Since John Hayden gets monthly updates and Juliette never has (since I didn't start the blog until she was much older), I figured an update was in order. Now, reading through the Q and A with her and the Juliette-isms, you probably feel as if you know her pretty well, but I wanted to touch on some things that I'd like to have as a reminder--a snapshot, I suppose--of how she was at this age.
Juliette at age 7...
...dances like no one is watching. Everywhere. Anytime. Whenever music is playing. And she doesn't care if someone is watching. At least once a week she wants to show you a dance that she made up.
...reads at what is probably a 4th grade level. (She's in 2nd grade.) At the end of 1st grade, she was supposed to be reading at an H or I (they use a letter scale) and she was reading at an N.
...is an amazing big sister. She's a huge help and loves to make John Hayden laugh. The other day after saying the blessing at dinner, she said, "Thank you, God, for making John Hayden chubby" and then told us his chubby cheeks were so cute.
...can do long addition and subtraction in her head up into the thousands, although she says she likes addition better. Now, the higher you get, it takes her a little longer (maybe a minute), but adding in the tens (such as 45 + 63) she can do fairly quickly. She just started asking us to call out "number sentences" last week, so I'm still in awe since I didn't realize she could do this.
...is a prayer warrior. And she knows the power of prayer (since she prayed on her own--without knowing we were wanting a baby--for God to put a baby in Mommy's tummy and a month later there was one). Ask her to pray for something or someone, and she will pray at every meal and bedtime every day until you tell her she doesn't have to anymore. It's not unusual for her to pray at her own prompting for a sick friend or teacher. When Matt and I comment that we are done having kids (which is usually said when I'm giving baby stuff away that John Hayden has outgrown), Juliette tells us that she's going to pray for another one, and I tell her that's okay...we're good!
...requests to listen to Radiohead and other bands like them all the time. When it comes to music, she's definitely "cooler" than I am.
...chews or sucks on the ends of her hair. Maybe it's a nervous habit...I don't know...but it drives me crazy!
...finally learned to ride her "big" bike (that she got from Christmas last year) a couple of weeks ago. She's been so afraid of falling off of it that she refused to learn. Matt tried to teach her, but has zero patience for those kind of things, so I taught her, running along beside her, feeding her compliments and motivating lines about how she can do it. The next day, Matt took her out riding and she took off way ahead of him and did an awesome job riding all over campus. The day after that, they went out again, and, of course, she fell and skinned her knee and has made excuses for not wanting to get back on it again. In teaching her to ride her bike, I can't help but think about our different parenting styles--me, running beside her, within arms reach to prevent falls, Matt, hanging back, letting her suffer the first fall, but both of us encouraging her to get back on again.
...dislikes the color yellow, a lot!
...talks like a teenager sometimes. She told Matt the other day that something was "cray, cray" (crazy).
...still curls up in my lap (with her legs hanging off) to cuddle.
...has a pretend class that she teaches in her room every day after school.
...likes her downtime and gets upset if she doesn't have time to play in her room every day.
...still can't tie her shoes. She's left handed and I'm convinced it's causing the problem.
...loves the Crayola aisle at Target and would hoard markers and crayons if I let her.
...doesn't like softball as much as we wish she did. In fact, she says she's probably not playing again this next year and that Matt could just coach other people's kids. When Matt told her he couldn't coach if she didn't play, she said, "Well, I might play if you go easy on me and hard on the other kids." Haha!
...says the funniest things and most of the time she doesn't realize she's being funny!
...is like a fish in water. She LOVES to swim and has gotten really good at it. So good, that I no longer feel the need to harp on Matt to stay so close to her in the water. (See parenting styles comment above. It would apply here as well. Haha!)
...is a thrill seeker. She loves fast rides and would go on a roller coaster if we let her.
...will leave us sweet little notes sometimes. I especially love this one that she gave to John Hayden (well, she technically didn't "give" it him, since he would have promptly eaten it, but you know what I mean):
...is detail-oriented, just like her momma! If Starbucks doesn't put the swirl of chocolate on the top of the whipped cream on her mocha frappuccino (yes, she drinks them in moderation), she notices and gets upset with them. The elevator button on the top floor of UL's library that is pointing up instead of down annoys her (just like it does me). And she can describe the clothes and hair of someone that she saw only briefly in great detail.
...is long legged, tans super easily, and has long eyelashes. I envy her! Haha!
...always wants to take a picture with the mannequins at Old Navy. Always! Matt has quite a few pictures of her with them through the last few years on his Facebook.
Juliette at age 7...
...dances like no one is watching. Everywhere. Anytime. Whenever music is playing. And she doesn't care if someone is watching. At least once a week she wants to show you a dance that she made up.
...reads at what is probably a 4th grade level. (She's in 2nd grade.) At the end of 1st grade, she was supposed to be reading at an H or I (they use a letter scale) and she was reading at an N.
 |
| Reading on vacation. |
...can do long addition and subtraction in her head up into the thousands, although she says she likes addition better. Now, the higher you get, it takes her a little longer (maybe a minute), but adding in the tens (such as 45 + 63) she can do fairly quickly. She just started asking us to call out "number sentences" last week, so I'm still in awe since I didn't realize she could do this.
...is a prayer warrior. And she knows the power of prayer (since she prayed on her own--without knowing we were wanting a baby--for God to put a baby in Mommy's tummy and a month later there was one). Ask her to pray for something or someone, and she will pray at every meal and bedtime every day until you tell her she doesn't have to anymore. It's not unusual for her to pray at her own prompting for a sick friend or teacher. When Matt and I comment that we are done having kids (which is usually said when I'm giving baby stuff away that John Hayden has outgrown), Juliette tells us that she's going to pray for another one, and I tell her that's okay...we're good!
...requests to listen to Radiohead and other bands like them all the time. When it comes to music, she's definitely "cooler" than I am.
...chews or sucks on the ends of her hair. Maybe it's a nervous habit...I don't know...but it drives me crazy!
...finally learned to ride her "big" bike (that she got from Christmas last year) a couple of weeks ago. She's been so afraid of falling off of it that she refused to learn. Matt tried to teach her, but has zero patience for those kind of things, so I taught her, running along beside her, feeding her compliments and motivating lines about how she can do it. The next day, Matt took her out riding and she took off way ahead of him and did an awesome job riding all over campus. The day after that, they went out again, and, of course, she fell and skinned her knee and has made excuses for not wanting to get back on it again. In teaching her to ride her bike, I can't help but think about our different parenting styles--me, running beside her, within arms reach to prevent falls, Matt, hanging back, letting her suffer the first fall, but both of us encouraging her to get back on again.
...dislikes the color yellow, a lot!
...talks like a teenager sometimes. She told Matt the other day that something was "cray, cray" (crazy).
...still curls up in my lap (with her legs hanging off) to cuddle.
...has a pretend class that she teaches in her room every day after school.
...likes her downtime and gets upset if she doesn't have time to play in her room every day.
...still can't tie her shoes. She's left handed and I'm convinced it's causing the problem.
...loves the Crayola aisle at Target and would hoard markers and crayons if I let her.
...doesn't like softball as much as we wish she did. In fact, she says she's probably not playing again this next year and that Matt could just coach other people's kids. When Matt told her he couldn't coach if she didn't play, she said, "Well, I might play if you go easy on me and hard on the other kids." Haha!
 |
| She might not like to play, but she sure looks cute doing it! |
...is like a fish in water. She LOVES to swim and has gotten really good at it. So good, that I no longer feel the need to harp on Matt to stay so close to her in the water. (See parenting styles comment above. It would apply here as well. Haha!)
 |
| Getting ready to go swimming in Galveston on vacation. |
 |
| At the Boardwalk in Bossier. |
...is detail-oriented, just like her momma! If Starbucks doesn't put the swirl of chocolate on the top of the whipped cream on her mocha frappuccino (yes, she drinks them in moderation), she notices and gets upset with them. The elevator button on the top floor of UL's library that is pointing up instead of down annoys her (just like it does me). And she can describe the clothes and hair of someone that she saw only briefly in great detail.
...is long legged, tans super easily, and has long eyelashes. I envy her! Haha!
...always wants to take a picture with the mannequins at Old Navy. Always! Matt has quite a few pictures of her with them through the last few years on his Facebook.
...loves to write stories. Other than a teacher, she says she's also going to be an author one day.
...loves to draw as well. She says she's going to illustrate her books too.
...eats her steak medium rare, just like her Daddy, and loves it. She's always loved meat and fruit, but I've had to work to get her to eat vegetables and just in the last year or so she will finally eat everything you put on her plate. Her favorite meals at home include tacos, chicken pot pie, bacon cheeseburger roll-up, and breakfast for dinner (she loves breakfast food).
...says "sha, baby," which is a Cajun French term (technically, it's "sha, bebe") that means "cute baby" or something similar to that. Matt and I can always point out the true Cajuns from the people that aren't from here by the use of this term, especially since we've had John Hayden. He gets his fair share of "sha, baby," and I think it's adorable that Juliette has picked up on this.
...is the daughter of the one true King! Last, but certainly, not least, Juliette asked Jesus into her heart in June. This was the story I shared on Facebook for those of you who didn't know:
I'll
never forget tonight...the night that Juliette, while we were discussing
church camp, stood up in the bathtub, butt naked, and said, "Well, I
know one thing I want to do: ask Jesus to come into my heart." Jesus can
meet you anywhere, folks! And just like my little take-charge girl, she
didn't wait around for me to lead her in prayer and asked Him into her
heart after a little further discussion once she was in bed. I've prayed
for this day since before she was even conceived. So thankful!
We're so thankful to have this bubbly, 7-year-old, who is full of personality and laughter and love in our lives!
