Back to School Snapshots

I have some pictures to post of Kaela and Ben from the first day of school. I also want to try to "capture" them in words, though. They're growing and changing so much, every single day.

KAELA:
Kaela's 7 1/2 now--she'll be 8 in early October. She just started 2nd grade. (She is wearing a gray Tweetie-bird ensemble that was chosen for its pink glittery effect and the fact that it matched the little star keychain on her skirt belt loop... :-) )
She's an awesome little girl. She really is. She has a tender, sensitive heart, and she understands EVERYTHING. Every year, she wins her grade level's math and science awards....she's very smart in a logical, sequential kind of way. That's not bragging--she certainly doesn't get it from me! :-) Just a picture of who she is.
But the thing that blows me away is her perception. There are television shows and movies we won't let her watch, and she doesn't argue. She'll say, "I know you have to help me to guard my heart now so that I can learn to make wise decisions on my own as I get older." WHAT?!
Her best friend in the neighborhood is 3 years older than Kaela, and this summer, that 3 years' difference was really noticeable for the first time. Her friend would invite other little girls (older) over to play, and leave Kaela out. It steamed me. I hated watching her hurt all summer!! But she would watch out the window or from the deck, her former friend and her replacements, and then she would come in and invite Ben to play school with her, or ask me to try some new hairstyle with her or do her nails. She never pretended not to miss her friend--but she didn't mope, either. She accepted the change with grace and maturity....and I'm proud of her.
Her personality is so different from mine--and I love it. She complements me. The other day, I told her, "Kaela, you are going to be my very best girlfriend one of these days really soon. I wonder what would happen if I involved you more in decision making now, and talked to you more like I recognize that you have maturity already?"
She replied, "You can bet I'd eat a lot of candy until you changed your mind."
Haha!!
Last week she was baptized. She was shy and quiet during the actual baptism...but positively glowed afterward. The change in her heart is real, and she loves to share it with friends and family. She was so proud to have so many uncles, aunts, and cousins celebrating with her.
Here are a few shots:




BEN:
Ben is 4 1/2. He'll be 5 next month. We chose to keep him in pre-K for an extra year, as he would be the youngest in his class if he started kindergarten. When I try to think of words to describe Ben's personality, I chuckle. The kid's a hoot, and a hot mess, besides. One day, Kaela and I were talking about what they would be when they grew up. I talked to Kaela about her gifts and her tender heart, and about how she would really need to seek the Lord to see where He wants her to use her gifts and love of children. Then, we talked about Ben. What would Ben grow up to be? We both laughed so hard, thinking of the struggle it is to get him to remember flush the commode, or make up his bed.... He's so good natured it's hard to hold it against him, but Eric tells him all the time he had better not aspire to get married anytime soon--he's still such a "project." Kaela finally decided Ben could be a monkey keeper at the zoo.
He was thrilled. :-)
Ben loves everything about animals. He loves to be read to, and wants me to teach him to read. Tonight. He always chooses nonfiction, and remembers every fact he has ever heard about any species of animal....which makes me think that remembering to flush shouldn't be SUCH a stretch....
He's persnickety about his clothes, and wants his underwear and tee shirts to be entertaining at all times. He will cry over a solid colored shirt.
He used to vomit when he saw his own blood, but we are proud to report that he hasn't done that all summer...and he's certainly skinned his share of knees this summer.
He's hilarious. Sometimes pushing the limits of what's appropriate, but always QUICK. He thinks he's the language police, too. Sometimes when I say, "Let's go, Slowpokes!" Ben will correct me by interjecting, "Bad Word." Like, he does this all the time. "Dumb" and "stupid" are the big ones for him, and this morning when I said I couldn't find my stupid keys, he told me, "Mom, you're having trouble remembering which words are bad and which words are good. You need to work on that. That 's' word is bad, remember?"
He loves school, loves church, loves his teachers, loves his Mommy, wants to take karate so he can beat up his sister, and makes the world a happier place just by waking up each day. Except when he's awful. On Kaela's baptism day, he told her that if she didn't watch it, he would tell Jeff to cancel the baptism and just let Kaela go to where the devil lives when she dies--that's what happens to mean girls. (She laughed, of course. She takes him with a grain of salt.) Here are some shots of him on his first day of Pre-K. The tee shirt was a compromise--he wanted dinosaurs. He LOVES the hair spiky, but gets embarrassed when I mention it. I guess it's supposed to look unintentionally mussed? Silly kid.