End of the Summer

        So, it has been awhile since I've posted anything more than just pictures! Life moves by so quickly these days :) I can't believe our summer has ended and school begins in one short week. We have had an amazing summer, though! I decided that the kids and I needed a break from school. The daycare the have been going to for the past two years is not really a daycare so much as it is an accelerated learning center. They were both in the same classroom for the first year, and then last year Cara moved over to the PreK room. This year, Alex will be in the PreK room, and my baby girl starts Kindergarten!!!! How is this possible??? Where did my little girl go? She has grown up so much this past year.

      With Cara, we have gone from little kid to the start of big kid-ness. While this is awesome in certain ways (the movies she enjoys to watch....foods she likes to eat....activities she likes to do) the attitude issues are NOT so awesome!! I thought that the slamming of doors, the rolling of the eyes, and the "I know it all" attitude, were things that showed up around puberty. Apparently I was gravely mistaken!!! She not only knows everything right now, she is pretty sure she needs to be the boss of everyone. Oh, how she hasn't enjoyed learning how incredibly wrong she is :) It's "kinda" funny! Some things that I absolutely love about Cara and the age she is at right now:

                             1. Her movie choices. I am loving the fact that she loves Heidi (Shirley Temple), she adores Sound of Music (who doesn't??), Ella Enchanted, and other "bigger" kid type movies. She still loves ALL the Barbie movies as well....but one can only hope that the Barbie stage will soon pass! I haven't sold her on Star Wars yet....don't know that I ever will :( I am, however, contemplating introducing Anne of Green Gables. Yay!! Blake has had the kids watch The Avengers with him...she also loves Black Widow with a passion..........

 

                            2. She is such a big help! So, most of the time, Cara is the biggest helper ever! I was telling Blake, I can see why people wait until their children are three or four to have another child. She is seriously awesome :) Sometimes she helps out a little too much, though! I will get up in the morning and she will have literally chewed (with her teeth) the poptarts open for her and Alex for breakfast.....We are working on that :)

 

                            3. Her ever changing sense of style. Now, I know a lot of parents will somewhat dictate how their children leave the house dressed. I do this on certain occasions if there is a need for pristinely dressed children. However, for the most part, I allow both children to dress themselves how they wish to be dressed. This makes for some very very interesting clothing choices at times! She is starting to really be able to put outfits together though. I love watching her develop what she thinks is beautiful! Sometimes I agree....other times....well...I pretty much have to tell her how interesting I think her choices are :)

 

                           4.  I love that she is completely NOT flexible and she is slightly (and by slightly, I mean totally) tone-deaf! It is difficult to have a child who is just not musically inclined. She LOVES to sing, don't get me wrong, but let me tell you how much she is NOT the next American Idol. Seriously. She makes her joyful noise unto the Lord everyday, and I love it :) She was in gymnastics this past year. She had fun, and that is all that really mattered, right?? She is SO not flexible. She might take after me. I have never been able to stretch and touch my toes, and she is completely the same! It makes me laugh.

 

                           5.  She's a fish. She has gone from floaties to swimming this year and it is fantastic.

 

   There are many more things I adore about her and this stage, I just need to not make this whole post about her! Sometimes it is difficult to remember all of the great things when we are having a particularly difficult week with her attitude. I am learning to focus on the good! Both of the kids tend to reflect whatever attitude I am displaying. I am learning that when I am having a horrible week with them, I need to look at my self and how I am acting.

 

   Now, about the boy. Alex is awesome. He makes me laugh everyday! I feel as if I don't have quite as many issues with him as I do with his sister. I don't know if that is because she is the oldest, or because she is a girl and he is a boy...I am just not sure. It could be that our personalities are more similar...but in any case, I feel as if he is the "easy" one. Or rather, I thought that up until this last month!!

 

    I realize that because he is kid number two, his little antics slide under my radar! Cara hits all the stages first, she does everything first, she makes mistakes and needs to be corrected first....and Alex just sits back and watches. I think that most of the time, he learns from her mistakes. This is awesome, right?? Okay, so I now have a child that pretends to be compliant. Is he really compliant? No. Not even a little bit. He is a stubborn little trouble maker!!! Yes, he makes me laugh every day, he loves to cuddle, he does what he is told....as long as it is something he wants to do. He started out with what I call the Eeyore look. Anyone who has ever seen him, knows this look. His head and face slump down to where his nose is almost touching his chest, and his voice starts with the "woe is me" tone, and he conveys his thoughts that somehow life is horrible because he cannot do what he wants. I hadn't realized how bad this behavior had gotten until just recently. It is what we are working on most at the moment :) He seriously thinks that when life doesn't go his way, he can go and pout and somehow that will magically make things better. I am SO over pouting. He hates to color or draw and is currently in speech therapy because he won't speak correctly. He can speak correctly, but he chooses not too because it is difficult and he likes to do things the easy way. So frustrating!! So, I am working on the same thing with him as with Cara. I focus on what I love about him most! Here are a few:

 

                                     1. His love of Star Wars....and anything science fiction-y :) He loves Star Wars. He chose an R2D2 lunchbox for school this year, Boba Fett is his favorite. He voluntarily wants to watch Star Trek (yay!)....he is just a kid after my own heart :) He wants a Star Wars birthday party, which I am SO excited about!

 

                                     2. He is so creative. He may not lie to color or draw, but he loves to build things. His brain is just always on. He loves our globe and can point out the United States, Africa, and South America. He (along with Cara) know our entire address and both mine and Blake's cellphone numbers.  He is awesome with numbers and can even do some basic addition. Lego's and numbers are totally his thing.

 

                                     3. Katy Kangaroo is his favorite book. This makes me happy. I had the book when I was little, and one of our friends gave it to us, and the boy adores it. He just loves books and I love that!

 

                                     4. He is an early riser. Okay, so I honestly don't love this. He wakes up at 5am, no matter what! While I don't love the hour in which he awakes, he is the happiest kid I have ever seen when he wakes up. Like ever. In the world. It fills my heart with such love for the kid!!

 

   As with Cara, there are so many things about this kid that I love. I just can't name them all!!! I would be writing for days :) I just wanted to write down some of the things I think about with them. It has been a difficult last couple of months with learning and teaching and everything! Life as a parent is SOOO much easier on paper than in real life. Knowing that I need to teach these little people the skills they need to be competent and well adjusted adults is scary! I don't want to raise a bully, but I don't want to raise a kid that gets bullied either! I feel like real life is now starting with Cara starting Kindergarten next week, Alex in PreK, and me starting the bachelor program. Ahhhh!!! I can't wait until I know how life will go. One more week and I will know :) One more week and my baby will get on a schoolbus......one more week and the boy starts school full time, five days a week. One more week. That is it. Well, this turned into a ramble, now didn't it???? Sorry!