Sophia is 11

November 14, 2022

Sophia is 11

Sophia, the dreamer, turns 11 today. I am feeling the ache of her moving past girl into a tween. While she always pushes forward and leans into older friends and topics with Layla, there is still a young, fresh innocence about her that I wish I could keep bottled up forever.

Sophia is all heart. She loves freely and fully. Making new friends is her gift. Groundwork she made new besties, parks, playgrounds, day camps, basketball ...new meetings, and new families Sophia has such love and a good mix of confidence that drives her to embrace new people and truly make them feel wanted and loved.

All three sisters love to explore new places, and she climbs high, runs around, and bravely explores new homes, Airbnbs, restaurants, parks, countries, pools, beaches, and ruins. Her exploring mixed with her daydreaming has caused many a moment where I have been searching for her...but she never seems scared or nervous when I find her. She normally has not even noticed. She was lost in her daydreams.

She is so fun and makes everyone laugh and giggle with her antic, silliness, and jokes. We were at a museum and she got dressed in clothes and pretended to be Maria from Sound of Music.

Sophia has become quite the chef, but with lots of Amelia Bedelia moments which adds color and dishes to our life! Her palate is maturing, and she is eager to try new food. Massaka was her favorite greek dish and I was so impressed when she wanted to choose a traditional Irish dish at the nice Irish entertainment evening out.

The affection of Fia is one of my greatest gifts as a mama. Her letters are epic. She wants hugs, smooches, and squeezes. We cuddle every day, and she will never need space; she wants close-up love. She is one of my biggest supporters in getting my master's degree and keeps telling me she knows I am going to make all As.

Sophia has a sweet tooth, and it reminds me of Claudia in the Babysitters club. She wants sweets all the time and even goes as far as to hide them in your loft bed, so no others can have them...

Big moments this year:

Not being able to book a greek mythology guide for the Parthenon and Sophia and Layla taking up the responsibility and being able to guide us through the different myths, greek history, and legends. My mom, Dad, and I agreed that this was so much more memorable.

Zeus hike- Drew and I promised the older girls that it would be a moderate hike and they would want to see the " birthplace of Zeus." But man, did we underrate the hike, and truly it was a grueling hike, crawling over huge rocks straight up a mountain on a sunny, hot spring day in Greece.

Her first basketball match ever where she was in Coach Mahmuud's face with her finger begging ( or demanding!) to be put in! She kept promising that she would change the game- and she did. Whenever she was in the match, she was such a hustler; she really changed the jow ( atmosphere).

Groundwork was so profound for her sense of belonging, freedom and identity. Watching her in worship using different flags and saying that she had never felt God, so close was so powerful.

Sophia running in, no fear or hesitation to cold plunge into the COLD IRISH SEA.

Sophia is a fiery heart of justice. She will stick up for those she feels do not have the confidence or ability to do so. She requested a meeting with her principal to discuss the " problem with 6B boys" without discussing it with Drew and me or asking the girls she was worried about.

Lastly, fashionista Fia is so fun. I love seeing what outfit creations she comes up with. She loves trendy clothes, and she was gutted that we would not let her have crop tops. But I love seeing her heart accept and grow in love for fashion, modesty, and purity. I also love that whenever I get dressed in a Lebanese way- she freaks out and asks me to come to school so all my friends can see.