Ivy
My middle daughter hit the big 10 yesterday. Please let me tell you a little about Ivy Grace!
Ivy, for having the shortest name, probably has the most nicknames. She's been Owie ever since that's how Eden first said her name when little, and also Owzers, Owie-Kapowie, Ives, and Ivis. Of course, they're all my bumpkins, ladybugs, and sweet potatoes.
I'm really proud of Ivy. She is, hands down, the best with Maya - and has been since I was pregnant with her. Ivy used to talk and sing to my belly, and the baby would move to whatever side she was on, stretching as if trying to get to her. That's never really stopped. Maya and Eden don't get along at all, so Ivy is usually the one to take her to jump on the trampoline or swim in the pool. When Josh is at work, Ivy has to rock her to sleep. I know she gets tired of occupying Maya all the time when I have to do other stuff, but she's so good with her and always plays with her with good spirits (instead of being a grump to make Maya want to come back inside, for instance).
Ivy's always reminded me more of my younger sister when she was a kid, but people keep telling me that she looks like me. I also think that Maya looks just like young-Ivy with Eden & Josh's coloring, and she makes most of Ivy's expressions. Ivy is SO expressive, and she's always hamming it up and goofing around. She's just a happy, easy-going kid.
Both Eden and Ivy were late readers & writers, but Ivy struggled with it the most. She had lots of trouble with dyslexia, so even when she was eager to read and lose herself in amazing stories, she struggled at first-reader level. Writing was hard for her too, but she told the most amazing stories and had an absolutely perfect memory for things read or said aloud. This past year or two, though, she's finally mastered reading and jumped straight into huge chapter books like Harry Potter - and most recently adult books like Stephen King. She zooms through books just as easily as me or Eden now, and she won second place in her group for the summer reading program this year. It was close, too (like 3 books), so I know she would have won if she hadn't been busy with summer camp for the duration of the program. Eden wins for her group just about every year since she started reading, so this is a big deal for Ivy, who will finally also get her name in the local newspaper.
Ivy's current fandom is Five Nights at Freddy's, which is some video/computer game where possessed Showbiz Pizza-esque animatronics try to kill you over the course of five nights working the nightshift at this pizza joint. Interesting stuff, to be sure, when you're not hearing about it sixteen hours a day. But I'm glad they're passionate fangirls, and when Ivy wanted a 5 Nights-themed birthday, I (with Eden's help on the drawings) did a rewrite of their song to fit in clues for her annual birthday treasure hunt. Josh always does the cake, and he did Foxy on it. And my dad always buys all of the girls presents at each birthday, and Eden got a facepaint kit and did them up as characters from the game. She had a good one, even though the big joint-part will be on Maya's birthday in two weeks.
Ivy finally has her own best friend, Alyssa, whom she met at camp this year. They talk on the phone all the time now. We're going to her birthday party today (also, interestingly enough, a joint party with her younger sister). Ivy says they homeschool, so I'm really excited to meet her family. Maybe we can start doing fieldtrips together. I'm glad Ivy finally has a buddy.
I really love my girl.
Ivy, for having the shortest name, probably has the most nicknames. She's been Owie ever since that's how Eden first said her name when little, and also Owzers, Owie-Kapowie, Ives, and Ivis. Of course, they're all my bumpkins, ladybugs, and sweet potatoes.
I'm really proud of Ivy. She is, hands down, the best with Maya - and has been since I was pregnant with her. Ivy used to talk and sing to my belly, and the baby would move to whatever side she was on, stretching as if trying to get to her. That's never really stopped. Maya and Eden don't get along at all, so Ivy is usually the one to take her to jump on the trampoline or swim in the pool. When Josh is at work, Ivy has to rock her to sleep. I know she gets tired of occupying Maya all the time when I have to do other stuff, but she's so good with her and always plays with her with good spirits (instead of being a grump to make Maya want to come back inside, for instance).
Ivy's always reminded me more of my younger sister when she was a kid, but people keep telling me that she looks like me. I also think that Maya looks just like young-Ivy with Eden & Josh's coloring, and she makes most of Ivy's expressions. Ivy is SO expressive, and she's always hamming it up and goofing around. She's just a happy, easy-going kid.
Both Eden and Ivy were late readers & writers, but Ivy struggled with it the most. She had lots of trouble with dyslexia, so even when she was eager to read and lose herself in amazing stories, she struggled at first-reader level. Writing was hard for her too, but she told the most amazing stories and had an absolutely perfect memory for things read or said aloud. This past year or two, though, she's finally mastered reading and jumped straight into huge chapter books like Harry Potter - and most recently adult books like Stephen King. She zooms through books just as easily as me or Eden now, and she won second place in her group for the summer reading program this year. It was close, too (like 3 books), so I know she would have won if she hadn't been busy with summer camp for the duration of the program. Eden wins for her group just about every year since she started reading, so this is a big deal for Ivy, who will finally also get her name in the local newspaper.
Ivy's current fandom is Five Nights at Freddy's, which is some video/computer game where possessed Showbiz Pizza-esque animatronics try to kill you over the course of five nights working the nightshift at this pizza joint. Interesting stuff, to be sure, when you're not hearing about it sixteen hours a day. But I'm glad they're passionate fangirls, and when Ivy wanted a 5 Nights-themed birthday, I (with Eden's help on the drawings) did a rewrite of their song to fit in clues for her annual birthday treasure hunt. Josh always does the cake, and he did Foxy on it. And my dad always buys all of the girls presents at each birthday, and Eden got a facepaint kit and did them up as characters from the game. She had a good one, even though the big joint-part will be on Maya's birthday in two weeks.
Ivy finally has her own best friend, Alyssa, whom she met at camp this year. They talk on the phone all the time now. We're going to her birthday party today (also, interestingly enough, a joint party with her younger sister). Ivy says they homeschool, so I'm really excited to meet her family. Maybe we can start doing fieldtrips together. I'm glad Ivy finally has a buddy.
I really love my girl.