Since Turning Seven

I was getting ready to write a blog post about a certain little boy turing five and realised I never wrote anything about a certain little girl turning seven?!
And so in honour of her being almost seven and a half I thought I would compile a big group of pics and write about what's been happening since becoming a seven year old.

We celebrated her official day back in May of course, with a small gathering of her school friends and did two of her favourite things :  painting and planting.  The girls painted their pots then planted some  flowers.  It was a pretty short and sweet celebration because some of the girls had another engagement that they needed to attend but it was a great way to celebrate our little crafty seven year old!

Isabel has been part of a girl scout troop since September 2015 and seems to really enjoy it.  At the end of the school year (June 2016) she was asked if she would like to join the other troop that had formed back in 2014.  This troop was originally too big when she finally decided she wanted to be a part of girls scouts,  however a lot of the friends she tends to play with are part of that older troop so she made the decision to move on over.  Back in June of this year they held a 'bridging ceremony' to celebrate the girls 'bridging' from Daisies to Brownies.  I have to laugh sometimes at how foreign some of this is to me since I was never involved in such activities growing up but that's part of the parenting adventure I guess. :)

Last week she attended the very first meeting with this new troop.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed the decision to move was a good one and that it is in fact the positive experience that something like this should be.

In June she danced in her recital dressed as one of the 'Muses' from the Disney Hercules movie.

She had quite a memorable summer I must admit.  There was plenty of activity mixed in with plenty of lazy days that saw her sleeping in until 9am or even 9:30 somedays!  But on the not so lazy days she was lucky enough to attend a few summer 'camps'.  They were usually held from 9am to Midday and lasted an entire week.  Let's see if I can remember them :  Vacation Bible School/Zoo Camp/Soccer Camp and Art Camp.  It's safe to say she enjoyed each and every one of them.  Our little emotional one shed some tears on the final day of each one because she didn't want it to end.  Then she proceeded to ask over and over over again if she would be doing that camp again next year.

I never want to forget this particular Sunday in July in the Summer of 2016.  It was an experience that  I can honestly say really brought her out of her shell. It was something that made her have an ear to ear grin and you could tell she was so proud of herself for doing it.  She had been wanting to ride a horse for a long time and on this day in July she got to have an awesome encounter with these magnificent creatures.  This was the final activity she did with her old girl scout troop but I'm so grateful she was able to take part.  This particular place really lets the participants get up close and personal with the horses .. she got to lead her horse from its stall to the riding area.  A reasonably short walk but when you are leading this large creature it can get pretty intimidating.  That was part of the experience though .. showing the horse who was in charge and being confident about it.

Then she got ride her new friend 'Levi' .. without a harness!  
Levi was not being too cooperative when it came time to trot around in circles and gave her a little bumpier ride than normal but she handled it just fine with the big smile on her face the entire ride.

This was a good good day!

First grade was a huge year in the learning to read process.  Since finishing first grade her love of reading keeps expanding and that makes me so so happy.

I took this photo at one of our library days during the Summer.  I'm happy to say she managed to read all summer long without being reminded to do so and without any bribery involved.  Woo Hoo!

  A little corner of her bookshelf.
Her pet guinea pig 'Ginger' is definitely one of her favourite things in life.  So when she has the opportunity to create a clay piece or draw a picture of something you will usually see a guinea pig masterpiece that will look very similar to these faces .....

She is back at it .. my little dancer.  I love how Isabel does everything in her own time.  She loves going to her weekly ballet class there is no doubt about it but,  she doesn't show any interest in wanting to pursue dance much further than that.  There are plenty of opportunities to try out for one of the many shows her dance school puts on throughout the year and her response so far has been 'no, maybe next year'.   That's pretty much how this seven year old lives her life .. all in her own time.  Trying to even persuade her to do anything she is not ready for will lead her to just explain in very clear terms that 'she doesn't want to do it'.    Which makes perfect sense.

She is currently in the middle of second season of soccer.   There are lots of smiles out on the field .. actual touching and kicking the ball? Well another one of those things that she does only when she is ready to do so.  No amount of coaching or pep talks will make her even go near the ball. Well she goes near the ball then takes a few steps back and watches it pass her by.  Ha!

At the beginning of September she began a new school year. With just a little bit of nerves but a lot more excitement she started second grade.  As I write this she has been in school now for just over a month and she is doing awesome!   We are so lucky that she loves to learn and loves to ask questions and loves to explore and loves to experiment.  So so proud.

At seven years old she can say she got her very first broken bone.  Argh!  It all started because she  decided she wanted to try going to gymnastics.  Her brother does it and a lot of her school friends do it and it seems like seven year old girls love any chance to do a cartwheel, whether it's at home, at school, at the park.  Anywhere.  That is something Isabel cannot do ... yet!  A year ago when I asked her if she wanted to try it out .. she gave a very clear 'NO'.  After watching how much fun her brother has and the fact that he can tumble in a straight line gave her the motivation to try it.

Well her brother is at a very beginning level, her friends started at a beginners level (2 years ago) and this particular place does not care that she is seven and at a very very beginner's level .. they base their classes on the age of the participant and not the actual skill level.   Therefore she goes to her very first class nervous and excited (understandably nervous), with a group of girls that have been doing it for probably two years or more and are clearly more advanced.  I watched her nervously do some of the things the coach had her do .. I watched her on the tall balance beam trying so hard to be brave but shaking as she tried to stand up straight on it.  I turn for two seconds to look at another mother I had been talking to and ... down she came off the balance beam and on her left, writing arm.

A doctors visit the following day proved she had broken the top of her left arm.
As I write this she is two weeks down from a 4-6 week healing period.

She has been extremely tough about the whole thing.  She is now feeling more brave and comfortable to write with her left hand ... a good sign that the healing is happening I'm sure.
She keeps reminding me that she still wants to try gymnastics .. I have since found a more suitable place for her to learn at her level.  :))

A self portrait at seven:

Seven has brought on some crazy attitude and talking back.
Seven has brought on some very intuitive thoughts and concerns about life and the world around her.
Seven has brought on a lot of emotions (good, bad and ugly).
Seven has forced her to think about friendships and the comments and actions some friends say and do and how nice or not nice they are.
Seven is all about independence.
Seven is all about expressing her creativity.
Very soon seven will be about being a responsible and helpful big sister for the second time. :))

Love you little seven year old girl!