The Tolbert Family: Happy 7th Birthday, Anna Kate!

Dear Anna Kate,

Seven years old feels so grown up. We've been teasing you for a few weeks that we were going to let you have a birthday - eat the cake, open the presents, etc. - but that it was just going to have to be another sixth birthday! But here it is and you are officially seven. Well, at 5:08 this afternoon you will be, anyway. And while it's true that I would love to keep you little forever, we also have so much fun with every new stage of life that you enter. You are growing up into such a lovely young lady and we are so thankful for you.

~ The very first thing that comes to mind when we think about you is your love of reading. You have always loved reading from the time we read board books, to picture books, to beginning reading on your own, to full-fledged novels now. You read dozens of books each month and check out your limit of 15 at the library each week. And you often have to have me check some out on my card because that's simply not enough. You have enjoyed several really great books lately like The BFG, Swiss Family Robinson, The Lion in the Box, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and the later books in the Little House series. You just enter into your own little world when you are reading a good book and you will tune out everything around you.
~ You also love to watch the movies of the books that you read - but only AFTER you read the book! Some favorites this year have been Swiss Family Robinson, Mary Poppins, and Heidi.
~ You also are becoming quite a little writer. You would much rather come up with your own fanciful stories than journal about real life. You also had the idea this year to start writing your own monthly newspaper and sending it out to subscribers - like far-away family!
~ You love jokes and riddles and puns. You have a joke section in your newspaper and love finding and choosing the best ones. You have even come up with a few of your own!

~ You also love to read poetry. Your favorite poets are Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, and A.A. Milne (especially his collection Now We are Six). You love serious and beautiful poetry, but your favorite poem lately is "Sneezles" by A.A. Milne. It absolutely cracks you up! You've also started writing some pretty neat poetry lately. Like this one:

Baby Eagle

by Anna Kate Tolbert

The baby eagle jumps from the nest,

Beginning his first flight in the snow.

He flies and then sinks down, down

in the deep snow.

His mother sees him from the nest

And takes him back with her to rest.

~ You love to ride your bike. You and your sisters will ride around the backyard and the driveway for a little while almost every afternoon, but you have also started doing some long rides. The past few weeks, we've been doing a 5K route with you bicycling, Mommy running, and Daddy running while pushing the double jogging stroller with Caroline and Eleanor. And this 5K route is not easy...it has several BIG hills and you are doing so well!
~ You love to play outside with your sisters. You make stations around the backyard for various activities and then usually want to put on shows for Mommy and Daddy.
~ If you are not reading or playing outside, you can usually be found crafting. You absolutely love sewing, painting, sketching, dress designing, and doing duct tape crafts. You have made some pretty impressive wallets, purses, hair bows, and pencil pouches!
~ You are a wonderful help to Mommy around the house. Sometimes I probably place a lot on you as the oldest, but you really do help so well. You can now unload the dishwasher, sort/fold/put away laundry, tidy up the school table, pick up toys, and the list goes on. You really are a blessing to me.

~ You love to bake. You made brownies for my Grace Group ladies a couple weeks ago almost all by yourself. And they were wonderful! In fact, when I asked you what special dessert you wanted tonight for your birthday, you said you wanted brownies and you wanted to make them yourself. So that is what we're doing!
~ You love all things American Girl. You and your sister have two dolls that you share - Kirsten and Samantha - and you love dressing them in their historical outfits, or dressing in your matching outfits. You also love ALL of the books and have watched several of the movies. I love the history that you learn by reading each one.
~ Speaking of dolls, you love Kirsten and Samantha, but you still have a special place in your heart for your baby doll Heidi which you still sleep with every night. And it's precious.
~ I just keep thinking of things to say about you! Playing board games is also one of your favorite things in the world! Your favorites lately are Yahtzee, Take Off, and Checkers. You would gladly drop anything you're doing to play a board game if anyone offers!
~ You have lost teeth left and right this year. Your smile is absolutely precious and missing several teeth. You actually had to get a couple pulled right before Christmas because the permanent ones were already coming in. I am so glad we have so many good pictures of your seven-year-old smile because I have a feeling I am going to miss it one day!

~ You have developed some wonderful friendships this year. You are closest with Paisley, Aubrey, Livia, Peyton, Landon and AC, and Ava. At church, your favorite thing to do together is play Spy Club where you leave silly notes on peoples' desks or white boards and hope they don't figure out who did it! In fact, you love spy club so much that you chose to have a Nancy Drew mystery party this year for your birthday with all your spy club friends (blogpost to come soon!).
~ You are really improving with your violin playing this year! You are now working on Allegretto in Suzuki Book 1 and are playing with very clear tone quality and nice intonation. It's so fun to see you play the same songs I used to play!
~ You are definitely growing up, but you are definitely not outgrowing your love of snuggling with Mommy and Daddy. You are the first one out of your sisters to get up every morning and you always come straight to Mommy and Daddy's bed (on the weekends) or the couch (since we're up before you on the weekdays) and ask for snuggles. And we will never get tired of it!
~ The most significant way that you have grown and changed this year is that you have begun to really understand your need for a savior. You have asked Jesus to forgive your sins and save you and you are starting to ask more questions about following him. It is so special for us to be able to watch you learn and be able to lead you to the Lord.

Anna Kate, our prayer for you is that your tender heart is always inclined to Christ and that you seek Him all the days of your life. You are an absolute blessing to our family.

Love always,
Mommy, Daddy, Caroline and Eleanor

And here are your birthday pictures!

February 8, 2010

BIRTH day!