Happy Birthday "Baby" E!!
My baby is 6.
And she's not my baby.
In any sense of the word.
But Eleanor will always be my baby.
And I tell her this all the time.
I am
Crazy In Love
Over the Moon Obsessed
Thrilled to Death
Bursting with Excitement
with this little girl.
She drives me crazy.
She exhausts me.
She even defeats me some days.
Is it normal for a mother and daughter to be this connected?
Her happiness is my happiness.
Her struggles are my struggles.
Her successes are my successes.
Her frustrations are my frustrations.
So what's life like with a 6 year old?
Eleanor has more energy that I could ever hope to have. She runs everywhere! From the kitchen to the family room. From the house to the bus stop. From daycare to the car. And if she isn't running, she's bouncing. Jumping. Skipping. Hoping. She loves swim lessons and is currently in gymnastics, but the jury is still out whether her heart is in it our not.
Watching Eleanor grow up has been my most fun, most rewarding, most challenging job.
Eleanor loves school! She cried when we kept her home sick one day, after throwing up all night. Her teacher gets her. Her teacher gets through to her. Eleanor comes home and teaches Andy and I everything she is learning about. I'm having "fun" learning math with her and I'm hoping this time around I'll actually understand it! I think Eleanor enjoys reading more than math...but it might be a horse a piece. But let me tell you - watching her read is my favorite thing...it's like an entire new world has been opened up for her. She reads everything - Oliver's onsies, signs we pass, cards we get in the mail, things on TV. Nothing is safe anymore! But...when Eleanor doesn't want to read...she suddenly "forgets" how.
I'm worried because many things come naturally for Eleanor. She doesn't have to try to hard to succeed in many areas. So when she does have to try, she gets frustrated and gives up - for example, she has NO interest in riding a two wheel bike. She doesn't need it to survive...so she doesn't want to do it. It's hard for her and takes her out of her comfort zone...so she just chooses not to do it.
Eleanor is SO emotional and SO sensitive. This is good and bad. She truly is a great friend - a great person - to every one. She feels your emotions. She worries about everyone. But she can also turn the water works on in an instant. Just about everything makes Eleanor cry. Her teacher shared with us that she once told Eleanor two of her words didn't rhyme - when that was the instruction - and it set her into a fit of tears!
Andy calls my mom, Eleanor and I "The Three Dianes". I guess that is why sometimes parenting has been challenging for both my mom and I...parenting someone that is exactly the same as you can have it's challenges. But oh it has its rewards. I love hanging out with Eleanor. I love waiting to hear what she'll say to me when it's just the two of us. And I wish I could record it all. Some of it is so incredibly profound, like when she told Andy she was happy that her mom picked him. Some of it talking just to talk, like when she asked why rainbows are called rainbows (she didn't really care).
Every night, before I go to bed, I still go into her room, brush her hair off her face and kiss her forehead. I softly whisper, "I love you" and some nights, if she's really sleepy and really out of it, she'll whisper back, "I love you, too". And speaking of sleep - my little 6 year old loves her sleep! I'm pretty confident that I have one of the only Kindergartners that can still nap...I mean, don't ask Eleanor, she'll say she doesn't need a nap...but she NEEDS a nap. She's a different kid when she closes her eyes, even if just for 30 - 45 minutes.
Eleanor, I love you so much! Thank you for letting me be your momma. I'm proud of you every single day. Thank you for helping teach me to see the beauty in everything - and for helping me work on my patience. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for you - I know your future is bright!
And she's not my baby.
In any sense of the word.
But Eleanor will always be my baby.
And I tell her this all the time.
I am
Crazy In Love
Over the Moon Obsessed
Thrilled to Death
Bursting with Excitement
with this little girl.
She drives me crazy.
She exhausts me.
She even defeats me some days.
Is it normal for a mother and daughter to be this connected?
Her happiness is my happiness.
Her struggles are my struggles.
Her successes are my successes.
Her frustrations are my frustrations.
So what's life like with a 6 year old?
Eleanor has more energy that I could ever hope to have. She runs everywhere! From the kitchen to the family room. From the house to the bus stop. From daycare to the car. And if she isn't running, she's bouncing. Jumping. Skipping. Hoping. She loves swim lessons and is currently in gymnastics, but the jury is still out whether her heart is in it our not.
Watching Eleanor grow up has been my most fun, most rewarding, most challenging job.
Eleanor loves school! She cried when we kept her home sick one day, after throwing up all night. Her teacher gets her. Her teacher gets through to her. Eleanor comes home and teaches Andy and I everything she is learning about. I'm having "fun" learning math with her and I'm hoping this time around I'll actually understand it! I think Eleanor enjoys reading more than math...but it might be a horse a piece. But let me tell you - watching her read is my favorite thing...it's like an entire new world has been opened up for her. She reads everything - Oliver's onsies, signs we pass, cards we get in the mail, things on TV. Nothing is safe anymore! But...when Eleanor doesn't want to read...she suddenly "forgets" how.
I'm worried because many things come naturally for Eleanor. She doesn't have to try to hard to succeed in many areas. So when she does have to try, she gets frustrated and gives up - for example, she has NO interest in riding a two wheel bike. She doesn't need it to survive...so she doesn't want to do it. It's hard for her and takes her out of her comfort zone...so she just chooses not to do it.
Eleanor is SO emotional and SO sensitive. This is good and bad. She truly is a great friend - a great person - to every one. She feels your emotions. She worries about everyone. But she can also turn the water works on in an instant. Just about everything makes Eleanor cry. Her teacher shared with us that she once told Eleanor two of her words didn't rhyme - when that was the instruction - and it set her into a fit of tears!
Andy calls my mom, Eleanor and I "The Three Dianes". I guess that is why sometimes parenting has been challenging for both my mom and I...parenting someone that is exactly the same as you can have it's challenges. But oh it has its rewards. I love hanging out with Eleanor. I love waiting to hear what she'll say to me when it's just the two of us. And I wish I could record it all. Some of it is so incredibly profound, like when she told Andy she was happy that her mom picked him. Some of it talking just to talk, like when she asked why rainbows are called rainbows (she didn't really care).
Every night, before I go to bed, I still go into her room, brush her hair off her face and kiss her forehead. I softly whisper, "I love you" and some nights, if she's really sleepy and really out of it, she'll whisper back, "I love you, too". And speaking of sleep - my little 6 year old loves her sleep! I'm pretty confident that I have one of the only Kindergartners that can still nap...I mean, don't ask Eleanor, she'll say she doesn't need a nap...but she NEEDS a nap. She's a different kid when she closes her eyes, even if just for 30 - 45 minutes.
Eleanor, I love you so much! Thank you for letting me be your momma. I'm proud of you every single day. Thank you for helping teach me to see the beauty in everything - and for helping me work on my patience. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for you - I know your future is bright!
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