By "Reid's Life Lately" I really mean all of 2017! The first photo/story I'm sharing is from way back in January. He's certainly made appearances on this blog already this year, you can find him in my most recent quick take posts. But I've held on to some photos of each individual child for their own special post. I'm hoping to get those all written in the next couple of days. Wish me luck!
One snowy morning I went out and shoveled the driveway before Reid was ready for school. He was upset by this because he wanted to help me. As he shouted and whined about missing out, I pointed across the street and told him he could go shovel the neighbor's driveway. He continued to shout a bit, but I sensed his new anger was actually just fear. What if they didn't want him on their property (a concept I've tried to teach my kids)? What if he couldn't do it all by himself? So many what ifs!
After assuring him they would appreciate any help he could offer I headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. When I came out about ten minutes later I saw him running back across the street with our snow shovel in his hand. He'd completed the whole thing and was just in time to catch his bus. I could not have been more proud.
One day in early February he came home with a big bag of all his art projects. He'd actually told me about the Panda Bear and mentioned how excited he was to give it to Nell. He knows she loves Pandas! It is now hanging by her bed. The Fish Bowl is up by his bed. He (or maybe Nell?) even made a fish food container (out of paper) so they could feed the fish. Poor pet-less children. Gotta love their imagination tho!
To help encourage him to throw away the projects we weren't going to keep, I let him make a video to share with Grandparents. That boy would keep EVERY little thing he has ever made or been given if it were up to him. I certainly understand why he'd be proud of all his hard work in art class.
Unprompted, he decided to update the family painting I have hanging above my nightstand. Before taking down the old one (about 1 1/2 years old) I had to do a comparison shot. He's come a long way. I love the shape of each of us (especially Mara) in the updated version. I think he did say something about accidentally making Coraline a little chubby, ha!
This is just a photo I snapped one afternoon because, dang! he's got nice hair (even as it camouflages itself into the couch).
For school one day all the kids in his class dressed up in costumes signifying their future career. He'd actually been out sick during most of that week's unit of study so we'd missed any fliers that came home. He just walked through the door one afternoon and said "Mommy, I have to dress as an animal explorer for school tomorrow." I tried not to ask to many questions and just went with his excitement. He choose his Polar Bear shirt and our Safari play costume. I eventually started to put it all together and figured the kids must have been writing about their dream job in writer's workshop.
I can't remember exactly what happened that morning, but I sent him out the door with some tension and hurried frustration. For a while I'd been wanting to go to school to have lunch with him (it was something I meant to do while Ben was on paternity leave, so it was a long overdue idea). It just so happened that this was also a day I planned to go to the city library for a town hall meeting with my state rep. On a whim I decided to call a babysitter (a teen in our ward who does homeschooling). I took Mara to the town hall meeting but left a little early so I could surprise Reid at lunch. It was such a tender little experience. He took so much pride in showing me how to dish up and go through the lunch line. We sat at the only vacant table, but he didn't seem to mind missing lunch time with his classmates.
We snuck out a couple minutes early so he could walk me through his classroom. He stopped at several desks to tell me what all his closest friends had dress up as (their career costumes were folded up at their seats). He was so excited that his best friend had a vest like him and wanted to be a paleontologist. There were two other boys who wanted to be animal scientists and one little girl who wants to be a vet. He also taught me all about their Math Center (based on the work he brings home, math is his strong point).
The hallway soon filled with children, and I said my goodbye. When I was just about out the door I saw him running to me, asking for a hug and kiss. He sure was appreciative of my simple gesture. He's been begging me to come back ever since (and was sure to tell me when his friend's mom came but she brought a happy meal instead of just eating hot lunch). I can't forget to mention what a big hit Mara was. All the little Kindergarten girls were swarming me to get a peek and I had to keep reminding them not to poke her, ha! A couple of our neighbor kids were also exited to see me. It was fun to be a part of their world for one brief moment.
He's been very lucky to have one of his favorite friends from 4K in his class. Ben (or Ben's mom, rather) has taken him to the gymnastics center, bowling, and most recently to the school Luau (it was just last night). He really wanted to go to the Luau, but we explained that wasn't something that would work for our family right now. He handled the disappointment well, so when Jen texted me to see if Reid could come along with them I was thrilled.
We got out his piggy bank and counted out five dollars so that he could have his own spending money to buy any trinkets or snacks. I was so grateful for our allowance system (something I'll write about later) at that moment. First, I'm glad Reid knows he needs to have his own money saved up for invites out with friends; and second, something about him spending his own money on that ridiculous Mohawk wig makes me cringe a little less at the sight of it. His money wasted, not mine.
We sure love our Reido. All 65 pounds and 46 inches of him (no small Kindergartner). He is a caring big brother with a very sensitive heart. He works hard when asked to help out around the house. Simply put, he fills our hearts with joy.
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