Q and Sawyer

Quinn, you continue to have a real, yet hilarious, fear of skunks.  You’ve even woken up at night from bad dreams about skunks and apparently you think about them at school.

“The low part of my day was that I'm scared of some things. Like skunks. Because they are so stinky. So if I went outside in the dark and saw two yellow eyes and I didn't know what it was and I went closer and then I saw a black and white tail and then it would spray me.”   

You have a sweet, sensitive spirit.  You do not like when death or dying is talked about, you are scared easily, and that is okay because it just perfectly how God made you.  You are not immune or desensitized to things that are sad or scary or broken, as the world around you usually is.  

Your French has exploded since Christmas break.  You are speaking in French at home non-stop.  You are always wanting to play “school” with Sawyer.  You love being the teacher and drawing popsicle sticks out of a container to call your students to do the calendar in French.  You've taught me quite a bit, although my memory can not keep up and my pronunciation is hopeless.  But you love it.  The other day you retold us the story of the Three Little Pigs all in French and it sounded legit and was adorable.  I am so proud of you for working so hard this year and for your enthusiasm, excitement, and growing confidence.  You’ve had to be so big, so brave, so grown up.  But you seem to be thriving.  I love you so much.

Sawyer, you continue to adore your big sister and miss her while she is at school.  You want her to come to your class with you at church, you love going to visit her at school, you still think that going to preschool next year means that you get to go to school with Quinny.  You sweetly call her Quinny Bear.  “Is it time to pick up Quinny Bear?”  “I’m going to show this to Quinny Bear.”  You wake early (usually before 6) and immediately want to wake up Quinn to play with you.  (I make you wait in bed with me so she can get her rest.)  Speaking of sleep, you won't takes naps for me anymore.  I’ve tried everything.  Quinn was still napping every other day at 5, she still naps sometimes on the weekends… you are 3, you need a nap, but you are stubborn.  I kept trying for a long time, You've been fight naps for almost a year I think, but at this point I've given up.  I’m not fighting you on it anymore.  For a while you would lay down for a rest time and I would sit in your chair and we listened to a story podcast together.  Now we usually are out at the zoo or running errands or you play with your magnets in your room making tracks and carwash and other creative things.

We go to speech class together on Fridays.  Your teacher is kind of quirky and I’m not sure if I love her, but she lets me stay and work with you and I learn what we need to be working on at home.  Right now it’s initial, middle, and ending S and F sounds and really all ending sounds.  You are a trooper for me and keep practicing with me at home.  You talk a ton but you talk too fast and you leave off a lot of sounds, so we are also working on slowing down.  

You are my silly mama’s boy, sweet and loving, hugs and kisses and always wanting me near.  I pray to embrace this time, to enjoy and appreciate it.  I also pray for patience and gentleness with you.  And that I can slow down and listen to all that fast talking excitement.  I love you so much.