Adelie has officially crossed into the double digits, so here is my annual post about all things Adelie at her new age. Adelie weighs 58 lbs (8th percentile) and is 4'7" tall (62nd percentile). She is mostly wearing her size 10 pants (although a lot of her shorts are still 7/8) and size 10 or 10/12 tops. She can still wear some of her 7/8 or 8 things, although many are just getting too short. She's just long and lean. Adelie is currently in her size 2 shoes.
Adelie is in 4th grade in Mrs. Mickna's class. She is or has been involved in a variety of activities through school including Hornet Buzz, Safety Patrol, 4th Grade Drama Club, Young Authors, and Recycling Club. Outside of school, she has participated this year in her NTA activities (Stage Kids, Rising Stars, Broadway Dance), tumbling (although her favorite tumbling place closed so we are taking a break from that), volleyball, singing lessons, piano lessons, and Wednesday night Kid's Connection at church. Adelie typically goes to bed around 9 or 9:30 and gets up around 7:15 or 7:30 on school days. She sleeps in until 8 or 9 on week-ends. She is often hard to get up for school or church on a typical day.
Likes: Adelie still has a love for all things mermaid. She enjoys acting and singing, although maybe not quite as much as Staley does. Tumbling and swimming are favorite sports, even if she's just doing them around the house or in the summer. Adelie loves to do crafts, often making very creative and inventive things out of paper, tape, and random things she has rescued from the recycling or the garbage. Adelie enjoys creative play, making up plays/shows or engaging in imaginative play with Briggs or her friends.
Adelie is my saver and collector. She loves stuffed animal with her bed getting overtaken with special stuffies and under her loft being the home to her ever-growing collection of Squishmallows. She also has a collection of plants on the back porch that she faithfully waters and takes care of. This is the most and longest we've ever had living plants in our house, thanks to Adelie. Adelie is also the animal lover of our family. She is the one who remembers to feed the fish on a regular basis, and she is also the one who can most often be found playing with Frisco or trying to teach Frisco tricks. (She's currently working with Frisco on playing fetch.)
Like all my kids, Adelie loves to read. Harry Potter is her current favorite series, but she also enjoys any book series about mermaids. She also has a habit of re-reading favorite parts of books. Writing her own stories and poems is another favorite past time. Adelie's poems are some of my favorites of her writings. When it comes to movies or shows, Adelie is typically pretty easy-going about watching what everyone else wants to watch. (Briggs and Staley tend to have stronger opinions about movies than Adelie does.) She does prefer to skip the scarier parts in the Harry Potter movies that she has seen.
Adelie is definitely the slowest and not always the best eater in our house. Fruit is by far her favorite thing to eat. She's not always big on main courses, but would happily fill up on fruit, bread, and desserts if I'd let her. Adelie still enjoys wearing dresses and rompers and nightgowns, although she also likes comfortable sweatshirts and leggings and cozy pajama pants. Anything with mermaids is still a favorite to wear. Adelie prefers to be barefoot or to wear sandals, even in the winter. She takes off her shoes and socks immediately upon getting home.
Adelie is social and enjoys being around people and spending time with friends. Her best friends from school are Stella and Anna, but she has a variety of other people she hangs out with at school, church, and in the neighborhood. She loves playing with her siblings and her cousins. She and her cousin, Caroline, have become especially good friends as Caroline has gotten a little older. Adelie also really enjoys entertaining and helping out with younger kids. I know she'll be a great baby-sitter one day.
Dislikes: Adelie is very sensitive and empathetic so she does not like getting in trouble, disappointing people, being left out, or hurting anyone else's feelings. She moves pretty slowly in the morning and at night (getting ready for the day and getting ready for bed)...and when eating...and when getting ready to leave the house for activities... and does not like feeling rushed. Adelie has some pretty legitimate FOMO and does not like when her siblings are involved in things she can't be involved in or invited to things that she's not. She especially always wants to be included in anything Staley is doing.
Skills: Adelie is super flexible and excels with tumbling skills, even without attending consistent tumbling classes. She can do front and back walkovers and continues to work on her back handspring. She is a good runner, now running a few 5K races without having to stop and walk. Her skills with acting and singing both continue to improve, and I love seeing her confidence grow with each show that she is in.
Adelie is very creative and an excellent writer. Her stories and poems are well-formed and often very inventive, creative, and witty. Adelie is bright and does well in school. She has gotten all A's on her report card since she has transitioned into letter grades. Her most recent standardized testing has her skills at the 97th percentile for reading and the 75th percentile for math.
Personality: Adelie has so many facets to her personality. She is very thoughtful and generous. Adelie is always giving compliments, making gifts for people, donating her money, and sharing what she has. She faithfully brings her own money to place in the offering on Sundays and often gives money she gets to St. Jude or wants to use it to buy gifts for people. Adelie is a great friend and is kind and inclusive with everyone.
On the other hand, Adelie is very silly and goofy. She is genuinely funny and loves to make people laugh. She is my child that is often making funny faces or doing goofy things. She can get very silly, which sometimes makes her slow to get things done. And although she is often sweet, Adelie also has a bit of a sassy side and can eye roll, stomp, or get huffy about things.
Adelie has some little quirks in her personality as well. She sometimes gets weirdly anxious about things like not knowing where something has come from, like a new pen in the pen drawer that she doesn't recognize or not remembering putting a book in a specific place and then finding it there. Instead of focusing on the logical explanation, she sometimes gets worried about things like that. This has ebbed and flowed over the past year or two, but has recently started making another comeback. Adelie is also my most germ-conscious child, washing her hands longer and more frequently than is probably necessary.
Adelie has a strong faith. She is solid in her convictions. She prays sincerely, takes notes during the sermon at church, and asks good faith-based questions. She took a step in her faith this year by choosing to be baptized. Sometimes she has to be reminded that faith isn't rule based as she wanted to clarify the "rules" when she gave up sweets for Lent or talks about feeling like her prayers should be longer. Adelie is my daughter who doesn't like to disappoint others or get in trouble, and sometimes this can be reflected in some of her faith questions.
Adelie has such a unique personality. She is sweet, but also sassy. She is thoughtful, but also goofy. She is sincere in her faith, but also silly in her interactions. Adelie is so many things, but one thing is certain. Our family would not be complete without her!
