11 Years

Victoria is now 11 years old and turning into a wonderful young lady. In case you didn't know, she is a people person. She wants to have someone around her, always. This past year she has really wanted to have a friend over any chance she could. Sometimes I get overwhelmed, not at having a friend over, but the process of trying to organize a playdate with friends' parents or grandparents. A lot of them work and it's hard to get a hold of them, so I started to encourage her to set up playdates at school.

 She has great friends and they help her to fulfill whatever it is she needs for her social self. It is for this reason, and many others including the fact that we don't have a landline phone for when she babysits at home, that she got a phone for her birthday. Actually, it is the same phone as mine, lucky girl! She will be a working girl with babysitting jobs and that might also help her fill her social needs. Yesterday, she texted her friend and set up something for today after school, so nice! I'm not quite sure how many of her friends really do have their own phone. According to Victoria, it's everyone, but I do know that not many of them have landline phones either and she feels intimidated calling parents' on their personal phones. Well, now she can just text them herself, assuming she has my permission, of course.

She had already bought the phone with Jason on Tuesday, but opened it yesterday on her birthday.

Now I have to worry about phone abuse!

Being in 5th grade, I've been encouraging her to do some of the challenge activities with her homework so she's ready for middle school next year. She has more homework this year which makes it easier for me to say, "No friends" on certain days. She's progressing really well on the piano, enjoying her tap and ballet classes and the work-out she gets there, and she's taking a 7 week after school sporting class with Austin. It's right at their school and includes coaching for soccer, baseball, and basketball. She has been playing basketball at recess with her friends and the boys at school and this was an easy, inexpensive, introduction to learning some better skills with these popular sports. She really enjoys anything athletic. She still loves to write and draw as well.

Her birthday party was Saturday evening. We streamed the latest pop songs, the girls hung out in the basement and played air hockey and twister, and we had a hot dog bar with all the fixings. I had to incorporate a craft or two, mostly because I can't stand giving out goodie bag junk. Having them make something to bring home is less expensive than buying nice take-home gifts. This year, they made leaf print cards and bat headbands. Some girls really got into it and did a great job. Others, not so much, but they went outside and jumped on the trampoline and ran around in the really nice weather we've been having. We played "I've Never", ate "spider" cupcakes, and she opened many nice gifts. We ended with a fire outside, since it was dark by then, and more running around in the backyard. It seemed to be a great party for this 10/11 year old group.

The whole gang. I guess I didn't take another group one. 

Erik had to help blow out the candles, of course.

This is the one I made.

She added extra bows, so it didn't look as much like a bat, but still super cute!

We love Victoria and are excited for more adventures with her as we enter this different phase!