“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: This week you attended a big sleepover birthday party. You didn’t get much sleep, but you had an absolute blast! When you were younger you always had a hard time with social gatherings like that, so for years we’ve just avoided them. You are a very sensitive person, both physically and emotionally, and I think you tend to get very overwhelmed by all of the noise and chaos. Before the sleeping (or not-sleeping) part of the party, you all went out for dinner. I was a little worried about you not finding something you wanted to eat, as that’s always been a problem for you, but you seemed to have done just fine. In fact, you confessed that you drank a big glass of Mountain Dew! I had to laugh at that, as it’s so out of character for you. I love it!

Zane: This week you’ve been regaling us with all sorts of adorable songs and fingerplays that you’ve been learning at preschool. You know some of the words, but you get stuck sometimes so I prompt you. But, you absolutely insist that no one sings with you — you want to do it by yourself! We’ve heard all about gray squirrels and their bushy tails, and five little pumpkins sitting on a gate. I love that you enjoy music and singing so much. You’re probably the only three year-old I’ve ever met that likes “The Sound of Music,” but you actually request to watch it sometimes! You never make it through the whole thing, of course, but you do seem to enjoy it, especially the musical numbers.

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: This week you were busy, busy, busy. I feel like I don’t see you as much as I used to! Between your dance classes, and your art after school, and your playdates, and your homework, well, there’s not a lot of room for me in there! As I’m sitting here thinking about what to write I’m realizing that I don’t really know what you did this week. I need to make sure that we have time together, too, even if it’s just a few minutes to say “hi, how was your day?” I can see how easy it is to grow distant from one’s children as they get older, since their lives become so full of other things. I want to make sure we stay close.

Zane: Hooray! You are healthy again! This week you really enjoyed taking a walk in the woods with me and daddy. You and I go out there often, but having daddy along was a special treat. You were keen to lead us, since you know the paths well, and you really enjoyed showing him all of your favorite things along the way. We are so lucky to have those beautiful woods right here behind our house!

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: This week things returned to normal and you are no longer living the life of a Broadway star. In all seriousness, I do think that you hold your head a little higher now. Maybe you learned something about yourself during that week of rehearsals and performances. You also took your semi-annual MAPs test and scored above average in math, which is great! You were disappointed that you didn’t meet your goal (you were only off by a few points) but we are all very proud of you. Your reading & language scores are so, so, so high that sometimes it must be frustrating that math doesn’t come so easily. But, we humans are asynchronous in lots of ways and your math skills are improving everyday. I bet you will see an even higher score on your next test.

Zane: This week you were healthy again!…for two days. By Friday your nose was running. At first, I was willing to believe it was anything but a cold — surely you must be allergic to something! But, no, you were sick again. Your poor little immune system just isn’t prepared to be bathed in all of these preschool viruses. Despite all of your illnesses you are still chugging along and going about your life as normally as possible. You have become VERY interested in letters and text lately. You always want to identify the letters you know when you see them around the house or out in the world. And, you often want me to read you little bits of text on magazines, greeting cards, or wherever you find it. I wonder, will you be a gifted reader like your sister? Even though you are quite young I have been brainstorming ways to meet this need, that you are so clearly demonstrating, to become literate.

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: [Lillia is on the right, just in case you didn’t recognize her!] This week you experienced your first foray into the world of theater, and you were really good. Both your dad and I were surprised when you said you were interested in auditioning for the theater intensive that was being held at your school. We’ve always known you have a dramatic side, but every time we mentioned doing something theater-related you seemed hesitant. The afternoon of the auditions I got a phone call telling me that you had been cast as a “swindler” in the play and that you had to stay late to rehearse. I was so happy for you! Fast forward to Friday afternoon and you came home from school to tell me that your first performance went really well and that you were sobbing when the audience applauded for all of you. Nope, not dramatic at all! 🙂 We got to see you perform that night and I was honestly so impressed with all of the performers. I was amazed at how much all of you accomplished in less than a week. You were an excellent swindler, and your performance was very believable. I don’t know if more acting is in your future, but I am so very proud of you for taking that chance and following through.

Zane: This week your rash went away, but you came down with a terrible, terrible cold. You spent a lot of the week coughing, and little people coughing is just so heartbreaking. Thankfully, as of the time of this writing, you are doing much better. You were well enough by Friday to go apple picking, which was very exciting (though I think you were more interested in the pumpkin display than the apples…). On Saturday you went to your first ever baseball game! Your uncle (my brother, Jonathan) was playing in a charity game for the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD), and you made it through all nine innings without so much as one complaint. I’m not sure you really knew what was going on, but you did enjoy seeing your uncle and everyone else who was there to support him — especially his girlfriend Ashley. In fact, I think she’s the only part of the game you remember!

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: [This is the face of a tween that doesn’t want to have her picture taken, at least not at that moment.] This week you have been doing so well on your math homework. I already notice a change in you since you started getting extra help. It’s amazing how much confidence you have, just with that little bit of extra practice. You’ve also picked up another after school activity, Art After School, which takes place at the Episcopal Church here in Walpole. I have been trying to get you to go all year because you don’t have a lot of opportunities to do art activities with other kids (outside of your one art class a week at school). I try to nurture your talents and interests without being overbearing. It’s a fine line, but sometimes you do need a little push.

Zane: This week you’ve developed a very strange rash! It doesn’t seem to itch or really bother you, except occasionally. I don’t think it’s measles or rubella, since you have been vaccinated against them. My best guess is roseola? Oh, these childhood illnesses, always such a mystery! But, you seem okay otherwise. This week you also got to bring snack for your preschool class. You helped me make corn muffins for them, and you were so proud. Sadly, you missed both your “sharing day” and your class trip to the apple orchard because of your rash but, thankfully, you are too young to be upset about it and I promised you that I would take you apple picking on our own next week.