Dear Noah 4years 3mos

Dear No-no,
Wow! I have heard over and over this month from various sources (school peers of dad's, Nina, playgroup parents, etc) that you are getting so big. It's true. It's true. You've always been tall. But now your face is looking more mature too.

 

We have entered into this secret club, you and I. At least that's what it feels like. You get my attention and then spend a couple minutes focusing on your hand, trying to get the fingers to fold into the position your looking for and then you show me an "I love you" sign. Other times you ask me to come close, leap on to my body, hold on tight and whisper: "Mama, I love you". It's like you've discovered that this slows down the pace of the day for the moment and allows you and I to have a moment to reflect on our love for each other. It's amazing to me that you grew inside of me (you're amazed by this too) and you've grown into this young independent boy who is busy every day piecing together your perception of the world and how it works.

 

We started doing more unschooling-type things. It seems counterintuitive to the unschooling thought - I think we've just decided to be focused on themes that last a week. It's hard for me to maintain motivation in keeping the structure going but you LOVE it. Last week was all about beaches. This week is about watermelons (Aug 3 was Watermelon Day!). You're very interested in the letter book we're making and watching you concentrate on forming your letters...it always amazes us what you can do when you're challenged.
I'm excited to see how the transition back to school goes (in a little over a month). You're excited. I think it will be amazing to reflect how different you were a year ago. We talked just yesterday about what your teacher will say when she sees you. It took you a second to remember who "Carol" was. Made me smile. You recently found the class picture from last year. You didn't want Del to touch it. You put it next to mine and Daddy's bed so we could look at the picture and "remember who [your] students are". You couldn't remember your teacher's names but you did remember 85% of the student names. Funny to see the importance shift from adult care givers to peers.

 

You and Del continue to be friends on the whole. It's fun to see you share and interact with each other. Often your interacting involves you convincing (doesn't take much) Del to do something that she isn't supposed to - I hear you whispering in your room when you're supposed to be following asleep: "run quick to Mommy and Daddy's bed!" and Del giggles and dashes to the other bed. You! It's fun to see/hear you cooperate with each other... more fun when it doesn't interfere with bedtime.

 

I love ya Mister Man and this re-discovering the world through your "How Come?"'s and "Look!"s is oh so fun!
Mama