Clare has made it her mission this summer to master the monkey bars.  She’s started small – with a bar here and there and has slowly, slowly worked her way across most of the monkey bars in town.  Sometimes she’ll get across once and then struggle and fall every time after that.  The video above was on her very first time making across the monkey bars several times in succession.  She was so very, very proud of herself.  I was too. 

Yesterday the kids and I met Debbie and Maddy at a park that we don’t usually go to.  We were at the tail end of a really big and exciting weekend and the kids were tired and punchy.  Clare went over to the monkey bars and started her usual swing across.  Well, these monkey bars were tricky.  Not only were they 6 feet high and very long, they had a raised section so that about 3/4 of the way through the monkey bars went up about 3 inches.  Those 3 inches are huge when you’re a small child swinging along and every single time Clare got to that part of the bars she would fall down.  Every single time she would push and grunt and get 3/4 of the way across and then not be able to reach the bars, yelp a little bit, sometimes cry out for my help, but usually just fall down onto either her feet or her bottom.  Six feet down, mind you.  She would complain, whine, exclaim in frustration, and then get up, brush off her pants, and start the process over again.  She probably did this exercise a dozen times, until her hands were to sore and tired to hang onto the bars.  She put her head on my shoulder and cried with frustration and defeat.  My girl, such perseverance.  As much as I complain about her single-mindedness, her stubborn refusal to let things go, and her obstinance and rigidity, I know (hope and pray) that it will serve her well in life.  She’ll set her goal and work until she can’t hold on a minute longer to achieve it. 

I told her that I had never been so proud of her.  That she was the toughest, strongest girl in the whole world.  That I was so very, very lucky to be her mama.  That next time she would do it, or the time after that.  That getting across wasn’t nearly as important as trying as hard as she could.  I told her that her effort was beautiful and that she will do whatever she wants to but it may take a little longer than she would want.  I told her all of this with tears in my eyes, holding her tight.  My girl.  The toughest, strongest girl in the world.

 Our sweet little Samuel John is in his 20th month now and just as hearty and active as ever.  He’s such a fun, active guy who is always-always busy, always-always doing something and almost-always smiling.  A few bullet points about our little dude:

• He’s speaking more and more and combining two words together into short sentences.  “Dada sleeping” “Dada shower” “Bye-bye Mama” “Clare drink” etc.  Grandma describes Sammy’s words as “declarations,” which is accurate since he usually speaks with loud statements.  He nods and shakes his head a lot instead of talking (already a man of few words) and lately has started saying “uh-huh” and “hmm-mmm” instead of “no” and “yes.”
• Today he put on a pair of dress-up glasses and then looked up at me and say “Mama glasses.”  He was telling me that he looked like me!
• He throws anything that he can put his hands on – especially balls, but it includes toys, rocks, food and anything else.  He throws things across a room, down the stairs and off the deck.  We try to redirect him but he can be pretty stubborn.
• We visited the dinosaur exhibit at the Children’s Museum a few weeks ago, which started a serious dinosaur obsession.  He has three little dinos and a big dino now that he totes around with him everywhere, roaring frequently. 
• He’s an independent little explorer.  If we’re on a hike or at a park I have to keep a close eye on Sammy.  He’ll just take off with his eyes on the horizon and not look back.  I’ve followed him to see how far he’ll go without turning around and finally, a quarter mile down the trail, I stopped him since I realized he didn’t plan on turning around.  Someday I won’t be surprised if we get an email from him saying “Greetings from Vietnam” when we thought he was on a trip to New York. 
• He continues to be incredibly sweet and loving, and shows a very soft spot for babies.  If he’s not toting a ferocious dinosaur, he’s gently carrying a baby doll.

Dear Clare,

You are now Four Years Old!  Happy Birthday my sweet darling.  Once again you eagerly anticipated your birthday, but for the first time this year you understood the concept of days, weeks and months so you were counting down until the big day.  You started the day by running into the bathroom and shouting “Mom!  I am four years old today!”  Then you found your dad and told him “watch me!  I run faster now that I’m four.”  A few weeks ago you told me that once you’re four then you will know everything.  That’s pretty high expectations for a birthday, but you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it.

You’ve spent the last year learning more about the world and especially developing new social relationships.  Your best friend is still your lifelong BFF G, but you’ve met several new friends at school.  When I ask you about your days at school you always say that your favorite part was playing with your friends.  Your silly and joyous nature attracts friends and you are very caring and concerned about their feelings. 

You and Sammy have a very sweet relationship.  He continues to adore you and you are very kind and considerate with him.  You torment each other, but you laugh and play more than you argue.  He thinks you are the funniest person he’s ever seen and you will do anything to make him laugh. 

Besides playing with your friends and your brother, your favorite activities are arts and crafts, music and books.  You learned about artists at school and came home talking about Vincent Van Gogh and describing the painting Starry Night.  You told me “I love to paint and I am an artist.”  You have some favorite songs that you hear on the radio and can identify several musicians and sing along to their songs.  You have a great ear and I think we’ll start you on some kind of music lessons soon. 

You are the light in our hearts and the song in our house, my dear one, and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings for you.

All my love,
Heather