Annie at 8

Annie campaigned long and hard to get two things for her 8th birthday: bangs and pierced ears. 

The bangs in particular took a lot of persuasion because I knew I would have to trim them- but I do think they turned out adorable, and Annie loves them! She does her own hair now, and it consistently looks much better than when I was in charge of doing it. 

Here's Annie with her doppelganger, Brooklyn. I think a lot of people were relieved when Annie got bangs- it's a bit easier to tell them apart now, even on the many days that they find themselves wearing matching outfits. 

Annie was a champ when we got her ears pierced! We went to a place called Straight to the Point. Annie was nervous and had lots of questions but went right into the chair with no hesitation when the time came. She's been doing a great job keeping them clean and has been begging to shorten the recommended wait time for being able to swap out to other earrings for weeks now.  

Annie's greatest passion these days is gymnastics. She was born with muscles so tight that her pediatrician had me moving her head from side to side to stretch out and loosen her muscles when she was a baby. She worked HARD to learn how to to do the splits... and cartwheels... and handstands... and and back bends! I have a vast reservoir of videos on my phone of her doing her gymnastics tricks. She likes watching the recordings to see how she can do better. It's awesome watching her work so hard at something she loves. It's also a bit dangerous around the house because if you don't watch out, you could get kicked in the face by Annie flipping into a headstand and not noticing you were nearby. She spends a substantial amount of her waking hours upside down. 

She's getting pretty strong!

Annie remains the social butterfly of the family. She frequently gets off the bus and ends up going to a friend's house. She reports that she is in the "grape" reading group at school, which is the only one that is reading chapter books. She's an excellent reader, but sitting alone with a book is usually low down on list of things she likes to do. Her younger brothers adore her- Felix is always talking about "Nana" and although sometimes that means "banana," usually it means he's thinking about her. She's always looking out for Isaac and will help him say his prayers or do "Isaac School" with him. She's curious and likes talking about new ideas- she asks great questions, and it's delightful seeing the moment when things click into place for her. She signed herself up for a solo in the Primary Program and brought me to tears when she absolutely nailed the last line of "My Own Sacred Grove." She's up for anything and a great person to have around!