“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”
[This photo is from the Pumpkin Festival on October 18th]

Lillia: This week you turned eleven years-old. I thought ten felt overwhelming, but eleven? I just don’t even know what to think! You are turning into such a young lady, though you still have your weird/crazy personality in full force! You decided you just wanted to have a quiet party at home with family and then have just one friend to come over and play in the afternoon. You are very social in some situations, but you have always preferred one-on-one to large groups (you’re much like your parents and grandparents in that way). I hope you had a nice birthday, and I’m looking forward to all of the adventures that your eleventh year will bring!

Zane: This week you went to the dentist! I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about kids who are scared of the dentist, and I totally get that, but you had no problems at all. In fact, I had an appointment at the same time as yours and you just hopped and skipped away with the hygienist all on your own, with absolutely no concerns. You were actually excited! I could hear you chattering away in the other room, and when your appointment was done you just calmly went to the waiting room and looked at some books until I was done. I am so lucky that I have such a well-behaved little boy. It makes me very proud!

“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.