July 2014 - Recap

I cannot (well, yes I can) believe how much you've changed in a month. You had your first set of swimming lessons in June and your second set in July. By the end of the second set, you were really comfortable putting your head under the water. But that was about it ... until a friend of mine we saw at the pool spent no more than five minutes with you one afternoon. After that, you were gliding in the water like an arrow, kicking your legs like a little frog. And not five minutes after that, you were using your arms to help propel you along. I practically had to pick my jaw up from the bottom of the pool. In my mind, I was all "That's all it TOOK? How come I never thought of that?!" You haven't figured out how to lift up your head while swimming, take a breath, and go back to swimming. But when not four weeks ago, you were terrified at the thought of putting your nose in the water, I'm not worried. And you're still really freaked out by the deep end, but, again, that's ok. The progress you made in just one month is super rad.

The power has been going out a lot this month. Nothing major, just lots of flickers. After one such flicker (that happened to turn off Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - oh, the horror!), you looked at me and said "Well isn't THIS a fine how-do-you-do!" I almost did a perfect sitcom spit-take right on the couch.

You've been talking about homeschool a lot. You want to know what you're going to do (me: "Eat bugs"; you: "EWWW! Noooo!"), how we're going to do it (me: "One at a time"; you: "EWWW! Noooo!"), what we'll read (me: "How to Properly Prepare Caterpillars"; you: "EWWW! Noooo!"), where we'll go ("me: "a bug store"; you: "EWWW! Nooooo!"), etc. (Perhaps I need to rethink my curriculum choice.) Thankfully you don't seem to realize that I'm pretty panicky about the whole process. Being in charge of someone else's education is a fairly daunting thought (even if it IS just Kindergarden), but I assume we'll just figure it out as we go along.

You've been in full-on Big Sister Mode this month. Everything Charlie does aggravates you. Everything he says annoys you. Everything he touches is yours. It doesn't help that Charlie is simultaneously in full-on Pesky Younger Brother Mode. He has been legitimately aggravating you, annoying you, and messing with your things. But still. As a younger sibling myself, I submit he's doing exactly what he should be doing. He's showing his undying admiration for you by being a pain in the tush. I see no problem here. (Aunt KK would be more than happy to talk to you about how HARD being an older sister is and how ANNOYING younger siblings are.) Cuz I can't help ya, kid. Even if you ARE a fine how-do-you-do.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for August 1, 2014:

• American Doctor With Ebola Able to Walk Into Georgia Hospital
• Abby Hernandez Saw Newspaper Reports About Her Disappearance While She Was Missing
• Netanyahu Says Israel Prepared to Continue Fighting Hamas in Gaza
• Class Is (Still) In: Why a Longer School Year May Not Help in Detroit
• President Obama: 'We Tortured Some Folks' After 9/11
• MTV turns 33! Reality has set in, and we miss those music videos