Happy 8th Birthday!

Happy eighth birthday, Greta!  Yet again I shake my head and wonder how 365 days could have already passed!  Seven proved to be super, and I am sure that EIGHT will be great!

It is already off to an awesome start.  You had a really fun sleepover last night and woke up with your girlfriends ready to take on the day.  In addition to lots of fun run-around time, you wanted to spend part of your birthday at the South Orange River Clean-Up! You donned your rubber boots and toted your plastic bag determined to make a little corner of our town brighter.  I shouldn't be surprised that you choose to do that, as you continue to be very conscientious about the environment and habitats of critters.  You are a nature lover, and Daddy and I are proud that you want to give back.  You are such a remarkable, responsible girl.

You are also very funny.  You tell lots of jokes and riddles, love to make plays on words, and recently started "Guess Who I Am" impersonations.  You have Miss Hannigan from "Annie" down pat, as well as a pretty spot-on rendition of lots of my mommy-isms.  Lincoln finds you hilarious, and you both laugh and laugh. Those are the best times, when you too are getting along splendidly.  But truth be told, you have an on-again/off-again relationship with each other.  He remains (as you call him more often than I'd like) your "annoying little brother," begging you to play with him, asking if he can join in when you have a friend over, teasing you relentlessly about who you have a crush on, and on and on.  You have little patience a lot of the time, but there are plenty of days when you are thick as thieves, two peas in a pod, partners in crime, and all the other cliches.  You sneak bites of his dinner to "help him" earn dessert, you defend him, you read to him, and even let him sleep with you on the weekends. 

Yes, you love to read.  The first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is reach for a book, and the last thing at night is beg me for just one more chapter.  Ivy & Bean, Cam Jansen, Little House on the Prairie, Dan Gutman's Crazy School series...you've read and re-read them all.  We recently read Little Women together and it was so much fun to share that story with you.  Your favorite thing in the world seems to be finding a cozy nook to curl up with a book!  You still love poetry, and have started to memorize poems... you love to recite Shel Silverstein.  It helps that your teachers love his writing, too, and you will follow anything they recommend!  You are a wonderful student in Ms. Holland and Ms. Esposito's second grade class.  You have written terrific stories, learned to spell really challenging words, mastered addition and subtraction (Singapore Style!) and have started multiplication and division.  You are an eager learner and take school seriously, but also have a lot of fun. They are thrilled to have you in their class, and we are delighted with your efforts.

This year we took on a challenge: ice skating.  You seemed to enjoy lessons and have really progressed in the last six months.  Your confidence is building and you are starting to understand technique.  It has been great to share the rink with you.  I love that you invite me to skate with you and then we giggle and swap stories as we skate-dance around the ice.  It really is fun to talk with you.  Our conversations are interesting!  You continue your insightful perspective, are very observant about life and living... most recently wondering why you are who you are, and not a bird or a cat or something.  It was very sweet.  You seem very curious about what your purpose on this earth is.  You ask hard questions, which we usually turn around and ask back ("Why do you think?"). 

All in all, my precious love, it is a real privilege to be your mom.  You are still my chickadee, my sweet pea,my  princess.  You have a heart of gold and I treasure you.

xoxoxo,

Mommy

Uh-oh!! I've forgotten to mention what great pet owner you've become this past year!  We adopted Mittens, a tuxedo-styled former alley cat, last Father's Day, and he is YOURS (saying that you could have a pet at age 7 when you were 2, 3, and 4 seemed like a good idea at the time...and then you stopped asking and started counting the days...). You take excellent care of him, and he knows that you are his beloved owner.  He comes when you call him, sleeps with you at night (he loves your fuzzy pink blanket), and you have very sweet conversations in cat-speak.  He is a wonderful addition to the Merrill menagerie, more so because of the sweetness, caring, and responsible nature he brings out of you.   Yet another reason you are so very, very special! xoxo, Mommy