Miss Mariah

We have a 9 year old...pretty sure she was an infant yesterday so I'm not sure where the 9 years went. But it has been a delight watching her learn and grow. Thankfully she still thinks the yearly interview is cool: 

Mom: What is your favorite color? 

Mariah: I think my favorite color right now is teal and turquoise

Mom: What is your favorite food?
Mariah: Waffles (There was a  lot of pondering before she decided on waffles. She always makes sure to remind me on Saturday mornings that it is waffle/pancake day.)

Mom: What is your favorite animal?
Mariah: I really like dogs still and I like horses but I also like cheetahs. (Mariah loves to play with Gus. I love listening to her giggle at his crazy antics. She has taught him some new tricks like "pretty" and to catch a ball in the air.)

Mom: What is your favorite book?

Mariah: Harry Potter and The One and Only Ivan

She's still a huge reader. I'm constantly on the hunt for new books for her to read. Each night we have to go in and tell her to stop reading and go to bed otherwise she stays up way too late. 

Mom: What is your favorite movie?
Mariah: Bed Knobs and Broomsticks (She also makes sure to remind me that Friday night is movie night)

Mom: What is your favorite song?

Mariah: Locked Away (She didn't know the name of the song but sang it for me and I had to look it up. I'm not up to date with all the hip music. Mariah rarely sings known songs; she usually sings her own originals. And when she invents one she really likes, she'll sing it over and over and over.)

Mom: Who is your scripture hero?

Mariah: Captain Moroni, I really like him. (She does a great job reading her scriptures each day. A few months ago she made a goal to read the New Testament so now she reads from both the Book of Mormon and New Testament each morning.)

Mom: What is your favorite dessert?

Mariah: Moose Tracks ice cream of course! That's just delicious; I love fudge. If it comes to vanilla, I really like Mint Chocolate Chip. 

Mom: What do you like to do for fun? 
Mariah: I like to play Uno with dad and my brothers, I like to make believe I'm an animal, and I like to climb the tree house tree and swing on the swings. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? 

Mariah: I really like to talk about funny things with you. (One of the most delightful things about your children getting older is that you get to have such great conversations with them.)

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?
Mariah: I like when he reads books to me, or when I read books to him. 

This was an awesome note and drawing that Mariah made for Tanner

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Chet?
Mariah: I like to swing on the swings with him and I like to pretend to be animals with him. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Austin?

Mariah: I really like playing with toys with Austin, because it makes him happy and he gets this little high pitched voice.  

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Eliza? 

Mariah: Give her piggy-backs. (Mariah is really good at looking after Eliza. She tries to be patient with her even when she gets into all her things.)

We are so grateful that Eliza and Vivi have Mariah for a big sister. 

Mom: What is your favorite thing to do with Vivienne?

Mariah: Hold her and talk to her. (She has been such a huge help with Vivi she holds her for me when I'm making dinner and even sings her to sleep.)

Mom: Who is your best friend?

Mariah: Thats a good question, I think it would be Chet. (Those two are so close. There is a lot of fighting, but I don't think they'd know what to do with themselves if they weren't together.) 

Mom: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Mariah: A mother and a naturalist because I like to study animals and plants. And maybe a pianist and maybe a singer.  

Mariah works so hard on her piano. She practices each morning without complaint and even creates her own songs. 

She is starting to get embarrassed about things. One day when dropping them off for piano, their teacher's husband answered the door and let them know that there wasn't any piano that day. When they got back in the car I just said, "Whoops, I forgot you didn't have piano today." Mariah then said, "Mom that was so embarrassing!" I just told her she was going to have to get used to it because I'll probably be embarrassing her a lot. Pretty sure thats in my job description. 

The other day Tanner came into the room with his shirt tucked into sweatpants pulled up as high as they could go. Tanner got just the reaction he was hoping for when with a look of horror on her face Mariah said, "Dad, have you lost all your dignity?!" I have also let the kids know that if they want to be "cool" they probably shouldn't recreate any of Dad's dance moves in public. "Cool" is never Tanner's goal. 

At Christmas time Mariah came home from the neighbors and told me they had taught her a little about their religion. "There's this elf that watches them and makes sure they are being good so that Santa will give them gifts. He moves around the house and does funny things. I told them it was just a toy but they said he is real." She had such a confused look on her face; it was all I could do to not laugh out loud. I then taught her the basics of Elf on the Shelf. Their neighbor friends were kind enough to let her know that she could get her own real live elf on Amazon. The whole situation just made me so happy. 

One day in school she was working on the plural form of words. When she got to pants, she looked up at me and said, "pantelones?" We had a good laugh about that one. 

Mariah is able to do more and more of her school by herself which frees up time for me to help her siblings. She has amazing focus and will do her work through the chaos of her four siblings. She and Chet have loved their online class. They get to discuss what they have learned with kids from all over the country (and even Mexico!). Their cousins from Washington are on the Zoom as well so they love getting to see them each day.

Mariah and Chet started soccer right after her birthday. She felt nervous before their first game, but said after she started she just felt excited. She made a great kick into her own team's goal. She said she just turned and saw an open goal and didn't hesitate. She handled it like a champ though and we had a good laugh about it later. 

Mariah is a great example to her siblings in so many ways. They all want to read their scriptures, play the piano, and do their schoolwork because they see her doing it. It makes my job as a mom a little easier. We are so grateful for all the light and joy that she brings into our home.