Growing Up

Mike's Restaurant, Emerald Isle, NC, July 9, 2011

Time is just flying by right now! We are pretty much settled into our new house on Emerald Isle (more on that later) and we're just trying to soak in these hot, humid Summer days before all the schedules and responsibility start.

I went to Beaufort yesterday to get Ella registered for Kindergarten. She will be going to a really great school this Fall and I'm so excited for her to continue learning and making friends. She is what I like to call "quietly social". She's not as in-your-face as Ruby, commanding everyone's attention. She's a little more reserved, but before you know it, she's got several friends around her and she is leading the game. She loves to be with friends (and has since she was a baby). She loves to learn and be active. I know that Kindergarten will be SO MUCH fun for her! She's ready! BUT, I am so torn. I'm happy for her to progress and grow, but as she begins this new phase of her little life, I'm kind of mourning the one that will be left behind. I know this sounds dramatic, but her carefree days are over. From now until forever, she will have responsibility. School every day for the next 12+ years. This school is full day, from 8-3 plus time to get to and from school on the bus. She will be gone for more hours in the day than I will see her. What if she gets sad or tired? Also, she'll be exposed to so many more outside influences all day long. I don't want her to know who Justin Bieber is or what the middle finger means yet! Another big shock for us is now that she's in the actual school system, we can't just go on vacation whenever we feel like it. They actually care if she's absent! Richard hasn't really been able to take much time off during his residency this past year, so now that it's ending, he's coming up with all these plans. I have to keep reminding him that we can't just take off for three weeks in January, because Ella will be in school.

The rational part of my brain knows that this is just growing up and it will seem normal after a month. But the irrational, mothering side of my brain is sad and scared.

Ruby is finally all signed up for preschool! She has been waiting for this day for two years, ever since Ella started going. She has always cried to go too, and has asked Ella so many questions about school and friends and teachers and scissors and paint. I think she will love it! Richard thinks she doesn't really need it because she already writes all of the alphabet and can write all of our names, but I have to remind him that preschool isn't really for academics. It's more for behavioral learning, taking turns, handling situations where things don't go your way, treating people kindly, etc. These are all skills that Ruby will benefit from greatly. I'm so excited for her to make friends. She's never really had a true friend of her own. If someone says hi to her, she tells me, "She's my best friend!" , but never learns their name. We seem to always meet people with kids Ella or Annie's age. It's not a common occurrence out here to see someone with three kids the same ages as mine. Of course, the week before we moved from Jacksonville, a family moved in right next door with three girls the exact ages of ours. Of course!!! Anyway, I'm excited for Ruby to have something of her own and I think she will love having the structure of school.

Annie is growing like crazy!!! She's 20 months now and talks all the time! She speaks in complete sentences and is definitely opinionated. My favorite is when she sees something and it triggers her to spout off all the words she associates with that thing. For example, when she sees a dog, she starts talking really fast, "doggy, awwwww, soft, outside, walking." And then she'll keep repeating it. She loves her sisters so much and wants to do everything they do. She will fight to have a turn and sticks up for herself. She is definitely feisty and mischievous, always up to no good if it's too quiet. A few days ago, we went to the aquarium in the morning and came home to make lunch. Our house is three stories tall, with the living room and kitchen up on the third floor. So as I was making lunch, I noticed that Annie wasn't in the room and it was too quiet. I sent Ruby to see if she was playing in my makeup drawer downstairs (which she has been caught doing several times) and Ruby couldn't find her. I went downstairs, looked in all the bedrooms and didn't find her. So I went to the first floor where the playroom is and noticed that the door was opened. As I went out that door into the garage, I noticed that the door from the garage to the outside was open (we don't really have a true front door). I went out there, expecting to see Annie in the yard, but couldn't find her. So I ran outside and looked all over. I finally spotted her across the street in the neighbor's driveway. She had walked barefoot down our extremely steep driveway, across the street, all to chase a CAT! I was freaked out and we immediately dug through boxes to find the child safety door handles. I'm just thankful we live on a quiet cul-de-sac!

As much trouble as she is, she's also very snuggly and loving. She will randomly come up throughout the day and ask for "hugs" from everyone in the room. She is always up for snuggling and kisses. We have fun teaching her funny words and asking her to dance. And she's the best picture taker! Whenever she sees the camera, she immediately says cheese and gives her biggest cheese face!

I love watching my girls grow and learn new things. I love seeing their personalities develop. But I also want to freeze them where they're at because I can't believe I already have a child entering real school! It seems like Ella was just barely doing the same funny tricks as Annie. I guess that's just life!