Today, Valentine's Day, is Nora Kate's half birthday. She says Valentine's Day is her favorite holiday and I think that is partly due to all the pink and partially due to the fact that it's her 1/2 birthday. She's halfway to 8, and it seems that there has been a lot of growing up done over the last six months. She just seems and acts older and more mature most of the time. She's also continued to get taller and she's nearing being the same height as Carter (although he doesn't like to talk about that!). She's still got the very best laugh in the world that just bubbles out of her. When she gets tickled she can't help but throw her head back and let the laughter bubble out. I love it. Carter and Clayton are especially good at getting her laughing at some nonsensical thing.
Speaking of her brothers, Nora Kate, being the only girl, has special relationships with all her brothers. Lately it seems that she and Dawson get along the best with the least amount of conflict, however, she and Carter have this special way they play together especially when it's just the two of time. It's very silly and make-believe based, but they both are always on the same page. However, these two that are so close in age can have their fair share of disagreements lately, but they seem to be over them before I even figure out what the dispute is about. I've always said that NK and Carter are as thick as theives together-they protect the other one, that's for sure. Nora Kate and Clayton do well together too, especially when he will play exactly what she wants him to which a lot of the time he's so thrilled to be included that he will follow along.
Nora Kate also plays great with her friends. This has been a disappointing year in that we really haven't gotten to have any friends from school over to play thanks to Covid, but she still loves seeing her friends at school on the two mornings she goes each week. Thankfully NK has made two friends on our street who are her age and who she has gotten to play with a ton during all this covid quarantine time, so that has been wonderful for her!
Nora Kate continues to be a free spirit in many ways that she acts. She is also so used to playing with brothers that when she witnessed some girl drama (yes, already at 7.5-crazy), she said she thought it was a waste of playtime...hah! And promptly went to play with her brothers and leave the other girls to argue on their own.
Nora Kate continues to enjoy our homeschool/blended school. Of course, it is really all she has ever known, but I think it's perfect for her. I have been amazed at how much her reading skills have continued to take off over the last six months. She's become a really great and avid reader! Some of her favorite books to read on her own right now are Owl Diaries Books, Horrible Harry Books, Jigsaw Jones Books. The kids and I have continued to read through the 9 books of the Little House on the Prairie series this year. We just this past week finished book 4 (On the Banks of Plum Creek), so we are down to 5 left in the series. She has really enjoyed this and learning all about Laura Ingalls' life growing up. I loved these books as a kid, so it's fun re-experiencing them again with the kids. Back to school, Nora Kate does well in all her subjects. She loves the hands on parts of science especially when we have an experiment to do. She enjoys English Language Arts as long as she doesn't have to do a lot of writing (then it's not her fav). She does really well at math, although she has had to learn to force herself to sit still and work on her practice problems since she can't stand all the 2nd grade math problems that require her to solve the problems three different ways (drawing disks is probably her least favorite thing ever-hah). Social studies is not her favorite, but lately we have been in a lesson about National Symbols and a lot of them tie to Washington, DC so she has been more interested in that since she remembers all the monuments, White House, etc from our visit. So that's been fun for her. She usually says her favorite subject is Science when asked lately.
Nora Kate continues to amaze me with her athleticism lately. She excelled in soccer this year, and it was SO fun to watch her competitive spirit come out and see her play so hard! She has been doing great in gymnastics this year too. She has mastered many things. They have a book they work through and she has gotten a lot of 4's (complete mastery) on various skills in the book. She looks forward to gymnastics each Monday, and I love it. I can tell that between soccer and gymnastics she has gotten stronger. She cartwheels everywhere.
Nora Kate loves to randomly tell us she loves us-and I love that about her. She also randomly loves to tell us that we are the best Mommy and Daddy ever. Sweet girl. She is so wonderful and brings the perfectly needed amount of girlyness to our family. Things I want to remember about our curly haired, bubble, blue eyed, happy, sweet, kind, athletic, cartwheel doing, book reading, girl at this age: loves Legos (especially "girl Legos"), has gotten into the big American Girl Books more lately (currently Felicity), loves her trampoline, she and Carter put on trampoline shows that are full on routines for me, would jump on the trampoline 24/7 if I let her, loves baking shows and making her own baking shows (I put them privately on youtube to share with family and friends but we made them into real little shows with intro and music and she thinks this is the best thing ever), loves to bake, loves the show Nailed It, loves to ride her bike, loves to roller skate in the garage (this is a very recent thing), enjoys gardening and even asked to join the gardening club at school and thoroughly enjoys that club, loves her reading nook, is very social and knows what seems like every single kid in every single grade name at school, begged along with Carter to play spring soccer (usually we just do fall) so we said ok so will be getting to play soccer this spring, loves boots, prefers summer clothes and dresses to winter clothes (who doesn't?!), would wear her Chaco sandals year-round if I let her, likes to keep her toenails and fingernails polished, two favorite hair styles are "the normal way" and side pony tail, got a scooter for Christmas but refuses to take it outside so that it can continue being and indoor use scooter-regularly scooters from her room to kitchen for meals-hah, loves to do sweet little unnoticed things for her brothers, a Daddy's girl, loves her dog Duke and he loves her right back, she likes to sleep on a silk pillow case and wear a sleeping mask (and she packs these things when we travel), loves the pool, beach, and sunshine, wanted to join and did join the following clubs at school: Book Buddies, Gardening Club, Makerspace, and Music Club, she loves making art-especially if it is out of some cardboard or item that I have attempted to throw away, she loves to help me in the kitchen, and, my most favorite of all, she frequently just gives me hugs unsolicited and out of the blue, for no reason.
I think I've made this post longer than I intended for a half birthday post, but it seems she's grown and changed so much in the last 6 months that there was just a lot I want to write (type) so I can remember it all. We love this sweet, bursting with personality, bubble, giggly girl so much! Happy half birthday NK!
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