This is my long, annual post about my kids at each age. Be warned.
Staley is officially nine years old. She is 51.5" tall (30th percentile) and weighs 59 lbs (30th percentile). She is wearing size 7/8 or 8 clothes and size 1 shoes. Staley is in 3rd grade in Mrs. Hitchin's class. Over the past year, Staley has participated in volleyball, coach pitch baseball, basketball, Stage Kids (Madagascar Jr., Peter Pan Jr., Frozen Jr.), Broadway Dance, tumbling, piano lessons, and singing lessons. She attends Kids Connection at church on Wednesday nights and is part of STING (a STEM group at school) during the school day on Mondays. Staley sleeps about 11-12 hours at night, going to bed around 8 and waking up between 7 and 8. She has braces on her top and bottom teeth as well as a top retainer and bottom expander. She is also the very recent owner of pierced ears.
She was all smiles as soon as the ear piercing was over
Likes: Staley has a wide variety of interests, but she loves anything to do with performing. Singing, dancing, acting, and writing/directing/costuming/planning plays and performances are her very favorite things. She also LOVES to read and fills most of her free time with a book in her hand. Staley also enjoys doing craft projects, drawing, writing, and cooking. Doing hair and trying out new hairstyles on her sister and her dolls has become a new fun activity. When the weather is nice, she also enjoys climbing trees, bike riding, riding her scooter, roller skating, and using her new pogo stick. Swimming is a favorite summer activity. Staley also enjoys sports and likes practicing basketball in the driveway and baseball in the yard.
Staley loves reading. All reading. Fiction. Non-fiction. Cookbooks. How-to books. She loves it all!
Staley does not play with toys as often anymore, but enjoys her American Girl dolls (especially doing their hair) and will still sometimes play Barbies, figurines, or stuffed animals with her siblings. Staley enjoys spending time with her friends, but is also happy to just be home with her family. Staley still considers Lilian her best friend, which is nice as Lilian goes to the same school and church as us, and is also our neighbor. Other close friends that Staley enjoys spending time with at church and school are Katelyn and Josie. However, Staley is confident in herself and gets along well with all her classmates. She sometimes plays 4 square or basketball with the boys at recess and plays with a variety of kids at school, church, and in the neighborhood. Her cousins and siblings still remain some of her closest friends and favorite playmates.
Staley, Lilian, and Josie at recess
Lila, Staley, and Lilian
Cousins make the best friends!
We don't watch TV, but Staley is enjoying more "big kid" movies when we do movie nights. She likes the live action Disney movies and has picked 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a new favorite. Staley loves reading so it's hard to pick a favorite book, but she has been enjoying the Narnia series that we are reading as a family, the Charlie Bone series, and the All of a Kind family series recently. She also likes historical fiction and non-fiction books, like the "I Survived" series and other books about historical events. She is also very good about reading to her brother and sister. Staley is a good eater, and has become much more adventurous about things that she will eat. Favorite foods are cheeseburgers and tacos, but she eats most main dishes without issue. She prefers her breads plain, and often eats her waffles and rolls without anything on them. Staley has become much better about clothing sensitivities, although still prefers comfortable materials and athletic wear.
Leggings and cozy sweatshirts are favorite clothing items...just like her mom.
Dislikes: Staley has matured and improved in many areas when it comes to things she doesn't like. She still does not like vegetables, but is venturing out with trying salads at dinner. She prefers soft clothing, but no longer complains about tights or shoes or costumes that she has to wear for plays. Staley has been to several movies in the theater recently without crying at the credits, and although there is still some anxiety about more tense movie moments, she handles them well. Staley still does not like crowded or overwhelming environments, preferring to know what to expect in all situations. And things like pulling teeth, splinters, shots, or ear piercing also cause her anxiety. Staley is starting to occasionally request doing things without her siblings, like not wanting Adelie to join all the same activities or asking to have some alone time with her friends during sleepovers or playdates, although is still very good about being an inclusive big sister.
Staley is a good eater, especially when it's things that she has made herself.
Skills: Staley is my most determined child. Even when things don't come easily to her, she persists until she masters a skill. She loves a challenge and whether it's climbing to the top of a rock wall or mastering a piano piece or making herself go on the fastest roller coaster, Staley is not one to back down. She rides a two wheeled bike, can jump over 100 times in a row on her pogo stick, can make baskets with the hoop lowered, and can hit the ball that is thrown to her. Catching the ball with a glove is still tricky. Staley can dive off the side and the diving board with swimming, can swim the length of a pool, and can do a variety of strokes (freestyle, backstroke, and learning to do breaststroke last summer). She can do cartwheels, roundoffs, backbends, and splits in tumbling.
Staley was determined to get to the top of various rock climbing routes...so she did.
Staley enjoys playing the piano and has almost finished her first set of books. She plays with both hands together and is working on sharps and flats. During singing lessons, she has vastly improved with matching pitch and singing the correct notes. Staley has very natural acting abilities and has no qualms about sharing this gift in front of others.
Such a great little actress!
Staley is very responsible and is a big help at home. She can make simple meals and can help get herself and her siblings breakfast and lunch. She cleans up without being asked and does a nice job with her chores (taking sheets off the bed, cleaning the bathroom sink, clearing the table). She has been very diligent about keeping her new ear piercings cleaned twice a day. Staley is very smart and school comes easily to her. She has been getting straight A's this year (which is the first year that they give letter grades) and continues to perform on standardized tests in the 96th percentile for math and 99th percentile for reading.
Staley loves school so much that she saved up 300 care coupons so that she could have a special one-on-one lunch with Mrs. Brown, the principal.
Personality: Staley has such a neat personality. She has mellowed out in her "things-need-to-be-my-way" behavior that was evident when she was younger. She now takes suggestions from others, compromises with friends and siblings, and demonstrates more maturity in her interactions. She is very sweet with her siblings and younger kids. I love to hear from her teachers and other kids at school that she is very kind and a good friend to others.
At Christmas, the kids in Staley's class drew names and wrote notes to each other. I loved that this was what Staley's classmate (who is not a close friend) had to say about her: "You are so nice to people. You are so smart and a better reader than me. You are the best dancer I've seen. It's so easy for you to make friends. You are so creative and fun. You are so happy about stuff." That's my Staley!
Staley is inquisitive and analytical and likes to ask questions and think through things. She still has big ideas and big plans, but is open to suggestions on changes that make them more feasible. Staley is very confident in herself and is not easily swayed by what others are doing or what other people think. She is responsible and a rule follower and will often do what she knows is right even when others don't. She has a sincere heart for growing as a Christian and is often reading her Bible and asking questions about what she reads and how that relates to the world we live in. I love watching Staley grow and mature into such a great young lady. She brings such joy to our lives.
My big 9 year old!
