Hello, October - how quickly you
arrived!
My inability to frequently update
this blog has become so routine at this point, that I almost don't feel bad
about it anymore. ALMOST. Because, despite there being legitimately
NO TIME to maintain this habit, I very much wish I could, because I love that
stories and pictures and memories have been captured somewhere so I can scroll
back through years and be reminded.... but, alas, I shall waste no more time
lamenting how little time there is to keep track of the time...
A certain 8th birthday is fast approaching,
so before I write a happy birthday post to my girl, I have to catch the blog up
on everything else...
Let's see - the big kids started
school. Fifth grade for Cooper, which seems insane, but also so totally
right, because when I look at him now, I see a boy on the verge of middle
school. Sure, that comes with some pre-teen angsty-ness and a mouth that
sometimes just won't stop talking (even when it would VERY much be in his best
interest to shush), but it also means someone who can stay up late to watch the
end of the football game and not lose his shi! the next day, and someone who
actually has the interest and attention span to watch a whole football game and
want to talk about it and learn more. He is the most kind and gentle big
brother (in one week, I think 4 different people stopped Steve to comment on
how good Cooper is with younger kids). We could seriously rent him out to
people needing someone to tend to their little ones and we would make a
FORTUNE, but then who would we call upon when we need someone to tend to
Cal??? He remains top in his class and an avid reader. He is
self-assured without being arrogant. He was brave enough to run for class
treasurer - a position voted on by the student body (grades 3 through 5).
I honestly didn't know if he would win, but was so proud he was brave enough to
even run. And then he DID win, and I don't know if I have ever been
happier for someone else to win something. So add Student Council to
Read, Deed, Run to Safety Patrol to Choir, and then the fact that he was
selected (by the Principal) to serve on the Student Advisory Council, and it is
just... crazy. His is such a do-er. He is a leader. And he
leads by being himself and it just... well... it just makes me proud.
A cute Cooper story... He was in a
Student Council meeting (leading up to the elections - a "pre
meeting") and the other assistant principal (not Steve) that manages
Student Council was explaining that kids in grades 3 through 5 would vote on
the officers. When Cooper heard this, he threw his hands up then said
"There goes my secret weapon." When asked what he meant, he
explained that he had lined his little sister up to go round up the second
grade vote for him, which he thought might put him over the top, so he was quite
bummed to learn that second grade wouldn't be voting (a fact that had been
clearly communicated previously, but he had somehow missed). When Steve
asked Daph, she confirmed that Cooper had been enlisting her to "rock the
vote."
And Daphne - she started second
grade. Still getting 50% of her instruction in Spanish, and still getting
(in her opinion) laughable bilingual support at home (ok, in any sane person's
opinion - my "Spanglish" that I try to practice with her is
undoubtedly BAD). She appears to be queen bee at school - quite happy
among her peers, and has definitely established a few besties that I think will
likely stay with her through elementary school. She is in gymnastics
still, and (like Cooper) is in piano, but also surprised us all a bit when she
said she wanted to add rock climbing to her schedule. We put her in the
beginners class one day a week, and I was more than a little bit nervous
dropping her off - clearly the youngest in a group with no kids she knows and
coaches that seem like very nice young people, but omg the height of some of
the walls she might climb... GULP! But she rocked it, and loved it and
walked with confidence into the rock climbing gym and walked out with blisters
on her hands that she would proudly show off 2 hours later. And then,
about 10 weeks later, we got a note from the instructor that she is ready to
move to the next level. She is such a badass. Seriously. Both
of my kids are just fearless in ways I still hope to someday be. She is
strong and she is sweet, and Cal will demand "one more NeeNee hug"
every morning before she leaves for school. She continues to have a
strong sense of style, and is very precise on exactly where on her head I
should place her ponytail each morning.
A cute Daphne Story: While I
would easily compare my two boys to Labrador puppies - both big, think they can
still fit in your lap even when they have doubled (or more) in size, easily
affectionate, eager to please and incredibly outgoing - I would definitely
compare Daphne to a cat - she is fairly shy (at first), fickle, stubborn and
withholds affection unless she thinks you have earned it, or she really needs
it. Which is why it has completely melted my heart this month as Steve
has been out of town twice in a matter of weeks and Daphne has been missing him
something crazy. Steve almost never leaves. Neither of us does,
really, but of the two of us, I have had to travel for work at least once a
year or so, if not slightly more. Steve, being in education, has not only
not really had cause to travel, but also is the one who is the constant in our
house - takes them to school, drops them off, there with them all day.
Well, the first time Steve left (for an education conference for 2 nights), it
was almost as if he had driven off with a piece of her heart. She missed
him - painfully, I think. She asked about him, she counted the minutes
til he returned, and she commented often how much she missed him. It was
sweet and in a way I wish Steve had been here to see it, because I think being
the rock means that he often gets taken for granted by the kids (and, in
honesty, by me, too, though I would like to think not as bad?) But,
anyway, watching her miss Steve reminded me of how I used to miss my Dad when
he traveled, and it just sent me down this full circle train of thought.
It's funny, because the changes in technology have made people more accessible
to each other... but only people who have cell phones. I used to be able
to use the landline when I was Daph's age, and I would call my Dad's
office number so I could hear his voice and leave him messages when he was
traveling. I am almost sad for Steve that he won't get those messages
from Daph, because she can't just pick up a phone, and she doesn't know (or need
to know) his office number, because all she needs to know is his cell, which he
pretty much always answers... Anyway - it was sweet, and I know she is
currently counting down the minutes til he gets back from his second trip (to
Chicago to visit family) tomorrow.
And Cal... He started (pre)
school. And WOW is it different dropping your third baby off at school as
opposed to your first. With Cooper there were TEARS and he screamed for
me to not leave him. Daph, too, though to a lesser extent. With
Cal, he was like "girl, bye!" and didn't even look back. Sure,
there were tears, but they were MINE, exclusively. That kid was
ready. He only goes 2 days a week for partial days, and we have our
AMAZING nanny the rest of the time, but he LOVES school. He feels so
big. He loves his teachers and pretends to be his classmates on the
regular ("NO! I am NOT Calvin, I am Foster!") I do have
some nostalgia with his passing more milestones, but he is so ready that it
just makes me mostly happy. Our family is growing up, and it is
good. Cal loves to read, is downright giddy when his siblings return from
their school days, and continues to be my shadow. He is in a bit of a
sleep regression and wants us to lay on his floor each night until he falls
asleep. We did this with each kid, but my body makes more noise now when
I try to sneak out of the room then it did when Daph was littler (quite a bit
more than when Coop was little). He is fighting off a virus right now,
and with Steve out of town, I was on all day Calvin duty (praise for the big
kids who not only entertained themselves most of the day, but also helped
without complaint whenever I needed it). He crawled in my lap and fell
asleep... in the middle of the day, unprompted. When he woke up, he tried
to go upstairs to play, made it to the bottom of the stairs, then ran back into
my lap where he fell asleep again. I felt so awful for him, but even when
my arm fell asleep, having been pinned in the LEAST comfortable position when
Cal flopped one final time from his restlessness before falling into a
coma-like sleep, I soaked it up. My baby doesn't sleep in my arms
anymore, and while I prefer him healthy, I try to absorb these moments before
they are gone. He randomly busts out in song (Arabian Nights from Aladdin)
and constantly makes me laugh.
A funny Cal story: Halloween
is coming up and Coop talked Cal into being a football player with him.
Now, I support the sacred holiday of Halloween, but I am NOT about to drop
money to get the kids new jerseys for Halloween, so we are lucky we have a
jersey for each of them already. Cooper will be a Chicago Bear and Cal
will be a Cowboy. We did a costume preview last weekend, so I got the
jersey out for Cal, put it on him and asked him who he was. He proudly
responded "I'm Tony Roni and I am a baseball player!" Not even
close, kid. Not. Even. Close.
(Daphne will be Hermione Granger ;)
)
