My first born is 10. Turning double digits is a fun milestone and life has been so full of new experiences for her lately. There is much to celebrate in her life.
Lily continues to have lots of interests and is all about getting involved and trying it out. She hasn't narrowed the playing field to focus more on a few interests yet. The only interest that has stayed constant and strong the longest is her love of reading. Her happy place is relaxing at home with a good book. She can also jump crazy high which she loves to do a lot too.
She finished her first season of club team volleyball. It was her first experience being on a team and being introduced to what that really means. Volleyball is so good about having to not only count on your teammates but also staying positive and cheering for your team no matter what after every point.
Love this picture of Lily during a close game. She had 2 practices a week and 1 full day tournament a month for 4 months. We were nervous about the time commitment and her dedication level but nervous for nothing - she worked hard the whole time.
She wanted so bad to learn overhand serve. Here's a video of a very happy moment of her showcasing one of her first overhand serves in a game. We need to work on consistency but this was a fun moment.
Lily is currently playing in her 2nd softball season with Dad as coach. Lily loves any position that includes lots of ball action. She especially loves being catcher these days. I'm still confused by the motion of the pitch. This is something I can't teach her well. So glad Nate can.
Lily is finishing up her last season on the club junior tennis team 10 and under orange dot ball. She is excited to move up to the next level in the fall which means full court and is actually going to her first overnight camp this summer with a friend and it's a tennis camp.
Lily is very much into baking and cooking more lately. She requested baking with her friends at her Birthday party. The picture below is of Lily wanting to contribute to family dinner a few months ago and decided to make skewers for Oma and Opa.
Lily loves reading the Sunday comics and prefers her hair short, falling above the shoulder.
An early Birthday present - I surprised her with tickets to see Pink - her first music concert. She was in total awe of the show. She expected Pink to be standing on a stage with a microphone and that's it. When the curtains opened and there were dancers hanging from a big chandelier and dancers all around the stage with a light show in the background, she was speechless.
Lily got the opportunity to emcee her school's talent show. It was my first chance to see just how comfortable she can be on stage. She also has no problem telling the crowd to quiet down.
It only took 10 years but Lily and Pepe finally have a close kinship. Pepe now will come visit and cuddle with her at times in her bed and seeks her out now from time to time.
Lily got to celebrate her Birthday by also being part of her first school play. She got to play a guard in Aladdin. Proud Mom and Dad watching her up there. It was so obvious how much she enjoyed it too. She was supposed to be a serious guard but couldn't keep a smile from peeking through quite a bit.
She's not crazy into piano but takes lessons once a week and even did a piano festival to see what it was like to be judged. Lily moved rooms and has now moved downstairs and taken over the guest room. All the kids now have their own room. What a luxury to have that option. It's probably for the best. Unfortunately, Lily and Elise fight a lot and being on different floors sometimes helps. Lily is stubborn and strong willed and Elise is a sensitive soul. Paul frankly puts up with quite a bit from his sisters trying to keep the peace but will blow up too if pushed too much. I get that. Paul and Lily can be so silly with each other and Paul makes Lily giggle quite a bit. I know Lily wishes Paul would be more affectionate with the hugs and attention at school or while out and about but that's just not Paul's style in public (unless he's on the baseball field and one of his teammates just caught a ball - he then tackles him for a hug).
Yes, Nate and I are proud parents of Lily. She is dedicated and engaged and pesters us whenever there is something she wants. These days it's a kitten. It's much more likely that she'll get a kitten soon than the other things she constantly asks about....a damn phone.
