Dane has been growing like a weed the past few months! He truly eats non-stop (refer to pic of Dane at Panera eating TWO adult grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch) and is looking so much older to me. He has always been my little buddy so it's been difficult for me to see him get so big and turn into a teen! I remember feeling this EXACT feeling when Evelyn was in 8th grade-- she was turning into a young lady and no longer my little girl and it hurt! Obviously I'm so excited to start this new phase of parenthood with Dane. He is so mature and so wise and so kind and good. But that doesn't mean I don't miss the good ol' days where he'd grab my hand and walk down the street right smack dab next to me and not two steps behind. And by ol' days-- I mean three months ago-- ha! Those days are long gone now. He is embarrassed by his family- a feeling I remember having at his age. He has a new style now- he wants a little bit of curl on the top of his head- he wants to wear beanies and surf shorts, skater shirts. He only wears vans shoes and socks. He is concerned. He wants more friends and to be noticed. He is obsessed with the possibility of becoming popular. He feels very unimportant at school. He is going through ALL THE THINGS I went through at his exact age. It's no fun. But he'll come out on top. I'm so proud of his desire to be a good kid and work hard. I'm so proud of his courage to take risks. He wasn't super interested in snowboarding, but he went with Blake over the break (it had been about a year since they last went) and he loved it. He gained lots of skills and felt good about his achievement. He is still loving soccer and starting football this spring. Love this kid with all my heart.
I learned a lot about Grant this month. And just when you think you know everything about your child. For his birthday, he asked only to go to Disneyland with his best friend. He preferred this to any presents. I thought this was just because he really wanted to go to Disneyland with his best friend! But for Christmas I noticed the pattern continued--- he didn't want any gifts. Only to have an "experience" with either Blake or I. And he was so perfectly absolutely 100 percent content with opening very few presents. So cute. He just isn't into material items! About December 1st, Grant took his $125 that he had saved and used it to buy each of his siblings at gift card . Along with the gift card, he attached a letter. He cared ALOT about these gifts that he chose for his family members. It was truly a very sweet thing for me to witness. Grant enjoyed SO much snowboarding this month. It is his new passion and he is good at it. He is always up for a new adventure and it takes very little to convince this kid to do anything at all. Loved watching Grant perform in his first piano recital. He nailed it... and he's quite interested in the piano so far, to the delight of his mother. Loved watching Grant perform in his elementary school chorus. He sure didn't really want to join chorus, but he did it to be a good sport since his mom is the pianist. Grant was my favorite kid last month, in case you couldn't tell.
Anna's month consisted of attending and performing in night after night of Christmas musicals and concerts-ha! She was such a good sport and loved every minute. Anna has such a sweet little voice and though choir rehearsals are not her favorite pastime, she was a doll to be a part of the elementary chorus and our church's Stake Christmas Chorus. She sang her little heart out and did a great job. So proud of her. Anna loved supporting her little friends in their Christmas performance of the Nutcracker! Fun date night for Anna and I. She loved attending the MCO concert in Orange County with Grandma and Ev. Concerts at night and kittens during the day. Anna spent countless hours cuddling kittens..... and dressing them up in holiday garb- ha! She sure loves her kitties. And if she isn't cuddling kittens, she's pretending she's an adult. She loves playing school, loves pretending to type on a computer, pretend she 's the chorus director and everything else you can imagine. She is so creative and so fun and plays for hours. Love her new little calendar. After receiving it, she immediately wrote down: Anna's birthday/ Grammy visits because Grammy had told her the next visit would be around her birthday for her baptism. Loved being in Anna's classroom last month for holiday parties and the Polar Express hot cocoa and candy cane party. Anna sure loves her teacher and loves being a second grader. He life is pretty sweet right about now and she makes everyone around her happy.
