Letter to my son
Dear Son,
While Mommy was driving, someone honked their horn. You said, "They are saying Hello, Mommy." I smiled, "Maybe they are." You replied, "No, Mommy, I was joking. They were being rude." You make me laugh! You like to test the waters with telling jokes, knowing you are meaning the opposite and then you end it with, "That was funny."
On Valentine's Day, mommy and daddy bought you a teddy bear holding a heart with candy inside. You gave mommy a heart filled with Sponge Bob candy. Of course, you wanted the Sponge Bob candy, but it was breakfast time. I told you it was too early in the morning for candy. Crossing your arms, stomping out of the room, you called out, "Well Fine!" You went into your room.
You came out of your room and asked for candy again. The scene repeated itself. When you tried a third time, Mommy said, "If you keep asking, Mommy will get upset." This is one of your tactics, keep trying and wear a person down. It didn't work. Mommy stayed calm, riding out your whining.
After a few minutes, you came up to me and said, "Mommy, I have something to tell you." I said, "Okay, I'm listening." You said in a sweet voice, "I'm sorry for being mad at you earlier." I said, "Thank you for the apology." You added, "Mommy, I have more to tell you."
Surely you weren't going to ask for candy again?! You smiled, "I love you!" and you ran into my arms for a big bear hug. It was the best Valentine's gift ever. You melt my heart, sweet boy.
Such much happens around your birthday. Four days before is Valentine's day - you loved helping Mommy make the Valentine's day bags for your school friends. You and your schoolmates were very generous, coming home with all kinds of sweets, cards and toys.
On Thursday after Valentine's Day, Father AJ sent Mommy a text message that during Chapel Day, you received birthday blessings and you were really cute. Oh, how I wish I could have been there to see that!
For Friday, you delivered the dinosaur cupcakes that Mommy made for your classroom. You said that you had a birthday hat and a certificate and a ribbon from your teachers and everyone sang Happy Birthday. You were so proud of the hat and gifts from your teachers!
A side note - a little after you birthday, you tripped and fell at the school playground. You told Oma, "I had an icepack on my leg and everyone had to be super nice to me." Again, your words are adorable.
Saturday, the 18th, was your birthday and you were SO excited. Even with the carnival season in full swing and flu season on the rampage, thus making for some understood cancellations, you still had 18 kids and plenty of adults at your party.
This year, instead of having a celebration at home, we booked the "one hour flight time" at Sky Zone. All kinds of trampolines and foam blocks and games were available. As one father said, "This is a great place to have a party, better than at a home. By the time you pay for a bounce house to be delivered and the food and prep the food and clean the house and have the party and then clean afterwards - it's all for the same price and this is a lot less hassle." It was the first time we had a party away from the home and it was a happy success. I loved seeing all of the smiles on the kids' faces.
Thinking about it, you had third cousins and fourth cousins that came to the party, pretty amazing and friends from Oma and Opa's street, lots of sweet schoolmates (all the parents and grandparents took their time and energy to bring the children, which is work and I'm grateful for that) and your grandparents and aunts and uncles - what an incredible blessing!
After the flight time, true to Mommy's promise to you, upstairs Mommy had the room decorated in dinosaur theme from a dinosaur banner to a dino wall scene, dino plates and napkin and..... Mommy baked a baby triceratops dinosaur (which Daddy said looked more like a cat Lol). But you loved it and if you were happy with the cake, then so was I!
The next day, you brought dinosaur masks to share with your classmates as a "thank you" for coming to the party. (We also had dino party favor bags, which you insisted that we make to share with your friends. You are learning more social skills than I knew at your age!)
Soon after you birthday, we received a "waiting list" letter from the Magnet school that you applied for. I was a little sad with the news, but also expecting it. The day you took the test, Daddy asked Mommy where I thought you would place. My response was, "He won't be in the top 80 spots, but he will rank high enough to be on the waiting list for acceptance."
Over 1500 children applied for 80 seats. Your wait list position is seat 20. So, out of 1500, you ranked at 100. That's not shabby, sweet son. You couldn't write your name, which is a skill set the magnet school wants you to have in pre-k. I'm proud of you, Gregory. My wish is for you to have a well-rounded education and a CHILDHOOD. I say this to you, but believe me, I was stressing about the results of the Magnet school letter which said you are "Advanced" but you didn't reach the mark of "Very Advanced" which would have guaranteed a seat in the 80 positions available.
The middle of the bar was "Limited to Average" then "Average" then "Average to Advanced" then "Advanced" and highest "Very Advanced." Placing second to highest for a 3 year old (that was the age you took the test) is pretty darn good.
Today, we went with Oma to the library. You asked, out the blue, "Can we go to the library?" Mommy said, "Actually, it's a good night to go, because they are doing the "Reading to Rover" program. Do you want to read to a dog?" If you had a tail, it would have wagged!
You grabbed your "B" book. It was a story about "little b" who filled her box with a lot of things, such as bees, baby baboons, bears, bananas - it is a cute adventure story.
And... you read the story to a dog named, Benny. He loved the story so much that he rolled over for a tummy rub. You did so well with reading the words that Benny's owner asked you, "Do you like to read?" You said, "Yes."
She then asked, "How old are you?" You were eager to share your big boy age, "Four!" Mommy added, "He JUST turned four." The lady looked at Mommy and said to you, "You are reading way before you are supposed to."
So, Magnet school.... I have a four letter F word for you... Fool.
Sorry, that was mean of Mommy. You learn quickly, son, when it's something you are interested in. You fight us on writing your name. Part of the problem is you don't have the strength in your hands yet. We are working on that too. But I'm not going to sacrifice your childhood to become a stressed out overachiever. You need laughter and learning. We'll find the right balance for you.
In the meantime... there are friends' parties to attend, visits with family planned and Mardi Gras parades at your school. Continue to love life and listen to conversations and soak in the world around you.... and.... as you did this evening.... take the time to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Love Always,
Mommy
While Mommy was driving, someone honked their horn. You said, "They are saying Hello, Mommy." I smiled, "Maybe they are." You replied, "No, Mommy, I was joking. They were being rude." You make me laugh! You like to test the waters with telling jokes, knowing you are meaning the opposite and then you end it with, "That was funny."
On Valentine's Day, mommy and daddy bought you a teddy bear holding a heart with candy inside. You gave mommy a heart filled with Sponge Bob candy. Of course, you wanted the Sponge Bob candy, but it was breakfast time. I told you it was too early in the morning for candy. Crossing your arms, stomping out of the room, you called out, "Well Fine!" You went into your room.
You came out of your room and asked for candy again. The scene repeated itself. When you tried a third time, Mommy said, "If you keep asking, Mommy will get upset." This is one of your tactics, keep trying and wear a person down. It didn't work. Mommy stayed calm, riding out your whining.
After a few minutes, you came up to me and said, "Mommy, I have something to tell you." I said, "Okay, I'm listening." You said in a sweet voice, "I'm sorry for being mad at you earlier." I said, "Thank you for the apology." You added, "Mommy, I have more to tell you."
Surely you weren't going to ask for candy again?! You smiled, "I love you!" and you ran into my arms for a big bear hug. It was the best Valentine's gift ever. You melt my heart, sweet boy.
Such much happens around your birthday. Four days before is Valentine's day - you loved helping Mommy make the Valentine's day bags for your school friends. You and your schoolmates were very generous, coming home with all kinds of sweets, cards and toys.
On Thursday after Valentine's Day, Father AJ sent Mommy a text message that during Chapel Day, you received birthday blessings and you were really cute. Oh, how I wish I could have been there to see that!
For Friday, you delivered the dinosaur cupcakes that Mommy made for your classroom. You said that you had a birthday hat and a certificate and a ribbon from your teachers and everyone sang Happy Birthday. You were so proud of the hat and gifts from your teachers!
A side note - a little after you birthday, you tripped and fell at the school playground. You told Oma, "I had an icepack on my leg and everyone had to be super nice to me." Again, your words are adorable.
Saturday, the 18th, was your birthday and you were SO excited. Even with the carnival season in full swing and flu season on the rampage, thus making for some understood cancellations, you still had 18 kids and plenty of adults at your party.
This year, instead of having a celebration at home, we booked the "one hour flight time" at Sky Zone. All kinds of trampolines and foam blocks and games were available. As one father said, "This is a great place to have a party, better than at a home. By the time you pay for a bounce house to be delivered and the food and prep the food and clean the house and have the party and then clean afterwards - it's all for the same price and this is a lot less hassle." It was the first time we had a party away from the home and it was a happy success. I loved seeing all of the smiles on the kids' faces.
Thinking about it, you had third cousins and fourth cousins that came to the party, pretty amazing and friends from Oma and Opa's street, lots of sweet schoolmates (all the parents and grandparents took their time and energy to bring the children, which is work and I'm grateful for that) and your grandparents and aunts and uncles - what an incredible blessing!
After the flight time, true to Mommy's promise to you, upstairs Mommy had the room decorated in dinosaur theme from a dinosaur banner to a dino wall scene, dino plates and napkin and..... Mommy baked a baby triceratops dinosaur (which Daddy said looked more like a cat Lol). But you loved it and if you were happy with the cake, then so was I!
The next day, you brought dinosaur masks to share with your classmates as a "thank you" for coming to the party. (We also had dino party favor bags, which you insisted that we make to share with your friends. You are learning more social skills than I knew at your age!)
Soon after you birthday, we received a "waiting list" letter from the Magnet school that you applied for. I was a little sad with the news, but also expecting it. The day you took the test, Daddy asked Mommy where I thought you would place. My response was, "He won't be in the top 80 spots, but he will rank high enough to be on the waiting list for acceptance."
Over 1500 children applied for 80 seats. Your wait list position is seat 20. So, out of 1500, you ranked at 100. That's not shabby, sweet son. You couldn't write your name, which is a skill set the magnet school wants you to have in pre-k. I'm proud of you, Gregory. My wish is for you to have a well-rounded education and a CHILDHOOD. I say this to you, but believe me, I was stressing about the results of the Magnet school letter which said you are "Advanced" but you didn't reach the mark of "Very Advanced" which would have guaranteed a seat in the 80 positions available.
The middle of the bar was "Limited to Average" then "Average" then "Average to Advanced" then "Advanced" and highest "Very Advanced." Placing second to highest for a 3 year old (that was the age you took the test) is pretty darn good.
Today, we went with Oma to the library. You asked, out the blue, "Can we go to the library?" Mommy said, "Actually, it's a good night to go, because they are doing the "Reading to Rover" program. Do you want to read to a dog?" If you had a tail, it would have wagged!
You grabbed your "B" book. It was a story about "little b" who filled her box with a lot of things, such as bees, baby baboons, bears, bananas - it is a cute adventure story.
And... you read the story to a dog named, Benny. He loved the story so much that he rolled over for a tummy rub. You did so well with reading the words that Benny's owner asked you, "Do you like to read?" You said, "Yes."
She then asked, "How old are you?" You were eager to share your big boy age, "Four!" Mommy added, "He JUST turned four." The lady looked at Mommy and said to you, "You are reading way before you are supposed to."
So, Magnet school.... I have a four letter F word for you... Fool.
Sorry, that was mean of Mommy. You learn quickly, son, when it's something you are interested in. You fight us on writing your name. Part of the problem is you don't have the strength in your hands yet. We are working on that too. But I'm not going to sacrifice your childhood to become a stressed out overachiever. You need laughter and learning. We'll find the right balance for you.
In the meantime... there are friends' parties to attend, visits with family planned and Mardi Gras parades at your school. Continue to love life and listen to conversations and soak in the world around you.... and.... as you did this evening.... take the time to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Love Always,
Mommy
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