also comes home from school with food stains on her shirts most days. I’m pretty sure she is using her shirt sleeves as a napkin ;) Her feet have also grown a lot in the last year; her shoe size is about a 1.5 to 2 in BIG kid sizes now. Sniff. I think she is officially done with hair bows. She almost never wants to wear them anymore if I ask. She also hates jeans (not comfortable!), shirts with ruffles (too embarassing!), and tights (too itchy!). She has really gotten picky about her clothes in the last year, so things will only get more interesting as she gets older, I’m sure.

Brooklyn is still a really good eater. She seriously spoils us in that area, especially compared to her sisters. I’m hoping that Brooklyn’s good example will rub off on them as they get older. Brooklyn very rarely complains about anything that I fix unless it has tomatoes. I really can’t think of too many foods that she won’t eat. Her favorite foods continue to be sweets (pancakes, desserts, etc.). She loves almost all fruits and eats an apple most days at school for her snack. She surprised me by requesting chicken wings for her birthday lunch at Cici’s this year. Brooklyn still likes buying her lunch at school and would buy it almost every day if we let her. Right now, I am still packing her lunch twice a week and letting her buy three times a week.

Brooklyn goes to bed around 8 PM every night (or that’s our goal, at least), and I wake her up at 6:30 AM on mornings when she has to be up for school. More often than not, she will complain and carry on about being woken up. (“Why do I have to go to schooooool???”). But after a few minutes, the bad mood wears off and she’s usually ready for the day. On the weekends, she’ll “sleep in” until 6:45 or 7 AM, but usually not too much later than that. There’s no naptime in 1st grade, so her only naps these days are when she accidentally falls asleep in the car. That doesn’t happen too much anymore though. Brooklyn is still a little scared of the dark, and she likes to sleep with her closet light on and the door cracked. Gabby still sleeps on Brooklyn’s bed sometimes, which can be a problem when it’s time for the tooth fairy to visit ;)

Brooklyn has done well in first grade so far and has enjoyed going for the most part. She does complain from time to time about having to do “too much work”…I don’t think she enjoys all the worksheets they do each day, and they do a lot! She brings it all home every Friday, and it’s a big stack of papers. She would much rather be building, creating, drawing, etc. than doing worksheets, but she is doing well in school despite not loving it all of the time. I don’t think she dreads going–she enjoys having fun with her friends, art class, Spanish, P.E., recess, and of course, lunch. Brooklyn is reading really, really well now. She talks about only wanting to read chapter books, and her teacher has started allowing her to check them out from the school library, which is exciting. This has been an interesting school year because her teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of December and missed about a month of school after having surgery. Brooklyn enjoyed her sub, Ms. Scopes, and didn’t seem to have trouble adjusting to a different teacher for several weeks. And now she is out of school for an extended spring break due to the COVD-19 pandemic. We’ll see what happens, but this school year will go down in history as unprecedented for sure.

Among Brooklyn’s interests, drawing and writing continue to be at the top of the list. I will frequently find her in her room all alone just sitting on the floor and drawing. One of her favorite things to do is writing cards or notes to those that she loves, and it makes me happy to be the beneficiary of her sweet words. She made homemade valentines (with Cici’s help) for her classmates, friends, and family again this year for the second year in a row. She has given Ms. Carter several cards and drawings since she got sick as well. She also enjoys writing and illustrating her own books and even had a book fair over Christmas break (we actually invited people to come and everything!). I think drawing and writing are therapeutic for Brooklyn. If she is upset or angry, you can frequently find her writing about it in her room. She is very creative, and it’s neat to have the inside scoop on what’s going on in her little mind.

Brooklyn has played soccer for two seasons now and is about to start back again for her third season this spring. She has enjoyed it, and it’s a good way for her to burn off some energy. She has expressed an interest in playing basketball and softball, so maybe we’ll try those in the future. We are trying to stick to one sport/activity at a time so that Mommy and Daddy don’t go too crazy :)

Brooklyn continues to be full of life and lots of personality. She has lots of energy and loves to play and be silly, but I’ve also noticed over the last few months that she is spending more time drawing, writing, and reading quietly by herself than she ever has before. In the past, if her sisters were around to play with, she would choose playing with them almost 100% of the time. But more and more lately, I’ve seen her forgoing the playtime with her sisters to do her own thing. She is very creative and likes to design and make things out of paper. She likes doodling and practice different handwriting styles. She has figured out on her own how to write some cursive letters and thinks she can actually write in cursive now ;) She also enjoys playing outside, riding her bike and scooter, and rollerskating. She likes playing computer games (Lion Guard and Wild Kratts are her favorites), and she enjoys watching shows like Odd Squad and Wild Kratts on TV.

Brooklyn is a great big sister, and it’s fun to see her relationships with Savannah and Abigail blossom as they all get older. Brooklyn and Savannah are great playmates and enjoy playing in each other’s rooms and being silly together. They love to make their stuffed animals talk in high-pitched voices to each other while we are riding in the car. They get along pretty well most of the time, but they do have their moments like all siblings do. When Abigail thrown in the mix, things are definitely more tenuous. Brooklyn enjoys playing with her, but Abigail can be frustrating and difficult to get along with (understatement of the year!) so it’s not surprising that they butt heads sometimes. Overall though, Brooklyn definitely understands how much her sisters look up to her, and we frequently remind her that she is setting an example for them to follow. She’s not perfect, but she tries really hard to be a good example, and we are thankful for that!

Other fun facts about Brooklyn: She continues to be a pretty big pack rat. She hates to throw anything away, especially her artwork or art supplies. She has SO many toys and stuffed animals that she rarely ever plays with, but she can’t bear to get rid of any of them :) I definitely think that one of her love languages is “quality time”. Whether it’s her latest art project or making something in the kitchen, sometimes it seems like Brooklyn is non-stop asking for my help with one thing or another. I try to soak it up because I know one day she won’t need my help anymore (cue the tears). It surprised me when she acted kind of shy at her recent birthday party. She was a little embarrassed when we sang to her, and she didn’t want to open her gifts unless I sat right beside her. Overall, I would still consider her an extrovert though. She loves being around people and doesn’t usually have much trouble making new friends. She has gotten pretty good at tying her shoes over the school year, and she has lost 6 teeth total (I’m pretty sure). She writes epic notes to the tooth fairy and leaves them under her pillow with the tooth. The questions are getting more and more difficult for the tooth fairy to answer ;) Some of Brooklyn’s other interests right now are space and the solar system, animals (especially big cats like lions and cheetahs), and weather. Brooklyn loves to learn and amazes me with all the Bible facts she can remember.

Last but not least, here are Brooklyn’s answers to her birthday quiz:

1. If you could go anywhere, where would you go? “In Disney World at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad”
2. What are you going to be when you grow up? an artist
3. Who do you think you’ll marry one day? “I might not marry someone.”
4. Who are your friends? Avery, Sariyah, Declan, and Sydney (friends from Ms. Carter’s class)
5. What do you like to do with your friends? play “baby” – a game where some of them pretend to be babies and the others pretend to be the mom and dad ;)
6. What is your favorite food? Peach dumplings
7. What do you like to do with Mommy? “I can’t decide”
8. What do you like to do with Daddy? Play tickle monster
9. What is your favorite color? red
10. What is your favorite movie? the new Frozen (Frozen 2)
11. What is your favorite song? “I don’t really have a favorite”
12. What is your favorite thing to do outside? “I think roller skating, bikes, and scooters”
13. What are you really good at doing? scootering
14. What do you like to sleep with at night? Simba
15. What’s the best thing about being a big sister? “I get to do things that Savannah and Abigail can’t do.”
16. What is your favorite book? “I don’t know”
17. What is your favorite fruit? apples
18. What is your favorite drink? apple juice
19. What is your favorite restaurant? Firehouse Subs
20. What is your favorite dessert? chocolate and ice cream
21. What do you hope to do before your next birthday? to go to Rae Rae and Paw’s house

We love you, our sweet Brooklyn! You make us so proud!!