Annika is eight!

(Excuse the poor quality, this is a picture of a picture)

It is amazing to me that this child who was once a chubby-cheeked baby, content to sit and observe everything around her is now old enough to:

Write poetry
Teach herself guitar
Draw the most detailed pictures
Read thick books
Ride a bike
Hit a baseball...far
Play card games
Sing every song that comes on the radio
Pick out some very fashion forward outfits
Have definite opinions on everything
Play soccer
Create almost anything with paper, tape, scissors and crayons
Crochet
Appreciate humor
Multiply and divide
Play a mean game of ping pong

Here are some of Annika's favorite things:

Food- corn on the cob, hard-boiled eggs, carrots, salad, celery, yogurt, fruit, strawberry cheesecake ice cream, tacos, chicken, cheesecake

Movie- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Song- Bounce...Jonas Brothers

Playing games- Go to the Head of the Class, Payday, Clue

Writing songs and poems

Art- drawing, using her new oil pastels

She loves sports- any kind, except for swimming

Skipping

Hand clapping to Say Say oh Playmate

Hats- fedoras, baseball caps...any kind of hats