Today Kenzie is EIGHT! It's so crazy. We have an 8 year old. Only two years away from double digits. A third grader. A girl that is quickly becoming a preteen. There is only a year left (technically) until that is officially the stage we are in. Though I have to say... she acts more and more like an actual preteen every day of her life. She's too much. We often joke that she is 8 going on 28, but in all honesty, she is an old soul and often acts much older than her years.
At 8-years-old, Kenzie...
- Is still the friendliest kid I know. She loves with her whole heart. She hates to hurt anyone's feelings. The downside is that her feelings get hit hard when someone isn't nice to her. We have had to deal with that on occasion, especially in the last year when we had a run in with a girl that Kenzie thought was her friend but she ended up being not really nice to Kenzie in the long run. We learned as parents that the "mean girl" stage starts early. Kenzie came out the other side though and she continues to want to be friendly and nice to everyone.
- Is a fish. Seriously. Someone told me once that they took up swimming because they were awkward on land. That's Kenzie. She can seem clumsy on land at times, but put her in the water... and she moves like she has spent her entire life there. She has really taken to swim team this year. She already knew how to freestyle and backstroke, but now she can breaststroke and she is working on perfecting the butterfly. She gets better and better every swim practice. Both of her arms even come out of the water now. Initially she dipped one side and only her one arm would break the surface. She was a lopsided butterfly. She has made the decision to switch from dance to swim for at least a year to see how she likes it. She has swim team tryouts in a few weeks.
- Continues to have long legs and be fairly tall. Her legs make up most of her body, it seems. And girl is muscular! Imagine our surprise when we noticed her abs a couple of months ago. I guess swimming all day, dancing, running when she can, and overall a constant need to move can do that for you. I should hire her as my trainer. I tried to get her to teach me how to do the kick needed for the butterfly stroke... I can see why her abs are crazy... and I didn't go anywhere so I can't figure out how she does it.
- Just finished up a third year of a ballet/jazz combo class.She likes to structure of ballet, but loves the more freeing movement of jazz. She considered trying out for the competition team this year at her studio, but it was a large financial and time commitment. Plus, then swimming won out and she decided that was more her speed anyway.
- Loves all things art. Still. She is also well known around these parts to enjoy a good crafting project. Much to my chagrin. I love crafting... but Kenzie's brain works at warp speed and she has ideas faster than she can create. And then she moves on to something else pretty quickly usually. Which means I end up cleaning up or needing to get after her over and over again to clean up after herself. Also, she loves glitter and cutting things up into small pieces. Both things that make my skin crawl. Her art is transitioning to less artistic and more functional I have noticed. Rather than just painting a pretty picture or drawing, her drawings are more often designs for some sort of invention. Then instead of making dioramas, she would rather make a functioning item. Just proof that her brain works more like her father's than I like to admit. I definitely think she has a knack for engineering new things. We'll see if that carries on farther into her life and particularly schooling.
- Is a bit of a mess. I mean that in only the nicest way. She loves to organize things... but she is also not bothered at all by clutter around her. We have to get her to clean her room daily and once a week or every couple of weeks she either has to go in with a garbage bag to clean out papers and junk... or I do it and clean out EVERYTHING. We think she is just so often moving on to the next thing in her mind already that she doesn't have time to clean up like we would like. She will do it without arguing usually (which is a big change from the last six months or so), but she requires a lot of reminders and some encouragement.
- Loves to spend time with others. We learned recently that her love language is quality time. That makes perfect sense. She always asks us to play games with her, do projects, or even if she can help with absolutely anything we are doing. She just wants our attention and to be with us hanging out. At the same time, she is super independent in that she knows what she wants and how to do what she needs to get to where she wants to be. She just likes to ask if we are willing to go along for the ride with her.
Kenzie is a light on a dark day. A smile when you are feeling down. A friend when you feel alone. She is truly one of a kind and we are still so thankful each and every day that we get to walk through this life as her parents. She has the kindest heart and a want to make those around her happy. I can't believe she has been on this earth with us for 8 years already. It still seems like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital and just prayed that we did right by her. She's a special little girl.
Happy 8th birthday to you, Kenzie! We love you.
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