Mary Grace's Interview
What is your favorite color?
LIGHT BLUE
What is your favorite thing to do?
READ, AND PLAY LEGOS. AND MAKE CRAFTS. AND PLAY MY LITTLE PONY TOO.
What is your favorite song?
LET IT GO (from Frozen)
What is your favorite book?
ALL THE BOXCAR CHILDREN BOOKS
Who are your good friends?
GRACE, AVERY, HADLEY, ISABEL, AUBREY AND MILLER.
What is your favorite food?
BURRITOS, SALMON, PANCAKES, OREOS AND PIZZA
What do you want to do when you grow up?
WORK AT THE GEORGIA AQUARIUM
What is your favorite part of school?
MATH AND SCIENCE
What is your favorite number?
8 BECAUSE IT'S AN EVEN NUMBER AND I REALLY LIKE EVEN NUMBERS
(This was her same answer a few years ago...so strange!)
What is your favorite animal?
CATS AND DOLPHINS. SHARKS. WELL, NO, ALL SEA "A-MI-NALS"
What is your favorite fruit?
STRAWBERRIES, PEACHES, CHERRIES AND GRAPES
What is your favorite car?
RACE CAR CAUSE THEY GO FAST.
What is your favorite vacation?
GREAT WOLF LODGE
What are you scared of?
THE DARK
What are your dreams?
A WHOLE CAT WORLD AND I AM THE PRINCESS CAT.
What was the best part of being 7?
1ST GRADE WAS AWESOME. AND MOVING TO CHARLOTTE BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT NEAR WHERE THE PEACHES GROW.
What are you most looking forward to doing when you're 8?
2ND GRADE, SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS AND THE DISNEY CRUISE.
I can't wait to grow up because...I CAN GET AS MANY CATS AS I WANT.
Trying to make an 8 with her arms-
Mary Grace is such a light in our lives. She is truly a joy and I can't believe how much she's grown this past year- not just physically, but in so many other ways too. She absolutely loves life. And while she does her fair share of complaining and whining, she really is just a happy kid.
Mary Grace celebrated her last birthday living in a hotel. So this year she moved into a new house and a new school. Mary Grace has such an outgoing personality so I wasn't too worried, but she exceeded every possible expectation. She loved everything about school and her teacher commented several times throughout the year how she seemed to get along with everyone. She never has anything bad to say about anyone (except occasionally, Miller.)
Mary Grace is SUPER smart so she really excelled in school. I probably need to do a separate post documenting all of her school accomplishments last year. Two areas where I noticed the biggest growth were her reading and writing. At the beginning of the year it was like pulling teeth to get her to read independently. I'm not sure exactly when she turned a corner, but now she is a total bookworm. It was nothing for her to finish 2-3 chapter books in a day this summer! Many nights I would catch her reading a book under her covers with a flashlight LATE into the night. It is now like pulling teeth getting her to put a book down! Her writing also blossomed this year. I loved what a big focus her teacher put on writing and I am so thankful for all of the time she spent teaching the kids how to write stories. Mary Grace's favorite writing unit was non-fiction. She loved doing the research and then putting together factual books. Most of hers were about sea animals and I know she learned a TON through the process.
I think one of the best things about Mary Grace is that she absolutely marches to the beat of her own drum. This is a way I've always described her, but as she gets older the quality is really defining itself. When she was younger I spent many, many hours frustrated over this quality (and, if I'm being honest, sometimes I still do), however I'm becoming more appreciative of the fact that no one will ever describe Mary Grace as follower. She is a born leader, and she leads by influence. She never minds being independent, but also thrives in a group. Her teacher told me last spring Mary Grace started a "Garden Club" during recess (essentially they were transplanting weeds from one area to another!) At first it was just Mary Grace, but after a couple of days over 15 kids were participating and they actually had to make them quit because with those numbers they were accomplishing too much!
Mary Grace is incredibly active, but not really showing signs of being athletic (yet!) The good news is that she loves every sport/activity she's ever played and she has no idea that she isn't the best player. The bad news is that a lot of kids her age are specializing/focusing already (meaning they do 1 sport very intensely- year round) so she will only get further and further behind if we continue to bounce her from activity to activity. But, weighing the pro/cons of the situation, Brent and I would rather her be well rounded and get to try everything she wants rather than concentrate on 1 thing in the hopes that she is the best. She loves to run, ride her bike and just play. She's outdoors a lot. And dirty a lot! This year we transitioned to her needing no assistance with her showers and it's been a lifesaver!
Mary Grace is still very easy when it comes to her wardrobe and appearance (thank goodness!!) She pretty much wears anything I tell her to without complaint. This past summer was an interesting test...if we weren't going anywhere special I would often tell her to go get dressed without having previously picked out an outfit. And oh, the outfits she put together. I don't think she's color blind. I think she just has zero self awareness or concerns about what matches. Her hair has gotten very long this year and she's planning on donating it again soon. Last time I found that long hair is actually much easier than short hair so I have been putting the brakes on donating it. I might let her do it this fall so it can grow out a little before next summer.
As grown up as she seems some days, she is still hanging onto a few "younger" things. She has 1 word left that she still says wrong- "A-mi-nals." It will be a sad day when she finally says that one correctly. She still believes in Santa Clause and loves to play pretend with her stuffed animals. Cathy, her pink cat lovie from when she was a baby, is still the most important thing in her world.
We did a well-check this summer for Mary Grace and she is officially 4 feet 2 inches (51% for her age) which means she is exactly 1 foot shorter than me. I can't believe it! She weighs 51 pounds (36% for her age) and her BMI is 14.7 (25% for her age.) Overall she's really healthy and doing great.
I will always think of Mary Grace as my little crazy girl. However, this past year I have really seen the "crazy" reign in and turn into incredible qualities. For years we have said, if we could just channel Mary Grace's personality and drive she will do amazing things in life. This year we have been given a glimpse and, while it's bittersweet seeing her grow up so fast, I can't wait to see what's ahead for her!
Mary Grace is SUPER smart so she really excelled in school. I probably need to do a separate post documenting all of her school accomplishments last year. Two areas where I noticed the biggest growth were her reading and writing. At the beginning of the year it was like pulling teeth to get her to read independently. I'm not sure exactly when she turned a corner, but now she is a total bookworm. It was nothing for her to finish 2-3 chapter books in a day this summer! Many nights I would catch her reading a book under her covers with a flashlight LATE into the night. It is now like pulling teeth getting her to put a book down! Her writing also blossomed this year. I loved what a big focus her teacher put on writing and I am so thankful for all of the time she spent teaching the kids how to write stories. Mary Grace's favorite writing unit was non-fiction. She loved doing the research and then putting together factual books. Most of hers were about sea animals and I know she learned a TON through the process.
I think one of the best things about Mary Grace is that she absolutely marches to the beat of her own drum. This is a way I've always described her, but as she gets older the quality is really defining itself. When she was younger I spent many, many hours frustrated over this quality (and, if I'm being honest, sometimes I still do), however I'm becoming more appreciative of the fact that no one will ever describe Mary Grace as follower. She is a born leader, and she leads by influence. She never minds being independent, but also thrives in a group. Her teacher told me last spring Mary Grace started a "Garden Club" during recess (essentially they were transplanting weeds from one area to another!) At first it was just Mary Grace, but after a couple of days over 15 kids were participating and they actually had to make them quit because with those numbers they were accomplishing too much!
Mary Grace is incredibly active, but not really showing signs of being athletic (yet!) The good news is that she loves every sport/activity she's ever played and she has no idea that she isn't the best player. The bad news is that a lot of kids her age are specializing/focusing already (meaning they do 1 sport very intensely- year round) so she will only get further and further behind if we continue to bounce her from activity to activity. But, weighing the pro/cons of the situation, Brent and I would rather her be well rounded and get to try everything she wants rather than concentrate on 1 thing in the hopes that she is the best. She loves to run, ride her bike and just play. She's outdoors a lot. And dirty a lot! This year we transitioned to her needing no assistance with her showers and it's been a lifesaver!
Mary Grace is still very easy when it comes to her wardrobe and appearance (thank goodness!!) She pretty much wears anything I tell her to without complaint. This past summer was an interesting test...if we weren't going anywhere special I would often tell her to go get dressed without having previously picked out an outfit. And oh, the outfits she put together. I don't think she's color blind. I think she just has zero self awareness or concerns about what matches. Her hair has gotten very long this year and she's planning on donating it again soon. Last time I found that long hair is actually much easier than short hair so I have been putting the brakes on donating it. I might let her do it this fall so it can grow out a little before next summer.
As grown up as she seems some days, she is still hanging onto a few "younger" things. She has 1 word left that she still says wrong- "A-mi-nals." It will be a sad day when she finally says that one correctly. She still believes in Santa Clause and loves to play pretend with her stuffed animals. Cathy, her pink cat lovie from when she was a baby, is still the most important thing in her world.
We did a well-check this summer for Mary Grace and she is officially 4 feet 2 inches (51% for her age) which means she is exactly 1 foot shorter than me. I can't believe it! She weighs 51 pounds (36% for her age) and her BMI is 14.7 (25% for her age.) Overall she's really healthy and doing great.
I will always think of Mary Grace as my little crazy girl. However, this past year I have really seen the "crazy" reign in and turn into incredible qualities. For years we have said, if we could just channel Mary Grace's personality and drive she will do amazing things in life. This year we have been given a glimpse and, while it's bittersweet seeing her grow up so fast, I can't wait to see what's ahead for her!
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