It’s hard to believe Ava turns ten today.  She has seemingly done her best to meet the oft-repeated (not truly serious) request that she never grow up.  Her 20-month younger sister is now taller, and bigger overall, than Ava.  She is still quite content to curl up in an impossibly tiny little ball on a lap, and only seems mildly put-out that everyone around her is growing by leaps and bounds while she continues at her own, special, Ava pace.

A pace which, it seems, applies to everything she does.  Despite more challenging schoolwork and more responsibilities around the house, she still refuses to be rushed in her tasks.  This does often result in what seems like an overly-full plate for her, and upon occasion, has made her feel overwhelmed, but hopefully it will also help her learn more about time management and prioritizing her responsibilities well.

Though her pace may be slow, the quality of Ava’s work – in any endeavor – is usually excellent.  She is careful, pays attention to detail, and puts a lot of thought into everything she does.  She might be a bit of a perfectionist, but I think that her generally easy-going attitude balances it out fairly well.

Ava has an interesting dynamic with each of her siblings.  With Isabelle, there is a slight tendency toward sibling rivalry, but there is also a symbiotic-type relationship where Ava’s preference for being served and Isabelle’s love of being helpful results in many interactions where Ava asks, sweetly, “Isabelle, will you…?”, and Isabelle happily complies.  It’s funny and endearing, but has also required the occasional reminder to Ava to not take advantage of her sister.  With Lucas, she can be a little bossy, but also silly and patient.  With her older siblings, Ava is clearly very interested in demonstrating that she can hold her own – in games, in outdoor activities, and in her interests in general.  She particularly loves her more “grown-up” conversations with Bethany, and it has been great to see the two of them bridging the 6+ year gap in their ages.

Ava’s creativity is one of her strongest traits, I think.  She can make a realistic-looking model car out of cardboard without any sort of guidance, and come up with clever, funny gifts for her siblings.  She is a good artist and writes witty short stories.  When given a choice of activities, she will almost always gravitate toward something that allows her to be creative.

While not our most talkative child by a long shot, Ava makes her voice heard on things that are important to her.  She is straightforward and funny and grasps a lot of science and technical concepts with ease.  She loves reading and playing games and snuggling (for now).  She is beautiful and gracious and determined and kind.  She is a bright light in our world and we love her so much.