Month 68 - Recap

My best bear,
So I don't even think you know I do these recaps. Or don't do, as has been my normal for the past few months, but that's neither here nor there ... But since your darling older sister called out my slacker tendencies on keeping up with your recaps, I got back on the wagon with hers. But I can't very well recap her life and leave yours out (I mean, I can - #secondchildprobs - but I won't).

So you're now a graduate of K4 at First Presbyterian Preschool in Dothan and are now enrolled as Student #2 in the Smith Academy of Occasional Learning and Constant Cheese Consumption. I'm still working on our school's name, but the point is that I'll be homeschooling you for kindergarten. I'm both nervous and excited to be teaching you both. This will be a year of growth, full of laughs and tears, lasting memories and occasional eye rolls. But let's stop talking about me.

We got you a new bike. I don't expect Daddy and me to receive an award for Most Observant Parents for When It's Time to Upgrade Their Child's Bike. See, you've had the same Cars bike for pretty much your whole life. It's not like your bike has grown with you through the years so I'm not sure why it really never occurred to us to get you a bigger bike. With each inch you've grown, your bike looked more and more ridiculous. But you know what's funny? Daddy and I didn't even realize it (until a few weeks ago). I mean, we sort of did, but not fully. I guess we didn't realize how much you had grown (newsflash, self: a kid grows a lot in three years *facepalm*). 

Nashville is anything but flat, so we're all getting used to riding bikes over these hills (the only hills we encountered in SE Alabama were a speed bump or two). After our 2nd or 3rd bike ride, Daddy and I realized that you were struggling a lot to keep up. And it wasn't for lack of trying; you were pedaling like a mad man. It was because your bike was made for a wee baby child. So we upgraded you to the size of bike that Natalie had and upgraded her to the next size up. And wouldn't you know it, your legs aren't a blur anymore on our bike rides. Now we just need to work on our endurance. Because, oof.

A few days ago Daddy gave you and Natalie the task of bagging all the leaves from the backyard. Because of having longer arms and three years more focus, she finished bagging her piles that same evening. You, however, only finished half of your piles. It was supposed to rain the next day so I wasn't counting on the job getting finished. But after breakfast the next morning, you got your socks and shoes on and informed me that you wanted to finish you job. You were outside for an hour, bagging up the soggy-from-the-overnight-storm leaves. Never once did you complain (except for when you saw a bug. I tried to tell you that it's normal to see bugs outside, especially in leaf piles, but you were having none of it).

You finished your job without me prompting you. You knew it had to be done, so you did it. No fuss, no whining (minus the bug, of course), just hard, sweaty work. And it was probably the most proud I have ever been of you in my whole life. What may have seemed like a simple action speaks volumes about your character. I pray integrity continues to be a habit, that it becomes fully ingrained into your very person. I don't want you to shy away from hard work because it's everywhere. The Lord has given you a sweetness and compassion that's incredibly endearing - and couple that with a desire to work hard? My boy, you'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Hugs and smooches,

Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for August 9, 2017:

• North Korea Mulling Plan to Strike Guam, State Media Announces
• Google may face lawsuit alleging gender discrimination
• Ex-Astronaut Offers Bold Three-Step Plan to Put Humans on Mars
• Paris Police Hunt BMW After Soldiers Rammed in Levallois-Perret
• 'Rhinestone Cowboy' Crooner Glen Campbell Dies at 81
• Disney removing content from Netflix to make way for its own streaming service

July 2017 - Recap

My sweet girl,

So your super-slacker momma has lived up to her prestigious title and failed to do a recap for the last few months. If you were younger you'd never know. I'd just be a happy little slacker going about my happy slacking business. But nooooo. You're a voracious little book worm who reads everything she can get her hands on. This also includes your monthly recaps. You love reading about how you threw up all over me when you were a baby. You giggle endlessly about the funny things you said when you were a toddler. You delight in going through your Yearly Recaps to see if your Top 10 Lists have changed. I say all that to say this - somebody has noticed that somebody else has neglected her recap-writing duties and has been quite vocal about that failing. Very well then.

You did fun things.
You said funny things.
You ate food.
You slept in a bed.
You read a billion books.
You drew a billion pictures.
You had to write sentences because you were a sassy little potato.

And that about sums up the last few months.

Oh! I almost forgot. You had a solo in our church's musical and I sobbed all the tears (in case you didn't know by now, I'm that mom). You finished second grade (barely ... ha). And let's see, what else ... what else. Oh yes, that's right. We packed up our stuff and moved from Dothan to Nashville. A pretty boring few months, I s'pose.

So, Nashville. It's fantastic. It's busy and fast and gorgeous and delicious and full of fireflies. We're renting a two-story house; finding a one-story house isn't easy, I've come to find. I'm not a super fan of stairs (being the Queen of All Things Clumsy) but you and Charlie were thrilled when we picked our rental and you saw that it had stairs. We're almost two months into this house and we've had zero broken bones and zero tumbles down the stairs. The only injuries have been rug burns on Charlie's belly (from sliding down the stairs without a shirt on - Momma ain't got a whole lotta sympathy for that kind of injury) and a sore booty for you after your flattened cardboard box sled slipped out from underneath you and you bumped down a few stairs on your rear end. (*Note: this was not my idea. This was a Daddy activity. I was on stand-by with keys in hand should we have to make a quick trip to the ER).

Out of the two kid bedrooms, yours is noticeably bigger (Older Sibling Privileges for the win!). You have a little nook in one end of your room where we've put a desk and some of your art supplies. When Daddy and I showed you the final result (the desk with its shelf filled with blank paper and five metal buckets full of markers and pens and colored pencils hanging on the wall) you squealed and jumped up and down. "I FEEL LIKE A GROWN UP KID NOW!!!"

And I have to admit when I see you at your desk, working on your latest masterpiece, you do look so grown. It's pretty awesome. And slightly heartbreaking because you're not so little anymore. But mostly it's awesome. Because as you'll remember from previous recaps, when you were little, you threw up on me all the time. And that was most assuredly not awesome.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for August 1, 2017:

• North Korean missiles may reach US, but lack effective re-entry: analysts
• Scaramucci removed as White House communications director after 11 days on the job
• Los Angeles Awarded 2028 Olympics In Deal With IOC; Paris Gets 2024 Games
• Jailbreak: Inmates used peanut butter to fool guard
• 'Smoldering': Historic Heat Wave to Hit Northwest
• World's Longest Pedestrian Suspension Bridge Opens in Swiss Alps