Lizzie update

Since I've been kind of spotty with blogging lately (sorry Mom) I figured I'd do some general kid updates starting with Lizzie:

She can still be pretty dramatic.  Tonight at dinner she took a bite of something she didn't like (I insisted she at least try it) and exclaimed, "Ugh!  It's like my tongue died!" before she raced off to rinse out her mouth.

Right now she's taking pottery and karate after school (at school).  Surprisingly she wasn't excited about the pottery class, but since I'm in charge of after-school activities, and had to be there anyway, I told her it was a requirement not an option.  She's come around.  She also started up piano lessons which she was really excited about.  We're three lessons in and so far getting her to practice has been breeze.  I hope her enthusiasm lasts.

Lizzie has continued with Girl Scouts.  Her initial cookie order came in a few days ago so we're spending this week delivering cookies (and maybe even selling some more depending on our energy level).  She's also busy with Activity Day Girls which she absolutely loves.  On Sunday I finally sat down with her and went through the Faith in God program and she selected her goals for the year.  It was exciting and just made me realize how old she's getting.

We did our annual kid interviews for New Years again.  Lizzie's fears cracked me up.  Instead of the standard, scared of the dark, she said she was scared of sharks, knives when they are pointed at her head, and a few other scenarios that she is equally unlikely to encounter anytime soon.

Liz has enjoyed some ski time with her dad.  Sounds like she's really improving and she's starting to try new runs, though the first time down she usually freaks out and tells Andrew that he's the "worst daddy ever" and that he's ruining her life.  I've gotten a lot of that talk too.  Turns out Andrew and I "ruined" her life this last weekend when we turned off an anime cartoon she was watching and forbid her from watching again (because it contained profanity). 

A couple weeks ago Liz learned to ride a bike with no training wheels.  Since she's so old it took her about 10 minutes to master it--makes me think we should have provided her an opportunity earlier.  She's still not riding the bike she got for Christmas because it's a little big for her, but luckily my friend, Ryann, had an smaller bike that her girls where no longer using (thanks again Ryann!).  Oh, and check out the action at my neighbors house behind Liz.  The scary/yucky neighbors are gone and a house flipper bought it--thank goodness.  About a week before the dead-beats next door left we realized that they had stolen water from us on at least two occasions (hooked our hose up to their house in the middle of the night)  I'm hoping we get some nice people in there soon.

Starting this week Lizzie has gotten a lot busier.  She got a part in her elementary school play.  I'm so proud of her for having the courage to try out (something that would be hard for me).  She was so, so excited when she got the call and I'm excited to see her on stage in April (her part is some sort of evil spirit).

Liz continues to be a pretty responsible kid and a huge help with her sisters.  Most mornings she gets herself completely ready without any encouragement from her father and I (sometimes we're not even out of bed).  Sometimes she gets Alaina ready too.  The other morning, while I laid in bed, I overheard her patiently trying to figure out which bow Alaina wanted to wear (and Alaina is not an easy kid in the mornings--super whiney and tantrum-prone).  Now if I could just get her to do diapers.  .  .  .