Kindergarten and Coffee (7/365)

Do you see what I see?  I'm on day 7!  Only 51 times more to my goal!  Ha!

Today I went to Hannah's Kindergarten assembly where she was acknowledged as Student of the Month for December.  I, along with my step-dad (Hannah's Bumpa) and my in-laws (Nana & Papa) sat patiently waiting for her to come in.  Hannah's other grandparents wanted so badly to be there, but work or illness didn't permit (but I took video). 

This was a total suprise to Hannah and she had no idea that we were there.

When she walked in, you could see that one by one, she recognized us and beamed with delight.

As each class was announcing their Student of the Month, I was watching Hannah. Perfectly poised, doing exactly what she was told by sitting quietly and listening to the other students as they were announced.  Then it was her turn.

Her teacher came up front and named Hannah as her choice for Student of the Month for December.  The theme that month was Caring.  The first words out of her teacher's mouth were, "I pretty much knew from the second day of school that I was going to pick Hannah for this theme."  So, instantly, I turned into THAT Mom.  Tears came flowing, as I'm trying to steady my video camera to capture this moment for my husband who couldn't take work off to be there.

Her teacher went on about Hannah's compassion for others, her superbly caring nature and what an absolute joy she is to have in her class.  After her award was handed out along with the t-shirt and bumper sticker, we all cheered and Hannah was allowed to come over and greet us.

We took pictures together and sent her back to class.

Afterward in the parking lot, my youngest daughter and I said our goodbyes to the grandparents and started for the car.  My Mom-in-law stopped over to the car and asked Ava and I if we'd like to come over for coffee (for me) and a mid-morning chat.  Now, normally it's just Ava and me at home all day while Hannah's in school and we fill our time with fun things!

But it's nice to get out once in a while and visit with adults, while the kids play.  Any stay-at-home mom would tell you that in a heartbeat!  So, we stopped over for what was going to be a cup of coffee and I'd return home to put Ava down for her nap. We ended up staying for lunch and 2 hours of great conversation!  What a blessing!

Today, I was filled with love and pride for my daughter Hannah - who, I think got a MAJOR confidence booster.  Parents, grandparents, if you can, if work permits (not all do), try to attend these things for your kids & grandkids.  The look on Hannah's face to see her family standing behind her cheering her on and showering her with love and praise was priceless.  It's something that, if you can absolutely help it, you won't ever forget!

And to my mother-in-law: The conversation and company this morning was wonderful. I hope we have many more days just like this.  Thank you.

My Cup Runneth Over (4/365)

We got some good news at the end of last week.

A letter came from school that said our Hannah is going to be named Student of the Month for December!  She, along with a few other students both in her grade and other grades in the school, was chosen as Student of the month for being an exceptional model student for that month's character trait: caring.

Of course I knew that Hannah is exceptional. From the minute she was born, she was exceptional!

She's the one that cried so exceptionally well! (See my first ever blog post Flashbacks to Losing It).

She said her first real word at 7-ish months old. She was putting sentences together by her first birthday.

She was crawling by 5 months, walking by 9 months, running by 10 months.

Everything she has ever touched turns to gold.

She is great at every sport she plays.

When she sings, she has a natural vibrato - at the AGE OF 5!  And she's in tune!

She is tenderhearted, loving, selfless (for the most part - after all, she's 5)!

She has needed discipline, like, a total of maybe 5 times ever in her life.

She minds well, she is sweet and oh my goodness does she LOVE her little sister!

So, of course, I'm not surprised that she is receiving Student of the Month for Caring.  As parents, we are so overjoyed at the smallest accomplishments for our children.  I don't know if this is big or small. It's probably HUGE in her world! In the big picture though, will she remember being Student of the Month in Kindergarten when she goes off to college?

Probably not.

But I will.

It's character traits like these that give us parents not only a sense of accomplishment, but immense pride!

I sent an email to all of Hannah's grandparents tonight letting them know that there is an assembly at school where Hannah will be presented with a certificate, a t-shirt and probably one of those cool bumper stickers for my car.  As I was typing the email, my eyes were welling up with tears.  I had to choke them back, and I actually felt a little silly.  I will be THAT MOM that cries at this assembly.

And the next one.

And the next one.

And prom. And... And...

But I'm okay with that.

My beautiful, talented, smart, amazing daughter is growing up so fast! I am so proud of her every day smaller accomplishments as well as the bigger accomplishments!  I've always said that I couldn't have designed better children in my dreams.

God gave me the perfect children... for me.

My cup runneth over.

  ...Go Green ;)