Happy Birthday!

Happy 11th Birthday, kid! Today Anya is going to celebrate with Top Pot Doughnuts at school and then the three of us are going out to a Brazilian steakhouse in Bellevue for dinner. This weekend, she'll have a party with just the girls in her class and then Eloise and Eva will spend the night.

School: So far, so good. From our perspective, it's been a big jump from 4th to 5th grade at St. C, in terms of how demanding it is. There is a lot more homework and it seems like the expectations are higher (which they should be). This took some adjusting, but now Anya is more organized with her homework and also does after-school study hall (which is *awesome*) twice a week to keep on top of everything. There have been several in-class group projects so far and it sounds like she tends to be a leader in her groups and is very conscientious - classmates like working with her.

Socially: At school, the year is starting out well. I think I mentioned it before, but Anya made the choice to not hang out with her old "clique" anymore, and only play with them individually, to avoid the drama. Smart decision. She now mostly plays soccer or football with the boys and a few girls during recess. She gets along with everyone in her class, though. She says she's known as the "weird girl" because of all her interests but seems to be well-liked.

Around the neighborhood, since she's gotten a lot of freedom to roam, she'd made friends with some kids on 19th and regularly plays with them.

Eloise and Eva continue to be the favorites for weekend play. However, since they both are two grades ahead of Anya, some pre-teen tension is starting to trickle into the friendships. Hopefully, they'll still remain close as they get older, since we sure like those kids.

Future Job: Veterinarian (still). She has informed us she will be going to Cornell for college as it has the best vet school. Plus it's up near Chad and Megan's place in upstate New York.

"Or - A marine biologist, but not a scuba diver.  I'll swim with sharks but only if the water is this deep (indicates a level about 5 feet deep)

Or one of those ladies that takes people on African Safaris.  That looks pretty fun."

Likes: Animals and her lizard, Sage, in particular. When she earns a reward for something she usually uses it to buy something for her lizard pet. She makes little costumes and takes Sage with her everywhere she can get away with. Most nights she'll be cuddled up with her scaly friend when we read at bedtime.

She's taken to baking recently and is quite good at it.  She makes cupcakes and cookies which are extremely tasty. I don't even need to help her anymore, save answering the occasional question or teaching some techniques.

Anya had a great soccer season and went from not wanting to play at all to wanting to try out for select teams.

She's still a voracious reader and a really good writer. She's re-reading the Harry Potter series, and also reading The 13-1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear.

She still loves to fish. Last week we went to McCall, Idaho with DonDon and Grangie and she outfished Chris (6 fish to Chris's 2).

And of course, there is always some random half-finished project strewn about the house involving tape and string, some markers, and an old shoe box.

Favorite music: Cinema music (Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings are still favorites). Imagine Dragons is at the top of her list of bands, as well as 1960-70s songs she learned at Hidden Valley Camp (John Denver, Donovan, the Beatles, etc.). She also seems to like whatever we happen to be listening to, such as Arcade Fire, Frightened Rabbit, or Phantogram.

Media: Currently quite into the show Gravity Falls (we are fans too). Awhile back she was into A Series of Unfortunate Events. I guess we don't watch movies too often since she can't think of any she currently loves. Harry Potter and LotR have been re-watched.

Favorite foods: Sushi Train (Tengu), Italian (Marcello's), Mexican food (Mr. Villa), and Ramen when mom's not home. Homemade favorites are still Chicken and Bread Salad and pumpkin cinnamon-swirl bread.

Happy, happy, happy birthday. May 11 be a wonderful year.