91 Months!

 I don't really count Amalie's age in months, but I thought it would make for a fun title! 

Amalie has been amazing these past few months.  She took it the hardest when we moved, which surprised Brad and I because when we first told the kids about it, she took it the best.  Still, knowing what a fabulous girl she is, she has done well acclimating and has lots of friends.  Best of all, she has her own room and she really enjoys it!  She loves to sing herself to sleep, and that caused a lot of tension between her and her brothers when they all shared a room.  She can also sleep in longer when her early bird brothers aren't waking her up!  It works so well!

She has matured so much in the past six months.  She has a similar weakness to mine in that when she gets upset, she expresses it vocally by yelling at other people.  I've had some talks with her about it, admitting it is something I struggle with as well, and telling her that if she prays for help, she will receive it.  I have noticed a remarkable change in the last few months.  She has greatly overcome this tendency and when she does succumb to it, many times she quickly corrects herself and is quick to apologize. I am so impressed by her- that she would start to overcome her faults at such a young age is just remarkable to me.  She is also a fabulous older sister to Gabriel- whom she plays with a lot and to baby Andre- she has been learning to change his wet diapers and she will hold him and help him out frequently.  She and Noah still fight over holding him.  He gets a lot of loving from his sister.

I bought a copy of one of my all time favorite books, Ella Enchanted, over ten years ago, hoping that someday I would have a daughter to share it with, and recently I found her reading it.  She loved it.  It is so much fun that I can share my favorite books with her- I love going to the library and recommending some of my favorite reads.  It's so fun to have a daughter that loves to read, like me.

 Amalie was so happy when I told her that I could come to her school and watch her in the walk-a-thon.  She ran for about 2/3 of a mile straight.  I was thrilled for her.  After that, she walked for a while and then was off running again.  With my pregnancy and subsequent birth of baby, I've not been a hands on mom, nor have I been able to support her at school functions, so it is thrilling to both of us that I can participate again.

 On Easter Sunday, Amalie and Noah made place mats for everyone.  I think she may have tried to show me, but with all the fun going on, I got distracted.  So the next morning, I found the place mats on the table and looked at them.  This one cracked me up.  Her sense of humor is just fabulous- I love how she purposely crossed out words, spelling them wrong purposely and drawing little add-ons to the list with "tape" attaching them.  My fave part is where she wrote "salad" on the list and then crossed it out and wrote, "my mom did that".  So funny!  Check it out below:

 I also loved this comic she drew (another place mat).  The irony is adorable!  The first two scenes are below and the third and fourth scenes are below that. Check it out:

Also of note, is that she wants to be a builder like her dad.  We got a dresser from IKEA that needed to be assembled and Brad and I had assembled the frame one night, but the next day the drawers all needed to be put together.  Amalie asked if she could help and after we put the first one together, she knew just how to do it and did 2 all on her own! (I started the nails for her, and made sure all the screws were tightened)  This girl is incredible!  She even pointed out to me that I was using the wrong screws on a certain part.  Awesome.  She also proceeded to help me assemble a cabinet for Gabe's room as well.  This girl amazes me. 

 

I feel like there are hundreds of wonderful things I could say about her, like that she is great about packing her lunches each day- and I love how she is adventurous and will pack leftovers and frozen fruit in Tupperware.  She is really good about doing her after dinner chore, and she is especially good at sweeping the floor, which I really appreciate it, since it's not my fave job.  She is growing like a weed, and has a hard time saying good bye to her favorite clothing, so we have started a little bin so she can keep some of her fave things for her future daughter.  As I said before, her sense of humor is really fun, but the best part is when you hear her laugh.  It is the most delightful sound.  What a gem she is.

Man, we love this girl so much!

What a treasure she is to our family!