CARTER IS SEVEN

Dear Carter,

YOU ARE SEVEN. WOWEE! You are not my oldest, but somehow you are getting old too and I’m having a hard time accepting it.

A YEAR OF CHANGE


This year from six to seven has been huge for you… full of so much change. When you turned six, you had only been in school in person for a few weeks. You had barely seen anyone, tried anything, got any socialization. Fast forward a year and each day you are coming home telling me about some new pretend game at recess, a new friend you are playing with, a new thing you’ve learned. It is truly mind blowing sometimes. During recess, you bing around playing with many different groups, but probably your favorite thing is to make the girls laugh or play games where there are teams chasing each other. 

In other school news, you do not fit into the mold of traditional expected behavior. Sitting the right way in a chair is hard for you; sitting in a chair at all is hard for you. Being still and quiet for long periods is hard for you. I can imagine that being your teacher is a wild ride. You are smart and quick and witty and participate all the time while also being a bit of a stinker. Your teacher is sensational and gives you so many opportunities to be you. I am SO grateful for that. We’ve also had a few instances where behavior has needed to be talked about. I think that may always be your journey- this loud, energetic, intelligent, thoughtful learner who can be a leader in both positive and negative ways. We need to keep harnessing your good, sweet boy, because there is so much there! Your math skills are crazy… you just get it. It is pure joy to listen to you work through a math problem. Sudoku is a new interest of yours. Dot-2-dot was a HUGE love before that. You are a good reader, but it’s not always something you choose to do. I really love reading with you though. 

Just this morning, your friend's mom sent me a text message saying that one of G’s sisters can’t stop talking about you after meeting you at CCD yesterday. That is you, my Bing… a charmer, memorable to anyone who meets you. There are gifts here. You are one of the sweetest people I have met on this earth, truly. Your love has no limits or bounds. You love big, are super loyal, and are expressive with your feelings of love and care. You say ‘I love you’ so much. On the flip side, you yell way too much, can say really hurtful things when you’re angry, and have some explosive tantrums that are epic. We’ve learned that when you can’t control your feelings, it’s best for you to put yourself to bed for 10-15 minutes. Afterwards, you can be reflective and truly remorseful. Everything you do is big. It has always been that way.  

WHAT YOU'VE BEEN INTO 


You’ve tried soccer this year and, although you can be really good at it, I don’t think you love it. You love diving and doing the occasional cartwheel while kicking the ball too far and running past where you should, but the actual things that make soccer soccer, I’m not sure ;) You will play golf this summer, which you think you are going to LOVE. Time will tell! 

Carter, you have many other things you love to do with your time. Pokemon is huge in our house right now. You love talking about cards, trading them, organizing them, etc. You love our hoverboard and are SO good at it. Better than anyone else, truly. Lately, you’ve taken up roller blading and, through practice, are getting pretty good at that too. We’ve gotta get you into liking taking walks and hikes- those are not your jams right now. You’d much rather be on something or using something to help you move. You really like technology-type toys like drones, remote control cars, walkie-talkies. 

HOPES FOR SEVEN

In this next year, I hope you use your experiences and smart brain to keep your way too big personality in check when it’s time to do that. I think figuring out when it’s okay to be silly or loud or busy with your body is going to be absolutely key in your life journey. I’m right here to support you. I wish that there are more birthday parties, playdates, and field trips in your future. So much of the early elementary school fun has been robbed from you because of this pandemic. I also hope you find things to do that you truly love. I wished that last year too and I don't think we've gotten there yet.. I know we will. Finally, I want you to have friends who see your loyalty, kindness, empathy, and huge heart. 

I love being the person that makes you smile big and light up- you are that for me too, Bing. What a special guy you are. Glad I am by your side. 

Happy Birthday. I love you so big. 

-Mama 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear School Board Members

My name is Kristin- I am a teacher, a learner, and a global citizen. I have four sons going through this public school system. I thought I might enlighten you to what a day looks like for one of my sons.... He wakes up over two hours before school starts. This gives him enough time to take care of regular routines like getting dressed, making his bed, and eating breakfast. This early morning start allows him to spend a bit of time relaxing and gives him some much needed time to work on homework. When you get 6-8 pages of math homework per week, the expectation of reading every night, and spelling/vocabulary work, sometimes you need the mornings AND the evenings to stay caught up. The school day starts. My son is in school for more than four hours before he eats lunch. During this 4+ hours he is experiencing a very long literacy block. He needs to sit still, he needs to listen, he needs to work fast. My son does not work fast- he has always taken his time. I love that about ...
Read more

Bikini Body Mommy and Diastasis Recti

I did not exercise while I was pregnant at all out of fear. I am usually a runner and from someone who had two miscarriages previously, I would have been content with lying with my legs in the air for nine months if someone would have let me do it; I wasn't moving any extra than I needed to. I know that exercising is safe and this was an irrational fear, but I wasn't taking the chance. When I was pregnant with Nolan and Judah, I gained almost 65 pounds.  This is very much within normal, healthy, range for twins.  You can imagine what that extra weight plus having two babies in my uterus did to my body.  Towards the end of my pregnancy, I could barely walk around my house or to the mailbox or up and down stairs without being winded, tired, and incredibly sore.  My ankles, knees, and thighs were literally giving out from the extra weight in my abdomen area. After the boys were born, I had to reteach myself how to move and exercise.  The pregna...
Read more

Drugs AREN'T funny

Over the weekend I made one of the biggest To-Do lists I've ever made.  I am in one of those states where it feels I have so much to do that I can't even start.  Where you wander around from room to room knowing there are things you need to take care of so you clean a little, organize a little, grade a little and nothing actually gets completed.  It's overwhelming and makes me feel heavy.  My need to control things aka "my crazy" really gets out of wack. I say that because I should not be writing this right now.  I'm supposed to be grading papers, but I saw something today that made my To-Do list go out the window and compelled me to write this blog right this second. I read an article posted on a former co-worker's facebook page about a Saturday Night Live skit.  It was poking fun at medicine's like NyQuil, but it was called "Heroin AM."  I found myself frustrated, saddened, disappointed, but especially angry reading the article and seei...
Read more