Lena: 8!

My sweet Lena is 8 today. 

This girl has so much personality. She astounds me with her creativity every day. Her favorite phrase is, "I have an idea!" She loves making things, creating games, and planning events. She thinks every holiday should be celebrated to the max, complete with decorations and parties and gifts. I think her love language is gifts because she's always making something for someone. (Although I also think her love language is quality time and physical touch. Haha.) She's my game player, wants to play every game ever, and is tenacious about figuring things out until she can do them well. 2020 was a hard year for her anxiety-wise, but when she's not anxious, she is the sweetest, most empathetic, loving kid. When she can tell that I'm having a bad day with Lucy, she goes out of her way to tell me how much she loves me. When she notices that I'm overwhelmed with the housework, she'll quietly clean the bathroom or pick up the living room. She can't handle watching Levi be upset if it's in her power to do something about it. When 5 new girls started in her grade at school this year, she came home telling me that they were feeling left out at recess, so she played with them. She adores Lucy. Sometimes they have so much fun together. But Lena really struggles when Lucy's in a mood and doesn't want anything to do with her. We've had lots of discussions about how Lucy does love her even if she doesn't always show it. She loves babies and little kids, and is such a great helper with her cousins. She has deep questions about God and faith, and she challenges me with how she lives out what she believes. Recently, she got in a tiff with one of her friends and felt so bad about it that she wrote and mailed an apology letter to her. She's so smart, excelling at school, and reading like a champ. Don't get me wrong - she has some serious anger issues, she can drive me absolutely insane with her whining and neediness sometimes, and her anxiety is totally out of control. But most of the time, she is a delight who brings so much joy to our family. 😍

And how about that hair?! 😂

What do you and Mommy do together?

Play games

What do you and Daddy do together?
Daddy/daughter dates

What makes you happy?
Mommy

What is something scary?
Getting kidnapped

What are you really good at?
Gymnastics

Who is your best friend?
Harper and Aubrey 

Who’s the prettiest person you know?

Esther

What do you want to be when you grow up?
A million things . . . artist, video game creator, I forgot all the other stuff

What do you think about before you fall asleep?

Everything . . . audiobooks . . .

Favorites:

Color 
Blue

Book
Ella Diaries or Olivia's Secret Scribbles

Movie

Makenna 

Food
Shells n' cheese

Treat
Milkshake

Drink

Pink lemonade

TV Show
Gabby's Dollhouse

Toy
I can't pick one

Animal

Horse

Song
Saved My Soul (by City Alight)

Day

Saturday

Number
Anything with 8 in it

Breakfast Food
Cinnamon rolls and donuts

Store
Claire's . . . and Justice if it was still open

Restaurant

Taco Bell

Where’s your favorite place to go?

Michigan's Adventure

Favorite way to wear your hair

Half-up