Dear Lucy,

Happy 8th birthday!  I just read the letter I wrote to you on your 7th birthday and I could practically just copy and paste it here (I've said that with your siblings, too - in many ways, besides "growing up," you all stay a lot the same . . .).  I mean, you are still YOU.  Lucy Dee Maxwell.  A delight - most of the time.  :)

You rocked the 1st grade and made a lot of new friends as well.  Some of your best friends from 1st grade included Genevieve, Vicki, and Addy (Dory moved away, but you still consider her one of your best-friends and you were able to see her a few times.).  Addy has a twin named Maddy (Addison and Madison, actually) and, as you like to tell people, they are almost as tall as me!  Not quite, but they are definitely taller than Emmy!  You and Addy were quite the site to see standing next to each other.  I came in to your classroom each week and had fun meeting your classmates - your class was actually super sweet and good!  I got to come in once for a "career day" event and that was fun to teach your fellow first-graders how to listen to their heartbeat.  Mrs. Dodd was your teacher (she taught Jonas as well) and this was her final year of teaching.  You were lucky to get her.

You made it to the team at gymnastics and have gotten most all of your level 3 skills.  You are just missing maybe two bar skills - which you can sometimes get and sometimes not.  You can do a round-off, back-handspring, back-handspring - and you do it well.  I think you'll even get a chance to compete this year!

You continue to have a lot of empathy towards those around you.  It's pretty neat.  You genuinely feel badly when you make others upset or sad - or when someone else (cough, cough, Emmy) is rude to you and makes you feel sad and then your feeling sad makes that certain someone (cough, cough, Emmy) mad, then you feel bad and want to apologize to Emmy - I mean that certain someone.  When really that certain someone should be apologizing to you.  It's an interesting dynamic!  Your dad and I do not ever have to tell you to say sorry - you do that on your own.

You hiked your first 14er (Handies).  You backpacked for 25 miles in Grand Gulch. Your skiing improved. You continue to get smarter and smarter.  You started reading some real chapter books in school this year, you're quick with math, you enjoy writing and again won several writing achievement awards this year, etc.  You love candy.  You don't love chocolate.

Again, a lot of this is a repeat of last year.  You are doing the same things, but doing them better and smarter.  :)  And it's a good thing - we don't want you to change too much because you are pretty great as you are.  (Just cry a little bit less, please . . . )

Happy Birthday my Lucy Girl!

I love you as much as all the sprinkles you and your friends dumped on your decorate-your-own cakes tonight at your birthday party,
mom

(P.S.  That is something you like to tell either me or your dad . . . "I love you as much as all the hair Brigham has."  Your dad and I are kicking ourselves that we haven't written any of them down - you say them a lot and they are usually funny and/or witty.)