Annie, age 7

How do you feel about being seven?  

I don't know, I feel bigger and I just feel more powerful for some reason! 

What kinds of new things do seven-year-olds do?   
Say more words, like...[whispers in my ear] butt, as long as the little kids aren't around. 

What are you most excited about for the next year?
I'm excited to go into second grade and learn a little bit of cursive at the end. I'm excited that my mom is having a baby next month!

Who is your best friend?

I don't know. Colin's Avery's brother and Colin is DJ's best friend and Avery is Nellie's best friend, so I don't really have many friends. My cousins are my friends, and girls at school. Adrienne, Charlotte (she's new) and she's allergic to gluten, I think. Also fireflies are my friends! Sometimes I catch them and they don't want to leave me! Makenna, Leila even though she moved to Tennessee. 

Who are your favorite people to play with?
Nellie and DJ because sometimes when I'm just with Eddie there's nothing to do!

What kinds of things are you good at?

I'm good at jumping into the lake and pools now! I can swim pretty good now, and it just feels like I'm growing 10,000 feet every day! I'm good at gymnastics and monkey bars. I'm a good cook. I pick out pretty good outfits.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a doctor, like when I grow up and blood doesn't look so bad to me and cuts don't scare me, I want to be the doctor who helps when babies are born. I want to be a pediatrician. I also want to drive a car and have my own keys and stuff.

Why do you want to be a doctor?
Because I like helping people and helping people makes me feel good.

What’s your favorite song?   
I still really like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Shoulders by For King and Country, Start a Fire, You Stormed the Walls.

What's your favorite food?
I like dark chocolate and cheese. I really like dairy--yogurt. I really like pickles.

Favorite movie?   
I really like The Sandlot, Parent Trap, the Minions Movie. Back to the Future one through three. I really want them to make a fourth movie!

Favorite book?   

Princess in Black--all three.

Favorite color?   
Purple, light purple and dark purple. Sometimes dark purple looks weird and light purple looks pink, and I don't like pink, even though I'm a girl.

Favorite place to be?

At the hospital, except when I get shots. [What do you like about the hospital?] I'm thinking about the time I had to get my blood drawn.  I like visiting people at the hospital like Papa Roger. I liked riding in the wheelchair and the kid area!

What are your favorite things to do?   
I like swimming and jumping off ladders and stairs in the water. I like to go to gymnastics. [Does a handstand.]

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?   
I'm a really good reader! Um, I need more nighties!

Nellie Nine

How do you feel about being nine?  

I'm happy because I'm getting bored of being eight. After a few months I'm like, "I'm bored, let's do something different." So I'm happy to be nine.

What kinds of things do you anticipate doing now that you're nine?   
Maybe I can start to get more money for doing things like babysitting and stuff like that.

Did you have a favorite birthday present?
I like my UNICEF band from Grandma Linda. I also love my new walking stick and my new duffle bag...but I really like all my presents. Like Aunt Sarah bought me a bag with lots of little presents in it. That was fun! 

What are you most excited about in the next year?
I don't really know, I mean, there's probably a few things different than this year, but I'm still the same Nellie. I'm still the same me.

Who is your best friend?    
Still Avery Hartzler.

Who are your favorite people to hang out with?
My cousins and my siblings. Well, at school I hang out with my friends from school a lot. Like Leah, Kaitlynn, Avery, Emma, Ashley, Molly, and a lot of other people!

What kinds of things are you good at?

Reading, doing math, swimming, and a lot of other things that I don't want to go into because it will make it really long. I'm good at a lot of things.

What might you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a scientist. Some kind of scientist. I like to study stars so I might work for NASA. Or I might be an archeologist and dig up dinosaur bones to find out how they got extinct.

What’s your favorite song?   
I like Multiplied by Need to Breathe and Flawless by Mercy Me.

Favorite movie?   
Probably a tie between The Sandlot and Parent Trap. I have a LOT of favorite movies. National Treasure was pretty good, too. (Give a special thanks to Avery for that one.) Also Back to the Future one through three.  

Favorite book?   

Probably Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I really liked that one.

Favorite color?   
Turquoisey-blue.

Favorite place to be?

I like to be home, but school's fun, too. Ooh, I like Soaring Eagle Water Park.

What are your favorite things to do?   
I like to read, and...well yeah, read. I do a lot of that. I like to play outside and go swimming and do a lot of other summery things. Kayaking or paddle boarding, boating, going to camp, riding my bike and scooter, pretending. 

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?   
One of my new favorite sayings is, "help me, save me, pardon me!" I still don't like soda pop, I have way too many baby blankets, and I like to go star- and moon-gazing. Hey look, a firefly! Look, see? Right there on the door...