A Gretchen Update

A few weeks ago, I started writing a separate post on each of the girls and I said I was going to write about one girl each week. I was able to write Megan's update, and Adalyn's and then I got to the week of when I was going to write Gretchen's update and life got crazy! So, today, it's all about our oldest. The little girl that made me a mommy. 

Gretchen is in the 2nd grade, and I still have no idea how she's big enough to be in 2nd grade. She'll be 8 years old in January, and she often reminds me that after that she'll be 9, and then 10, and then 11, and then 12, and then a teenager! I sort of hyperventilate when I realize that double digits are just two years away. Like, it doesn't even seem possible. 

Every day, she helps take her little sister to school. She usually is always running ahead of us and beats us to the door all of the time. She signs Megan in to class, and they give each other a hug and a kiss before we have to leave to head to our school. 

Gretchen comes to my office each morning, unless we're running late, and will read or play before heading to class. I stop by and see her every day at lunch, and she arrives in my room promptly at 3:30 every afternoon. 

We usually do her reading fluency and she practices her spelling before we head home. 

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, she goes to ballet after school. She decided this year to take just ballet, which is two days per week, rather than tap. She loves to dance, and will dance every where. She puts on little recitals for us at home. She tells me that ballet is boring because they do the same thing over and over again. I think as the year progresses and she learns her dance for the recital, she'll enjoy it more and more. 

She asked to play basketball this year. We found a league at a church that runs December through February, and they only practice one evening a week. Their games are on Saturday, so when she asked, DJ agreed that she could play and promised he would help take her as much as he could. 

She knows that Tulsa is our favorite team. We live in a state where the other teams are big college level teams, and if someone forgets about Tulsa she's sure to remind them! 

Gretchen loves to read. There's hardly a moment where she doesn't have a book in her hand. She's reading on a 4th grade reading level, and she's the 2nd highest reader in the entire 2nd grade according to an assessment that our school uses. She's doing a book report this month on Anne of Green Gables. She reads every night after we tuck her in the bed, and she reads in the car. She reads anything and everything. A few weeks ago, she told my sister in law that she was reading The 5 Love Languages. Thankfully, my sister in law told me and I was able to remove that book so she can't read it anymore!

Her math skills are pretty amazing too. She tested 9th out of the 2nd grade for math. Although she is missing some 2nd grade skills, her teacher went ahead and gave her an assessment for 2nd grade end of the year math, just to see what she still needed to learn. We definitely don't practice math as much as we should, so she recently started an online math program to help us practice more. 

She's doing okay in spelling. It's probably her weakest subject. I know she tries hard, and I'm trying not to be too hard on her about it. We practice every day for a little bit and then we move on. If I try having her spell words out loud she gets really frustrated. 

This is her best friend at school. Last year, she moved from group to group and played with different girls throughout the year. It was always changing. Now, she has one good friend, and I'm really glad they've found each other!

I have been really impressed that Gretchen is beginning to show signs of maturity and she's beginning to be more and more helpful. Sometimes she shocks me because she's not always considerate and when she is it just kind of floors me. I'm not sure if considerate is the right word or not... she definitely uses her manners, but she just surprises me when she shows a higher level of maturity. She can be really helpful, really kind, and sweet and caring. It's in those moments that I take a breath and realize that she really is growing up. 

This girl loves Jesus. She enjoys reading her Bible, and I'm so thankful that this summer she accepted Christ. 

She is silly. Sometimes I don't know how to handle her when she's silly. I am definitely more serious, and I think she's silly when she wants to be cute and funny. So, it's something we're working on. There's a time to be cute and funny and there's a time not to be, and she's learning to tell the difference of when and where it's okay to be silly and when and where it's not okay. I definitely think that's a struggle we're going through. 

She is definitely strong willed. She comes by it honestly. She wants to be able to explain herself and tell you why she's doing what she's doing. She's also sneaky and will swipe candy when she has a chance or try to take something that doesn't belong to her, but that she wants to play with. 

Her favorite toys are her American Girl dolls, books, Barbies, and Princesses. She still loves to dress up and she loves to perform. 

I know we have hard days, but I'm so thankful that she's mine.