There are so many fun things about watching your kids grow up and develop their own personality. I am finding it is also hard. Marlee is such a sweet girl but, she already lacks confidence. Our move from South Dakota has affected her far more than I ever thought it would. She misses her friends, her house, her school and all of her normal comforting things. She has always had a tender heart, but it has been magnified since we got back to Co. She has some very mature feelings, and sometimes I just don't know how to handle them. She is already taking notice of who is "better" at things than she is, and then she doesn't try as hard at those things because she compares herself and doesn't want to not be able to do it. It is something I have dealt with my whole life, and I HATE it about myself. I remember as a teenager never branching out of my comfort zone much because I didn't want to try something new and be bad at it. It makes me sad that I already see that in her. I want her to be bold, fearless, and not afraid to fail at something. Anyway, I have been working on her school work a little more with her. This is one of those things she doesn't like to try because she feels like she is already behind the other kids and she always says things like "but mom, they're gonna laugh at me!". She is one of the youngest kids in her preschool class, and I think she is doing great!(I am not at ALL biased) So, just for my record, last Monday (Nov. 16th) she wrote her name completely by herself for the first time. I was so proud I almost cried. I hope she is starting to realize that she can accomplish things if she is willing to try.
This second picture is what she brought home from preschool yesterday. She misses the "chiclets" (triplets) SOOOOO much. She mentions them several times a day and breaks down into tears because she misses them and SD at least 4-5 times a week. They were like quads.. they were ALWAYS together, and I miss them (and their mom) just as much. I feel like they are my nieces, I truly love them and miss their silly little personalities every single day.I thought it was sweet that they are what she is thankful for this Thanksgiving, and thought they should know what an impact they have had in her life.
This second picture is what she brought home from preschool yesterday. She misses the "chiclets" (triplets) SOOOOO much. She mentions them several times a day and breaks down into tears because she misses them and SD at least 4-5 times a week. They were like quads.. they were ALWAYS together, and I miss them (and their mom) just as much. I feel like they are my nieces, I truly love them and miss their silly little personalities every single day.I thought it was sweet that they are what she is thankful for this Thanksgiving, and thought they should know what an impact they have had in her life.I love her and her sweet, tender spirit more than words can say, and she is one of the things I am most thankful for this holiday season!
4 comments:
So sweet... and mandi I never would have guessed that you lacked confidence! I always thought you were gorgeous and wished I was like you (you know, back in the girls camp days)! Marlee is adorable. Seems like you are doing a great job of helping her! So cute the progress she's made. Happy Thanksgiving!
You hide your chicken nature quite well :) The only suggestion I would have to help instill confidence in Marlee is to try to take the focus off of the end result as much as possible. Try to help her enjoy the process of doing something instead of focusing on whether it was done right or not. No matter how wonderful someone is at something, there is certain to be at least one other person on the planet who is better! Perfection in this life is a very unrealistic expectation. We are supposed to aim for the highest level so that we land in greatness, not perfection. She doesn't have to be the best, she just has to try her best. I don't know if that strategy worked with Crimson or if Crimson is just the most confident kid on the planet, but she doesn't care what people think, she just enjoys her life. I'm so thankful for that. I am still terrified of people and screwing things up and I'm happy that she doesn't have to deal with that and on the off chance it was my change of focus with her that brought that about, I thought I'd share it with you. Chances are though that she was just born with it :)
As for missing those chiclets, you can always move back to SD :) Jessica and I are both trying to come up with ways to never leave Vermillion :P
She is a lucky girl to have you help her! This is a very sweet post.
Okay, your kids are so ahead of mine. Jacob can only write the J of his name, and he's like 10 months older than Marlee. He shows no interest in even learning his abcs in the correct order (like singing abcs), so we skipped preschool this year hoping that desire will come sometime very soon. Your girls are darling and growing up. I'm holding mine back!
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