End of Summer 2014

We are here at the end of the summer and I started feeling sentimental as soon as we got home from our last trip of the summer, to East Lake. My stomach started hurting and I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I soon figured out that I was anticipating Lucy starting Kindergarten later this week. I didn't think I would feel this way, but I sure do. Lucy is such a special girl. She is thoughtful and kind, and a fabulous big sister. She surprises me every day with her thoughts and insights. She is growing and maturing so quickly! It has been a long road (sometimes challenging...) to get to this point, but at the same time it just seems so quick. This summer Lucy has really enjoyed playing with her baby dolls, dressing them and taking care of them. She also just loves workbooks, sticker play and trying to read. Listening her "read" to Jake is so much fun. "Dinosaurs might have been mean, or nice or fun, no one really knows. But, everyone agrees that dinosaurs were SCARY!!!" (A recent book narration she gave.) She liked all of our traveling for the most part, especially our trip to Malibu.

Jake is rapidly coming into his own. He is a toddler through and through. He talk, talk, talks.  love hearing how much he is understanding and putting together about the world around him.  His first full sentence (at the beginning of summer) was "Jake like Spidey-man." Both kids have been totally obsessed with Spiderman and Star Wars. Jake gets to ride on the coat-tails of his big sister, and experience certain things at a younger age then her. Usually, his favorite Star-Wars character is Darth Maul (you know, the ugliest, scariest one!) Both kids will play detailed imaginary games involving super-heroes. It is so fun to watch Jake doing pretend play, and hear him make sound effects and the like. A couple of weeks ago we woke up to the sounds of Jake playing in the living room (he has a big boy bed now!) and he was saying "Star Wars" and then attempting to sing the theme music at the top of his lungs. He still wakes up very early most mornings. He absolutely loves to "help" me in the kitchen. He really likes it. It often drives me crazy, but I have been working on accepting my feelings of frustration with keeping up with my two kids and all of my household responsibilities, and my job, and my physical therapy...and appreciating all of the little, special moments. In some ways I feel more patient with Jake then I was with Lucy. In part it is a personality thing (he is pretty mellow), but I also think that I see how quickly things are growing easier with him, and how things have become easier with Lucy. I love these kids to the bottom of my heart. So cliché, but so true!