11

 hi baby! it is taking me forever to finish up this blog post. life is busy these days! today we went ice skating- it was supposed to happen in December, but we got sick and then it kept getting rescheduled ha story of our life over here this year. i feel like i wrote a decent amount about your life in the pics, so I won't add too many paragraphs up here, but here is a quick snapshot of who you are at 11! You are precious and wonderful and we are so so thankful to get to love you. it is a joy to watch you grow up! and i couldn't be more proud of who you are and who you're becoming.

you still want to be a mom more than anything. you still want to get married young and have lots of children. if i can remember correctly, you're loving the name Jesus and Reese for a boy and still love Allison most for a girl, but added in a name or two from some books you've loved recently about WWI (Uprising and A Night Divided).

You've been growing like a weed! we can share shoes now... like how?! you are still trying to rock the 10/12 bell bottom leggings you have, but every time you wear them i tell you they don't fit haha. you always wear a bra now. i got you some sports bras for your bday and you say you love those best now. i try to get you to sleep in just a baggy shirt, but you try to keep the bra on all the time. you still have no embarrassment over walking around in your undies all the time, which i am so glad that you are still so innocent and uninhibited by the world- hold on to your girlhood as long as you can, sweet thing! you are actually super picky about your clothes and have been known to declare that you have nothing to wear right when it is time to leave- preteens! you got your own closet this last time we remodeled your room and we made a spot for a reading nook in there which i don't think you've used once, but you love having your own space that none of your siblings get into so much. and you have access to all your off-season clothing, which you also love. 

you are losing teeth like crazy. you just lost 2 canines and have your first wiggly molar! you lost your retainer for a few weeks and then it didn't quite fit, but we couldn't get you into an ortho appt for a few weeks and by the time you went in, it didn't fit at all so they had to make you a totally new one which cost $300... we made you pay half and I don't think you'll ever forget that lesson learned. it was a hard one for all of us. but your new retainer looks like a kiwi and you're now very responsible with it and only wear it at night ;) you had been trying to wear your retainer all the time, which led to it getting left out whenever you were eating, etc. hence the losing it. hard lesson!

you LOVE traditions! when it came time for your bday, you wanted to help me decorate and you were insistent on taking the mom dad and you pics the night before your bday when i said eh let's do it tomorrow. and you kept asking me to add more and more Qs to the survey below ha. you are so fun!! you always tell me that you're going to decorate like crazy for all the holidays and you don't like how I don't do that. sorry, girl! 

you still loooove babies. you always ask to get Zak up from his crib and try to sneak out of cleaning at night by taking him upstairs or outside haha. you get to do some mother's helping for our friends the Ferraras and it makes you feel so so grown up. 

you asked us to play a family game the other night where we put tape on our foreheads with a word written on it- we did animals- and it was so so fun. you wrote the same one on two different people and they were so confused. it was capybara which we know nothing about and we couldn't answer any of the Qs they were asking. it was hilarious and we all can't wait to play again. i love that you come up with games like that. you are SO FUN! 

you are super witty and love to use sarcasm. you love to tell me everything and often follow me around telling me in detail about the books you're reading. i love hearing you process it all! the only time i shut you down is when it is time to clean up and you're trying to follow me and talk instead of helping ha. you get all offended when i say you can tell me later. i hope you always tell me everything on your heart. it is my greatest privilege to be trusted with your thoughts and feelings! 

I don't know what else- there is lots listed by the pics. you are a treasure and a delight and i just love you love you love you!

Fav toy: Barbies & Calico Critters. I can't choose one. It's too impossible.

Fav fruit: Mango & Cantaloupe 

Fav vegetable: Cucumber

Fav snack: right now- those ritz crackers with cheese inside! they're in the drawer right there and I've been craving them so often!

Fav movie: There are no good movies I like...

TV show: Little House on the Prairie

Fav outfit: any sweats and a tshirt

Fav game: tag with my cousins!

Fav food: Instant Pot mac'n'cheese. after being reminded of last year's answer she said oh i forgot about RR!

Fav animal: Starlight

 Fav song: if i had to choose 2 out of 1 million, Flowers (Samantha Ebert) & Highlands (Hillsong)

 Fav book: Christy Miller's Collection #3- i like the camp one! 

Fav season: summer

 Best friend: oh gosh. can it be a book character? if i had to choose a person, I'd probably say Elliette Mones because I see her more than Hannah.

 Fav dessert/treat: cheesecake

 Fav thing to do outside: put in headphones and swing and listen to music

 Fav drink: hot chocolate

 Fav holiday: *sigh* I've got to say Christmas. I love getting together with my cousins and getting presents. 

Fav thing: my tablet

Fav homeschool subject: reading 

Fav hobby: listening to music & reading & lying in bed. and tinkering with my doll house. and taking care of animals, but i don't have any animals to take care of because Starlight is always outside.

Highlight of your year: Mexico!

Goal for next year: get a kitten. convince mom to let me read all the Christy Miller books. and get rich on the farm.

Most excited about right now: snuggling into bed and reading. Oh my gosh! I'm so excited. I just want to read. No, don't type that all mom! Mom!

What do you want to be when you grow up: same as last year...*pause* we ask her. a mother!

What has God taught you this year: she didn't want to answer this one..

Most embarrassing moment: it was recent. Ita and me were just talking and then she said "you need to get tweezers and tweeze that area between your eyebrows. I got up and left her room!

Funniest moment of the year: so many times this year when I just started to cry when i was laughing and that would make me laugh even more. 

fav color: yellow

fav sport: skip-hop

How did we celebrate: We sort of did your and June's bdays combined. We did a family "staycation" at the end of February. got bumped a few times because of sickness ha and then when it finally did happen, Ellie threw up all over the first night. but it was fun- we did Langers and you looooved the laser tag. we did Ikea and bubble tea and a fam movie night! it was sweet. you really wanted to be surprised so we didn't tell you much about it until it was happening. and then we told you we were going somewhere and you didn't know a thing, but we went with the mones and tasa girls to the oaks park roller rink! you had a blast. i wasn't sure because it was like you weren't really skating with your friends, but you voted it as a top contender in favorite outings! so glad we could make that happen! we had a fam dinner on your actual bday, so I did chili the next day per request :) and we got soup dumplings and did that the day after too..spoiled lady ;) 

THE best big sister!

you and June sewed that outfit for your doll after being inspired by the Kaya American Girl doll series

you and June had the best time with our old garbage dry erase board and made a cafe

at the k-9 trials

very into baking this year

you were super into Little House on the Prairie this year

vbs pics! found out Ellie had a fever later that day, hence the frown ha

kind of sweet, kind of naughty. black cap juice and mud

my favorite ever

ellie sleeps in your bed at least half the nights- sooo sweet! 

waiting for your ride to camp tilikum

not too big to be held yet ;)

pumpkin patch field trip! awful field trip actually- rained SO hard, but the barn part and apple cider were fun

your own Roxaboxen! based on a book

going to JAM family dinner

family movie nights are becoming fun! 

at Frankie's house riding a horse!

grandma and grandpa took you girls to the circus!!

The Cnossen Reunion in August of 2024. You loved it. we stayed at a beautiful lake house and got to go out in the lake several times and swim and one magical morning, you paddle boarded and loved it soo much we looked at vacation lake houses ;) you loved the time with all the extended family too!

summer boating with gramps and gram. you loved it so so much that they said it'll probably be an annual thing now! you got right on the intertube and took several turns with lots of people. SO FUN!

lots of cousin fun! 

making sushi with Aunt Alisa

baby whisperer!

homeschool help from grandma

after vbs fun with cousins!

youth group (JAM Jesus & Me) with cousin Ruby off and on this past year! You've loved it. some crazy kids like Annabel (leader's niece and brags about kissing boys, etc.) and the turtle boy ;) but lots of ultimate tag and amazing games! 

train to Seattle with ita & tia Jess

you and June babysat the Tasa girls' dolls for a few days- so precious

vbs!

you and Elise have not had a smooth relationship at all haha, but we went to her bday here and it was fun! she is moving to Alaska soon and I'm not sure we will miss her haha.

you got invited to Eliza's swim bday party! they called you and June "honorary big sisters" after you played with her at mom's group park dates all summer.

berry picking with Birdie!

our first time joining friends at a lake day- SO fun! we'll do again

you hadn't seen Allison in 2 years, but she came with her mom for the mom's group retreat and you two picked up where you left off and with facials! 

Frankie's bday party! she loves to be chased and you love her

tasa school field trip to Omsi!! 

your daddy ran a golf class for your 4 friends and you girls- you all loved it! free and so fun!

we did date night swaps with the VDE girls for a while and it was really fun!

mother's helper!

Halloween fun! 

you loved this dress. you found it at a swap event for free and it was a ladies' small and you looked sooo grown up that Ita laughed at you and you were a bit self-conscious, but you rocked it at Grandma Sandee's side celebration!

you and June both rollerbladed 2 miles! and walked another mile during the "holiday hustle"

the helmet hahaha

Christmas was lame this year. we all got sooo sick. you 3 were mostly better by actual Christmas day, so I took you up to grandma and grandpa's, but I was still sick enough that everyone avoided hugging me. haha. and we missed Dad's side celebration altogether. let's hope next year is better!

i love your writing

you got mad at us ;)

you spend hours and hours reading on the swing in nice weather

for a few weeks, your dad was trying to learn ukulele with you! i hope you two start up again

your dad thought your heart was beating way too fast after you were complaining about something or another and somehow i was the one who had to take you in. your 3rd er visit. it took hours and hours only to be told nothing was wrong. but we had called nick and mariam and they had both agreed it was probably best to go in, although they tend to think in worst case scenarios. you enjoyed the time with me! and we agreed to never take you in immediately again. we'll do urgent care from now on ;)

you got glasses! although you almost never wear them..

the tasas did a garage sale and allowed you and June to set up your wares for sale. you tried to sell snails and snail habitats and owl pellets! we collected and sanitized those owl pellets- a lot of work! and i think you sold 2 haha. they're still sitting in my homeschool storage- i should figure out what to do with those!

your ita told you that she was going to knock down all these bird nests at the farm store... like WHY tell you?? and you freaked out and brought this one home to try to save the babies. literally newborn couldn't even open their eyes. after a few hours, you were bored and ready to stop so we had to drive way out to bring the bird to the autobahn society. they said they'd email with news 6 months later, but never did so guessing the birdie friends didn't make it. your heart is just too sweet for animal suffering. we told your Ita to never tell you anything like that again. 

you looved camp tilikum this last summer! you can't wait to do it again this year

got you and June a clay earring making kit and you made these!

those pre-teen hormones coming in strong ;) 

you wanted to try baking cupcakes fully from scratch like the girls in your favorite book series "The Cupcake Diaries". although the Christy Miller series is now competing with that! You've flown through like 20 books already in that series and even spent part of your birthday $ from Oma on a bracelet that matches one that Christy wore in the books. there are lots more books in that series where Christy is in college and getting married and becoming a mom and I need to be sure I feel ok about you reading that mature of content before saying yet, but you're sooo eager to keep reading them all. great Christian series, so I am happy you love them! 

you're still as obsessed with cats as ever ;) a friend brought a kitty to play with

summer cheer camp! you loved it and were doing cheerleading with the Tasa girls in the Fall/Winter too! Zeke learned all the cheers and is hoping to join you for cheer camp this next summer...

GMC Academy has been so so fun for you this year. The Mones girls join us on Thursdays and Grandma drives out and you do school from 10:30-2:30. Often the Mones girls stay after and just play for a few hours. Grandma has stayed to spend the night a few times. you're learning lots of social studies and geography (you did an amazing project on Madagascar) and the catchetism and great literature studies. but your favorite maybe is the drama- lots of improv games! she took you all to see "Annie" at Theater in the Grove for a field trip. so generous.

Tasa school was so good during the end of the 2024 school year too. You had so much fun learning with friends! i don't know what we'll do next year to meet that need... GMC doesn't give grandma enough time to enjoy her other 3 grandkids, so we won't continue with that next year, but maybe some collaboration with friends! 

we got a zoo pass and have enjoyed a few visits!

2025 Daddy Daughter Dance! with lots of your besties

you and Zeke took some selfies on my phone <3

we got to pet-sit Frankie's baby chicks for a week. you were so excited to play with them. you do "Mother's helper" for Frankie a few times a month and just spend the whole day playing with Frankie while her parents play catch up and they let you name the red chick- Salsa! to go along w/ another chicken they have named Chip ;) 

we moved a desk into the office for you and your sister to craft on because there were always papers EVERYWHERE in the office on the floor and on the 3rd story in the Barbie room. hoping it helps!

I went on a 3 night trip to CA for a cousin's wedding- 1st time away from Zak- and you were a HUGE help to your dad! Zak chose you often while I was gone. he even chooses you often when I'm home ha.

we gave your cousins a Red Robin and open swim date for Christmas! gift of experience, but we were so sick and it kept getting rescheduled so finally in March haha.

Alberta & Alinah sleepover!

the Oaks Park Roller Rink for your bday!

our beautiful girl! we love you so so much! You bring so much goodness and joy into this family and I don't know what I would do without you. You are my friend! You have made some huge changes in your attitudes this year and are working hard in school and we are fighting a lot less than we used to. fighting over school was really a huge thing for us for a while and I was scared about the pre-teen years. but you are really learning to control your angry outbursts and i am learning not to be so bothered by you being upset and to just let you go and you'll come back a little cooled down. i think we can make it through the teen years as friends still. or i sure pray we will! i can't wait to know you as an adult. you are this much fun as an 11 year old- i think you are just going to get more and more interesting and fun and boy it is sure special getting to be your mom!! i feel so blessed to be your mom. that God chose me to raise you. and to get a front row seat to your life. your beautiful dreams and ambitions and who you are. you have the biggest heart for innocence- babies and animals- and you want to be a mom at like 20 years old and you really really mean it. you want lots of kids. i will be praying diligently for the Lord to protect your future husband- to keep him pure for you- to help him make wise choices and friendships- to help him be ready to go as a provider for you and my future grandkids because there is no slowing you down! we were wedding dress shopping for Aunt Alisa last month and Grandma Sandee leaned over to me and said, "Just think. This could be you in like 9 years." and i was like whaaaat. but if you keep up your dreams, it just might be ha. I pray that the Lord uses your life in big ways! I pray that you have a deep relationship with Him and seek to honor Him in all the little and big ways with your life. I pray that He stays first, always! I pray that you will own your faith as you grow into teenage-hood. that it would no longer be my faith, but your own! I pray that the Lord will protect your relationships with your siblings, with me and your dad, with your grandparents, with cousins, and with the deeper friendships you have now. I pray a lot for you to have good friendships- right now, I couldn't be happier with your choices of friends- I know they all love the Lord and will lead you closer to Him. I pray for your good health and that you would get to grow up into an old lady, a great grandma. I pray for your heart for motherhood- that I would encourage you in that and help you feel excited and not like it is hard. I know some days I lose my temper or I feel sorry for myself when the days are long and hard and I pray that doesn't change your opinion of motherhood. I pray that I will be physically strong and able to help you a lot with your kids. I pray that you will know joy! i tend toward an attitude of perfectionism and always seeking to improve things and I see similar tendencies in you, so I pray that you could slow down and enjoy God's good gifts, the people in your life, the work you've accomplished. and that you wouldn't be too hard on other people who don't have as much of a drive to work hard as you do ;) anyway, sweetheart. I hope you can see my heart for you. I hope you can read my words and that my love for you just oozes out. i hope you feel safe and secure in my love. that i will love you unconditionally all the days of my life, just because you are my daughter. you never have to earn my love. you can never lose my love. you are so precious to me and I love you today, tomorrow, and forever <3 <3 <3