Back when I was a Girl Scout Camp counselor, the 9 year old campers were my favorite. It was just a great age: old enough to do a lot, young enough still see magic in the world. Little Sweetie being 9 feels the same. Our baby girl is growing up fast, but we determined to pack as much magic into her childhood while we can. This becomes an even more special mission during the holidays! I'm hoping my now 41 year old safe is up to the challenge!
Brunch for Momma's birthday!
Speaking of Scouts, Little Sweetie has been having a blast with so many Girl Scout activities! From Chick-Fil-A tours to Brownie Magic to backyard camping to holiday fun, it's been a joy to watch her and our troop.
So much fun at our Backstage Tour of Chick-Fil-A!
Brownie Magic is a fantastic day camp full of fun activities just for Brownies. It was Little Sweetie's second and last year and lots of fun!
Games station!
Learning about ocean pollution at the science station!
Lunch picnic!
Learning a dance routine from the Green Starlettes!
General mayhem from my favorite agents of chaos!
Done with our mermaid crafts!
A great group of girls!
All tuckered out from Brownie Magic. But she has to rally; it's time for the backyard campout!
Cooking over a fire!
Cuddling with hot chocolate...it was a cold night!
Snuggled in tight to keep warm through the night!
They survived the night!
Our brave campers!
Of course, one of the big highlights of the past month was Halloween! Little Sweetie was all in, insisting yet again on a family costume. This year we enjoyed all our Halloween prep and then went trick-or-treating as characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Pumpkin carving time!
Spooky!
Making mummy dogs for our Halloween dinner!
Team Avatar is ready to go!
Little Sweetie was also all in on the World Series this year and was so excited when the Astros won it!
Watching game highlights at breakfast!
School has also kept our Little Sweetie busy. Third grade is still quite a significant jump in work from second, but she still seems to be adjusting well and keeping up. And she's been enjoying all the fun things we get back after the Covid hiatus cancelled so much the past two years.
Hawaiian Shirt Day during Red Ribbon Week...she fits into one of Big Brother's old ones now!
Enjoying Dads and Donuts!
The Choir performed for Veterans Day!
Her science experiment on heat energy: making cookies in a solar oven!
We finished up the month by showing our WILLPower for Sanfilippo Awareness Day!
Even in a uniform, she can still spread some WILLPower!
Spirit Night at Torchy's with the Godfamily!
Height and Weight
Little Sweetie is staying strong at about 64 lbs. this month and up to about 52.6 inches!
Our favorite sibling set!
Personality
Very much her own person, as shown by her determination to bring and wear her bathrobe to the dentist so she could be "cozy" (thankfully, cozy girl was still cavity free!). She's fun and very passionate about the things she deems worth of her passion (such as colored Christmas lights and basketball) but gets upset quickly when things aren't easy. We keep working to let her know that life is about learning and all she needs is to be herself and give things a try.
Living the life at the dentist.
Developmental Milestones
Sometimes, growing up looks like learning how to solve a word problem with algebra. Sometimes, it looks like making your own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She's growing up and all signs are pointing to a good foundation of self-care and curiosity.
Attempting to learn some algebra instead of guess-and-check for a word problem.
Making her own simple lunch. Big Brother never got to this stage. It's amazing and humbling to see her grow into herself.
Fun Tidbits
Something that was really special to me this month was how much one-on-one fun Little Sweetie and I had. The time is fast approaching when she won't want to hang out with Momma as much, so I am trying to soak the moments in and be grateful, even the difficult ones!
A joint birthday present, a new tent! Of course, we had to try it out before the Girl Scout Campout.
No backyard campout is complete without a fire and some s'mores!
A day off school when Big Brother does have school means Little Sweetie gets some quality time with Momma. We enjoyed a day walking around The Woodlands!
Who doesn't love some Avatar monopoly?!
Rolling right into Thanksgiving and Christmas next! We'll see if Little Sweetie retains the Christmas magic for one more year!
Good night,
LSM
Little Sweetie's Momma
