Aiya is Six

Six years ago, this beautiful little babe came into our family and healed so much of my broken heart. She is emotional and resilient and I often wonder if it's because of how much she survived of my own grieving emotions while in the womb. I can't say for sure... but she feels deeply and expresses every emotion with high exuberance! Sometimes we're not sure if she bumped her knee, can't complete her craft right, or what I imagine she'll sound like if her leg has snapped off. The sound of high pitched screaming with the tears and jumping up and down is the same for any issue! I say that with a smile though, because along the same lines of feeling greatly, when she's happy she is such a joy to be around!

If we're ever going out to an activity or party or any kind of social gathering, Aiya is the girl you want by your side. She is literally bouncing and smiling and just soaking in every bit of energy around her, and then taking that energy and doubling it--tripling it--just so she can send it right back into the world! She is SO full of life and thrives on doing activities with friends and family. She instigated family game night with her love for ANY game that involves us sitting together in a circle and interacting. It started with UNO, then other card games like Crazy 8s, Old Maid, Memory, Go Fish and then moved on to some Yeti Spaghetti game. For her birthday, she received Headbands so that has been our new favorite. While she and Aaron struggle with losing sometimes or having difficulty in the game, it's provided good learning experiences and some great family bonding. Aiya truly values family. At school, whenever she is asked questions about her life, "visiting my cousins" always makes it onto her list or into her pictures. She absolutely adores all of her cousins in every state (Arizona Shipleys, Utah Rocks and Kiefers, West Virginia Fidlers, New Jersey Couillens, and Connecticut Kiefers who recently took our newest little nephew, Ronan, away from us!).

In school, I have been completely blown away. I'd been so worried about her emotional stability and if she'd be capable of managing her emotions at school where she'd be frustrated with learning so many new things. I anticipated she'd struggle with sitting still and focusing. None of these concerns have been an issue in the least! For the entire school year, she only lost "dojo points" (exchanged for treasure box rewards) once early in the year, and it NEVER happened again. She now prides herself in consistently coming home with the top positive dojo points, and is one of the highest reading levels in her class. I can't even believe how much she can read! Every week she was required to learn ten sight words and she was so determined to pass her list and move onto the next, diligently studying every morning at breakfast. Once all 90 sight words were learned by January, everything else about reading came together and she enjoys the challenge of figuring out new words. Most days she loves attending school, and especially loves art class. I don't remember being such a detailed drawer like she is! She comes home very pleased with all of her art work, so we make an effort to hang them up. She always uses lots of colors, usually the full rainbow spectrum, and adds little details that I'm always surprised about.

Socially, she seems more reserved at school. Lots of girls like her and she's friendly, but for a long while, didn't seem to be connecting closely with any one in particular. It didn't seem to bother her either, probably since her best friend in the neighborhood is home-schooled (Brooklyn Haymore) and she sees her almost daily after school. Aiya does love one little girl named Gia and it took a while for them to become friends. Aiya was obsessed with her first semester with being her friend, as well as competing with her academically! This semester, Gia seems to have reciprocated the friendship and they are a cute pair together. There are a couple girls Aiya does not care for because they say "rude things" or are bossy, so she is working on still being kind but understanding she does not have to be friends with everyone.

At home, we are working on encouraging some behavior changes when it comes to her brothers. She is still a big teaser, often claiming she is "playing" but doesn't seem to stop interjecting herself into her brother's games when they don't seem to reciprocate her intrusion! She LOVES reactions and Aaron gives her the biggest and most horrendous. She gets sad sometimes when we're disciplining or talking with her and says sadly, "I don't know why I like to tease...". Definitely a much needed work in progress, but.... there's progress. Sometimes she is super fun with Logan, who often laments Aiya leaving for school with a moaning sad face. "Aiya... Aiya...." If I can get them focused on an activity, rather than leave Aiya to her own devices, her energy levels truly spike the fun in the room (as long as she doesn't spin out of control!) and she helps her brothers enjoy themselves more, too. (Like playing in the small blow up pool outside or decorating cookies, etc)

At six, Aiya is still using training wheels on her bike. We haven't attempted to take them off yet because I'm hoping for a little more maturity and less explosive frustration at this point! She's a fast moving girl but has little patience for herself when she can't physically do something, like the monkey bars, right away. She loves to bake with Mommy (really great at cracking eggs) and watch Shimmer and Shine, Monster High (sometimes. Not my favorite), and Moana right now. She still wakes up at 6 AM and wears herself out by 7:30 bedtime, though still struggles not to feel anxious about going to bed. We've cut her melatonin use in half, so she does have the capability to put herself to sleep now. She just gets in and out of bed ten times before she'll do it!

And that is our Aiyana right now, and I'm grateful for her. I know she has a lot to teach me, and hopefully, I can help teach her a few things, as well. Happy sixth baby doll!