THE EVANS FAMILY: November 2020

Ember turns 8!!

How is it that my first born is now 8 years old!?! It seems like just yesterday I was holding her in her swaddle blanket or cheering her on as she rolled over for the first time. But now, 8? I am so proud of the young lady that she is growing into and pray that she continues to follow God all the remainder of her days and years on this earth.

At age eight, Ember weighs about 46 lbs and is 47.6 inches tall. She still has her own room with a full size bed. We usually put all three kids down around 7:30-7:45, but Ember is more of a night owl and usually unwinds in her room for thirty minutes to an hour by reading, playing, or writing by the light of her night light. She still without fail calls "Daddy, come touch my fingers." when she is ready to actually go to sleep to say good night one more time. She has quite a few things she does at this time as well. She tells Dustin to "tell Mom that she is the best mommy ever and I love her forever." Than she tells her Daddy the same thing. Then she says something like "Good night; nigh night; I love you; see you in the morning" in rapid succession. Then she requests a hug, three kisses and a nuzzle. Ember then goes to sleep and usually wakes up around 7:00 in the morning. She immediately gets dressed and makes her bed to start the day.

Ember surely lives up to her name which means "spark." She has a high and low personality - great things are amazing and bad things are awful. She is a born leader and she loves things a particular way and takes it upon herself to try and bring about her preferences. She is extremely bright and loves to learn. Ember loves to be around other kids and she greatly misses being with her classmates in school during this time of virtual learning because of Covid-19. She can be extremely responsible with what needs to get done but is also a little bit of a hoarder when it comes to nick knacks and small toys. She loves her brothers and usually plays really well with them and is willing to serve them. However, there are, of course, times when she puts her wants first and needs some space from them as well. Ember is usually brave at trying new things and it pays off. She just did the Flag Extreme Kids Adventure Course and the employee complimented how well she did - especially for her age.

Ember has many favorite things! She loves to be social and interact with other kids - whether at school, at the park or for playdates. She makes new friends almost wherever she goes. As mentioned earlier, Ember loves to learn and school. Her favorite subject is math but she also really enjoys reading and writing. She loves art, music, PE and Spanish at school as well. She still loves arts and crafts and is frequently creating things for herself or for others. Addi and her made or bought gifts for each other and gave them back and forth to each other about every week of the summer. One of Ember's favorite things still remains trips. When we have a trip coming up, she has the countdown going and knows how many days till we leave. She is also the one who gets the most sad when it is time to leave a vacation. Ember loves to eat and is a really good eater overall. Some of her favorite foods are: over easy egg on toast, cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwich or tortilla wrap, apple, grapes, macaroni and cheese, hamburgers, pizza, and almost any type of sweet. Ember really enjoys one on one time playing with Mom or Dad when it is a possibility. Ember likes all things girly like flip sequins, sparkles, unicorns, rainbows and mermaids.

Ember is a very imaginative girl and is always coming up with games for her to play by herself, with Reece or with her friends when she is around them. She wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up and will pretend to be one. She still enjoys playing with her baby dolls and accessories on and off. She is always creating things like poems, songs, and stories. Ember enjoys singing. Her favorite sport to play is still soccer. She is always doing cartwheels, the splits and working on her handstands. Ember loves to go sledding and build snowmen when it is snowing out. She loves exploring and playing in the green belt behind our house with Reece and our neighbor Mila. Her current favorite game is Charades when we all play it as a family.

Ember continues to grow and mature physically, academically, emotionally and spiritually. Physically speaking, she is really good at climbing, monkey bars, and doing flips while holding onto bars and chains. She also just realized that she can do a one handed cartwheel. She is doing really good on her bike and can now stand while riding and is practicing beginning mountain biking skills on the dirt trails in our neighborhood. As far as academically, Ember is becoming a really efficient writer and has written an entire opinion paper with an intro, reasons with support and a conclusion. She is also writing some really good poems. Her teacher said that she has a good number theory for math and understands it well. With much work, Ember is emotionally making strides as far as putting others needs and desires above her own. She is also working on communicating with a calm and respectful tone and responding to little issues with little responses. Ember enjoys reading her Bible and talking about many subjects related to God and Heaven. She is often thinking and asking questions about how it all relates to her personal world.

Being EIGHT can be challenging at times - especially with two younger brothers and with Covid-19 where some of the things that she loves have been taken away from her in part. It is such a learning experience for Ember to make the most of what she does have and what God has blessed her with. We are so proud of Ember's adaptability, hard work and growth during this challenging time. She is constantly wanting to improve and do better in all aspects of her life and I pray that she keeps that drive for bettering herself with the strength and help of the Lord. We love you, Ember!

BIRTHDAY ACTIVITIES:

Donuts for breakfast: