Hi all,
Rin is getting so darn old.
He’s to the age now when a lot of my childhood memories start. Things like losing his front teeth. Don’t you remember when you had that front
gap? It’s so weird to think that he’s
there already. Rin's tooth was looking a
little bit wonky one day and he yelled from downstairs "Mom. My tooth fell
out." like it wasn't a huge deal. He's an old pro at this now.
But it's the last gap my sweet boy is going to have and then he'll have
those big buck teeth that little boys get before they have the big mouths to
fit them. He's getting hair on his legs and he's starting to fill out some
so the little boy is rapidly disappearing and being replaced by a little man. I have a little man living in my house and
it’s freaking me out.
August was the
big family get together at the beach in NC.
After a long drive, we stopped by the airport to grab Mom and then made
our way the last 30 minutes to the beach house to meet everyone else. We were greeted by homemade BBQ and cold
beers by Walt and Nan which was so welcome after our time in the car. The cousins couldn’t have been more excited
to see each other and were rolling all over each other on the floor like a
bunch of puppies and just jumping right back into where we had last left
them.
The highlight
from the week was, of course, family but these are some of the others:
Catching giant
creepy sand fleas to use as bait
Surf fishing
Group Rainbow
Looming
Amazing storm
with lightening that we could watch over the ocean
Ice cream in the
rain
Boogie boarding
so much that we had to buy more
Fabulous weather
Cousin Emma
coming to hang out
Fishing charter
with the boys
A perfect day at
the beach with no giant waves, swimming out in the sea
A night out to
dinner followed by Brit’s Donuts and fireworks watched out on the balcony
Taking a stroll
down the beach in the dark
This small child
of mine is an absolute fish. While I was
struggling to stay on my feet as waves crashed, he was happily diving right
into it and coming up with a smile.
Rinat has really
enjoyed it all- the waves, the beach, the fishing, the sand, but most of all I
think he’s enjoyed the friendship of his cousins and their friends.
The last night we
were there, Nan cooked up the fish that the kids had bought home from fishing
and then was the talent show. The kids
had been looking forward to it all week long and asking each other what their
talent was going to be. Walt decided on
his standby- the duck call using his hands.
Sutton did, among other things- a puppet show with Nan about a pirate
who also sang the song from Muppet Treasure Island Yo Ho Ho. Sarah played Twinkle Twinkly on her
guitar. There were exercise
demonstrations and stories and Me and Peter doing karaoke. Grandma Shay did a Komishebai (story with
pictures) of how she got to school every morning when they lived in Japan- the
bike, the train, the bus. And how they
got to Japan via car, train, and boat.
And the grand finale was Rinat showing everyone how to make a fishing
lure (big surprise). That kid is not
short on confidence.
Our
final day of fun and started with a rainbow.
The weather was hot and the sea was fantastic. We ate up all the food from the fridge, we
stopped trying to wash dirty clothes and instead just started piling them up to
pack away.
I sit here in the
post-lunch calm of them playing together when all the bellies are full and the
eyes are at half mast. Sam is at the
table working on his summer project for school while the others play quietly in
the fort they made in the loft or they play a game of Oldie Maid with the
Garfield playing cards someone brought.
They are off in twos and threes and I hate to pull them away but the
beach is calling and the hours are counting down until the beach is no longer
an option. And then we will all go our
separate ways and the monotony and excitement of a new school year begins. There will be tears and goodbyes and we’ll
see you soons. As we drive back home to
DC with the kids asleep in the backseat, my body still feels the back and forth
pull of the ocean and though we have left it, it hasn’t left me. Not quite yet.
And a day after we got home, it was the first day of
school. This was the summer of bedtimes that were thrown out the
window and sugar cereal eaten for breakfast.
It was hard to get back into the swing of things but a new school year
is always exciting so we hopped right up and got going. Rin had an uncharacteristically nervous
look on his face and was very quiet. Maybe because he only knew two of
the other kids. Maybe because he thought it might be harder this
year. He told me that this year he is
going to sit quietly at his desk. That he is going to be organized this
year and keep everything neat in his desk. It's his goal. And he
has started wanting to make his bed and keep his room neat too. But he was
super excited and was really looking forward to school starting and being in a
class without the kids that kept getting in trouble last year. His first
grade year was tough with his teacher getting sick and ultimately passing away.
There was a parade of subs before hiring a student teacher. I am
crossing my fingers that his teacher this year has no issues and is there day
in a day out for the entire year. Most of all I hope that he enjoys
learning as much as I do and retains his curiosity about the world and that the
teacher fosters it.
One the second day Rin said "It's going to be the best year
EVER!" No one can call him understated, that's for sure. For
his Me Bag, he brought a fishing bait, a photo of a fish he caught this summer,
and a photo of Bubby to share with the class. Did he want a photo
of the rest of us? Nope, he did
not. Oh well, good thing I know he loves
us anyway. Although sometimes he doesn’t
make it 100% clear. But at least he’ll day "I'm
wiping off the slobber, not the kiss" when he gets a smooch from his
little bro. And really I do know he
loves us all tons. And we love him right
back. Especially when he says stuff like
this:
"Mom, I'm not gonna get married"
OK so no kids then? That’s too bad. Kids are fun.
"Yeah, I like kids even though I don't want a wife.
I'll adopt them. From Kazakhstan of course."
For Bek, the first day was sort of a non event since he has the
same teacher in the same room. Most of the kids in his class are new
though which I think is good so that he'll have to take on more of the role of
being the expert at things. I know he can step up to the plate. This is the last time I am ever likely to
have a preschooler and it’s both a relief and also really sad. The time when they are young goes by so
amazingly quickly and I find myself wishing I could just hold onto it just a
little bit longer. But he’s always
telling me “You my best mommy” and I just can’t get enough of it.
We went for his Post
Op visit at the ENT. It was all of 15
seconds and the doc said all is well. I
have seen so many changes since the surgery- he sleeps less, he doesn’t fall
asleep during dinner or always in the car.
He is talking more and better and can actually make the sounds when I
correct him. But most important of all,
I have noticed that he is just more alert in general. Before, when I would ask if he remembered
what happened in a story we read yesterday he’d say “I dunno.” But now, he not only remembers but tells all
sorts of details about the story. And
instead of scribbling, he draws people with eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair,
feet, hands, legs. I’m sure some of this
is just due to him getting older but really it was like it was overnight. It was like someone waved a magic wand. I think it’s the quality of sleep he is
getting. And it makes me so happy that
he is interested in things now.
We have spent hours at the park so far. The big boys might
not want to play on the equipment but they sure have fun running around like
maniacs and hiding in the 'forest' and digging at the 'creek'. I need to
bring a soccer ball or something next time for a game. What to sign him
up for after school? Apparently I was supposed to do the soccer signup
last May- yup, May- so that's out. He doesn't seem super into lacrosse
but I might sign him up anyway. I think he might also do a Spontaneous
Challenge (sort of like Odyssey of the Mind) with the Great Adventure Lab at
school and maybe an MSA sport like soccer or hockey or tennis. I dunno.
He says he doesn't want to sign up for anything but I know none of his
friends will be around after school because they are all signed up for stuff.
And I want to keep him off the Minecraft to it's either park or signups.
I think I might sign little Beks up for either lax or ice skating too.
He needs something going on also I think. And I'm sure we'll do
speech at some point but I'll give it another month. Gotta let his little
throat heal for a while.
Love to all, -m
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