I haven’t written about my kids in a while, so I thought now would be a great time to catch up on all their activities.
ISABELLE
She’s ever growing! If I got a dollar for every time I’m told I don’t look old enough to have a daughter her age I have to laugh. She is frequently told she doesn’t look 13. Scary? You bet your bottom dollar. She’s well behaved and very polite, which apparently equates to being a 16 year old. Call me crazy, but good behavior doesn’t mean you’re older. It just means you’re well behaved. Anyway. She’s funny. She loves the attention when folks say that to her, what teenager doesn’t want to be perceived older? I’m sort of glad I’ve revoked her make-up privileges for that very reason. However, I’m giving them back to her for Christmas, to my own demise I’m sure.
She finished up another soccer season recently. She loves to get out there and be active, but the teams she’s placed on are just awful. I don’t think they won more than one game the whole season. Makes it sort of difficult to find enjoyment in constantly losing, but she’s got a positive perspective and for that it was not a waste of time or money. She is really anxious to start softball again. She’s got a few months yet, but she’s literally counting the days.
Her academics remain incredible. She’s a straight A-B student and she works hard to maintain those grades. Since she finished her last softball season, she’s set her goal to playing softball for U of A. Explaining to her the work she’s going to have to put into obtaining that goal didn’t even put a pause to her plan. I’m excited to see how well she stays focused once she hits high school. It’s amazing how high school can really screw up priorities.
We told her what scouts look for in their athletes they give scholarships to. We told her they don’t just want good players. They want good students in their players. Girls that can prioritize their school work and still perform during a game are the ones that get the scholarships. Since she’s picked one of the top schools in the country for softball, they work is going to be significant. But she talks about it all the time. She’s determined to play for the Lady Cats. I am going to do my job in keeping her focused!
Her hobbies are getting more specific lately. She’s developed quite a knack for poetry. She gets really inspired when Cowboy Poetry season comes around. Reading/listening to her work over the past five years is so much fun. Her diversity in word use has grown so much and I can tell she’s thinking about things far deeper. When she’s just doing her own thing in her room, she’s writing. To be honest, I LOVE it. It’s a direct reflection of myself shining through in her.
She’s also drawing a lot. Mostly with pencil, but she’s becoming very creative with what she’s doodling. A while back she was telling me about a very vivid dream she’d had. Instead of trying to explain the imagery, she drew it and then told me about it. I had to hand it her for doing that. Once she finished her drawing, she decided to write the dream down and it gave her a spark of interest in writing short stories. Of course I encouraged her to do that as often as possible. She asked me if I wrote stories when I was her age. What parent doesn’t want the opportunity to share some of their memories?
I happen to have kept a significant amount of writings from my high school days. I took them out for her and let her read them. At some point I realized how important dating my work was. So, it was really neat to read her poems I’d written when I was 14. She got a kick out of it. It was a bonding moment that was pretty cool.
She’s getting more and more excited about starting high school. Josh and I are getting more and more terrified. Only 9 more months and she’s going to be a freshman. Argh. Just hideous. But these coming months I’m going to do my best to embrace the finality of her little girl. Even now that person is becoming a shadow. They do grow up so fast.
ALEX
He’s such a fun little person. I spend my days literally watching him grow right in front of me. His hair is getting so long. I’ve finally conceded to cutting it. I want to have Christmas morning pictures with his hair the length it is. Then the next day we’ll get it cut. I’ve grown quite tired of people calling him a her. Apparently no amount of boy clothes can make up for lovely flowing locks. So, I’m caving. It makes me sad, but what are ya gonna do?
He’s signing all the time. He’s starting to try to say more words, while he signs. He tries to say almost every sign. There’s only a few signs he makes no attempt at saying. He’s learned to say ‘no’ and sign it at the same time. It’s hilarious to hear his tiny voice say it. We’re working on learning the word yes. He signs it, but he doesn’t use it very often. It’s totally the age of ‘no’ and I accept that, but I want him to learn the difference between the two. If we ask him if he wants crackers, I want him to say yes instead of signing/saying cracker. That sort of thing. But for now, hearing his voice form articulate words is adorable.
He colors. On everything. My walls have gotten a work out over the past few months. It’s funny at first, but not when I’m on my knees scrubbing. He prefers using the normal size crayons instead of his age appropriate ones. I guess that’s alright, but I sort of like seeing those fat crayons laying around. As if I need a reminder there’s a toddler in my house again. Silly little things I crave.
He adores being read to. He’s also reached the level of creativity that he’ll sit in his little chair and babble to himself as he flips through the pages. So cute. He is sneaky when it comes to all things electronic. If he sees a cell phone unattended, he’s on it like white on rice. Remote controls of all variations are of extreme interest. Keeping him away from them is darn near impossible. We give in occasionally and sit him on the sofa with my iPad and let him play with the apps I’ve downloaded for him. He’ll sit there for a very long time. It’s kinda cool to see what captivates his attention. Basically anything that responds to a button he pushes. And of course the more expensive the button, the better.
JOSH
He’s doing the same thing. Not much has changed in his world. He’s loving the age Alex is coming to and is reveling in the similarities between he and his daughter. It’s cute to see them bond. Seeing first hand what daddy’s little girl really means has its reverence. I do my best to not interfere. Besides, Alex is clearly mommy’s little man.
He has yet to do as much hunting as he usually does by this time of the year. Not for lack of desire, but more lack of time. He works a lot and his free time is rare. He just finished playing a season of soccer and I think he had fun playing. He suffered a couple injuries, but I’m sure he’s not spending any time regretting the activity that caused them. But man can he be a baby about it sometimes. It’s just a broken rib. LOL!
He continues to receive praise from his superiors at work and I’m not sure there’s anything more validating than that. Overall, I believe he’s got job satisfaction.
EMMA
This has been a whirlwind year. I cannot believe it’s December. This year has literally flown. But in the past few weeks, I’ve made some personal health choices that are going to present struggle, but my intention is to succeed. I have doctors appointments lining up in hopes of helping me on my quest. Taking away vices is never easy. But, I know the removal is going to make me feel excellent!
I’m still reveling in being a stay at home mother and I’m so happy things have lined up for me to be home. It has had it’s struggles, but ultimately worth it. I can’t imagine being away from Alex for more than a few moments a day. Eventually that’ll fade, but until then, I’m loving every second.
I’m writing more and more and it’s giving me such a fulfillment it’s hard to describe. There’s even been this hint of a desire to go to school so I can become an even stronger writer. We’ll see. That’s a big decision that will effect a lot of things, so I still have to mull it over.
Overall, things are great still. I’m excited for Christmas and the close of another eventful year. Next year I’m turning 32, Isabelle will be 14, Alex will turn 2, Josh will be (haha) 34. With all these ages, I highly doubt maturity will reveal itself. Here’s to another year of refusing to truly grow up!
