We are so proud of our 2nd Grader! He came home from the first day of school in a great mood. I'd say that's a pretty good sign that it's going to be a great year. He says his teachers are so nice and he's already earning lots of "Space Bucks" to buy a prize on Friday (he is highly motivated by those kind of rewards). So, in order that I don't leave anyone out, it's Caleb's turn for Mom's essay of things I love about him (Sorry I'm getting wordier with each one)...
He'll take on a challenge. One of my favorite challenges he took on was learning "I Am a Child of God" in Mandarin for Primary a few months ago. He took it so seriously. He paced the house with the little slip of paper that had the words on it, singing "Wo shir shung dee hi tsur..." (or something like that!) until he had the whole thing memorized. Another one that he stuck with was challenging himself to learn all the state capitals this summer. He wanted to surprise his Dad, who had learned all the capitals when he was in elementary school. He worked hard on this challenge, coming up with his own memory hooks and asking me to test him all the time. On Family Night a couple of weeks ago, Caleb was ready and excited to share his talent. Brad had no idea he had done this, so when Caleb asked him to quiz him on the state captials, Brad gave him some easy ones. Caleb kept saying, "ask me another one!" until Brad had asked him all fifty states and was just laughing in disbelief. Caleb was so pleased with himself that he exclaimed, "I need to write about this in my journal!" And he did right away. I hope all this random knowledge stays with him when he actually needs to know it in school!
Reading takes him away. Speaking of challenges, he loved doing the library's reading program this summer because he loves books. Books have always been so magical for him. He can get so engrossed in a story that he completely tunes out the world. I've actually had to remind him several times not to walk while reading, and I often have to say, "Put the book down and let me see your eyes," in order to ensure that I've got his attention. One challenge we've had at bedtime is getting him to put the books away to go to sleep. We've found him under the covers with teeny little penlights, or even reading in what seems like total darkness. He can't get enough. Some of his favorites these days are Encyclopedia Brown and the Chronicles of Narnia.
He loves sports. These days his love of sports may even be rivaling his love of books. He loved watching the Olympics and his favorite sports were swimming, volleyball, and running. We would let the kids watch a few minutes of the previous night's games before bed at night. He and Lauren would chant, "Go U-S-A!" over and over. The other night he got us all to play beach volleyball with a blow-up ball in the living room. He can be quite competitive. We even heard him refer to himself as "The next Michael Phelps." He is also playing soccer right now, and we love seeing how his skills are starting to develop. He loves to do "trick plays" and try to fool his opponent with his fancy footwork. Sometimes he doesn't even want to stop for a water break.
He's brave. The other day, I found a couple of Tomato Hornworms (see photo) in our tomato plant. They are huge and very gross, in my opinion. Caleb and I looked on the internet and read some info that said that the best way to get rid of them is to remove them by hand, but to be careful because they cling very tightly to the stems and ooze green stuff all over. (Y-U-C-K!) Caleb jumped right in and said, "I'll do it Mom!" He barely flinched as he pulled those little suckers off the stems as I nearly fainted (but tried to act cool)...
He loves God's creatures. Although he didn't have a problem getting rid of the Tomato Hornworm, for some reason it bothers him when I kill ants in the house. We've had a couple of ant invasions and when I start frantically spraying them with Windex Caleb will be saying things like, "All they want are a few tiny crumbs." or, "They aren't hurting anyone." Or my favorite, "Why are you killing God's creatures?!"
Look what Caleb let Lauren do to him...
He's a great big brother. Being the oldest child has it's positives and negatives (I happen to know this from experience). As I watch him interact with Lauren and Andrew, it makes me so happy when he treats them kindly. He and Lauren spent a lot of time together this summer and most of the time they would have rather played together than be apart. They had fun building pillow forts, having "battles" in the hallway--Polly Pockets vs. Star Wars, pacing the backyard plotting their next adventure, making "Caleb's Corner" and "Lauren's Lounge", playing "Baby Ball" with Andrew, water painting, drawing and coloring, and reading stories. They definitely had their difficult moments, but I really tried to stay out of their arguments and let them work it out, and I think they made some progress. I know Lauren is going to miss having him around during the day.
I'm going to miss having him around all day, too. I think every Mom wishes she could be a fly on her child's shoulder at school, but it is also really rewarding to watch your child grow up and be confident enough to take everything that comes at them at school all by themselves. Sure love this guy!
