Stella's Seven

Seven-year-old Stella is tender and empathetic. Nurturing comes intuitively to her. She picks up on subtle emotional cues, which makes interacting and caring for others a natural state. She's learning how to say no and hold boundaries with other people even in the face of their sadness.  This is very hard for Stella as she wants everyone to be comfortable. 

Stella wants to take care of animals when she is older. Her favorite animal is a seal with cheetah as a close second.

Stella feels deeply every emotion.  She has pockets of sensory issues that can turn her morning upside down when socks, shoes, and coats don't feel right.  (She is almost always barefoot and in her underwear.) Stella hates being uncomfortable and bored. No matter how big or small the discomfort, if it goes undistracted it will grow so big that her body can not physically contain it.  She explodes out of herself in raging snarls and throwing limbs. 

Stella has extreme overwhelm over cleaning up and forgets to pick up almost anything she gets out. This is a difficult dynamic as Stella is a creative tornado. She moves through our house pulling every object in sight into her world of creation.  I love her for this and love to see the magic she creates, but the destruction and anxiety that ensues when we try to clean up is very difficult.  

When she's overwhelmed, she likes to take a walk around the block to cool down.  On hikes, however, she will spend the entire journey spewing verbal resistance and melts into puddles of despair. 

She always wants to snuggle; she loves to nuzzle and wrestle. She is happy and flexible with almost everything except for cleaning or Finn's teasing. She does not like to talk about death or the inner workings of the human body as it is too overwhelming. 

She lost a lot of teeth all within the same month. She loves to be outside. She plays well with all her siblings, though her preference is to do so one on one. She loves cheese crackers and ice cream and is always willing to join me for taking pictures. 

I never want to forget the way she giggles and finds humor in so many things. Her love of bugs and quick sense of humor and her love of snacks.  She loves water and immersing her body in full sensory experiences. Stella at seven is seriously all tenderness with a bit of exploding overwhelm sprinkled in.  We love our girl.