Madeline at Nine Years Old

Nine is huge. I have memories of us living in Sandy when I was younger, but when we moved to the "homestead" I was nine, and my memories from that point on are pretty solid.

So Madeline turning nine feels HUGE. Like she's almost all grown up. If she wasn't so much fun right now, I'd be sad about it.

Nine things about Madeline at Nine

1. She loves to read. On her reading list this summer: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls (series), and Black Beauty.

2. She is incredibly imaginative, and she loves to recruit kids to play in her imaginary worlds. She has a book with a map of her worlds drawn out to help them understand.
3. She is a fantastic writer. (See #2.) She is great at inserting her voice in her writing, and her stories are so much fun to read.
4. She loves to draw and has recently developed a pretty cute style of drawing people.
5. She loves animals. She watches a lot of Animal Planet and loves her subscription to National Geographic Kids. She has thousands of random facts about animals floating around in her brain. "Why doesn't that elephant have tusks and what's wrong with its ears?" I ask. "It's an Asian elephant, Mom. Female Asian elephants don't have tusks and they have smaller ears than African elephants."
6. She is tough. She almost never cries when she gets hurt. She and Amelia have been riding their scooters around the block this Summer. On the first ride (without me) she decided to try the "big hill" and crashed. Amelia came running home to get me and when I found Madeline she was scraped and bleeding on both elbows and both knees, but not crying and not complaining. After bandaging her up, she went right back out.
7. She still loves bugs and reptiles and has an uncanny ability to find them. This summer she's been fascinated with the bees on our lavender plant, and has "only" been stung three times. (No tears, although she was offended because she wasn't trying to hurt them.)

8. She is developing her own music preferences. Right now she likes Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, and Smashing Pumpkins. Random.
9. A perfect day for her would consist of staying in her pajamas all day while playing with the kittens and Amelia.