Sunday, May 29, 2016

Krewson Lee at 6 Years Old

Dear Sweet Krew,

You are now 6 years old.  You've actually been 6 for 2 1/2 months now, as your birthday was on March 5th, but your mommy here is still working on getting her act together and so is a wee bit behind on writing life updates. :)

I look at you standing next to me sometimes and it feels odd to have a child this old and large.  Not that you're large at all, you're actually still on the smaller end of the spectrum for your age, but it still amazes me that a baby that came out of my body is now so big and not at all a baby anymore. You're a KID.


Your personality has stayed pretty consistent over time.  You are our deep thinker, deep feeler, questioning, creative child. You are very independent, responsible, and eager to please, often gladly helping around the house and doing lists of tasks we ask you to do (e.g. get dressed, brush your teeth, put on shoes, and finish your breakfast). You are a perfectionist, wanting everything to be done just right, and because I have personally struggled with this myself I'm trying to teach you at a young age to let it go.  You cry very easily and often, not because you're demanding attention (really, you most often hate having attention on you) but rather because everything strikes your heart and stirs up emotions in you, and you have a hard time turning off the emotions before they pour out from your eyes as tears. We have to be very careful about what movies we let you see or what stories we tell you, and you actually encourage us to implement these restrictions.  We've all come to learn that if you're exposed to anything emotional, whether it be happy or discouraging, you will have a hard time erasing it from your mind and will feel consumed to the point that you are sometimes unable to fall asleep at night.  Mommy here understands this, because I'm also this way.


We have to handle discipline with you carefully. When you are in a stable mood, we can talk to you about our frustrations or concerns and you are very receptive and understanding and will quickly adjust your behavior. However, if we have to discipline you in a time of high emotion, it can easily derail you into a full meltdown. You will sob and scream and find yourself unable to calm down and begin saying self-deprecating things such as, "I'm never going to [allow myself] do XYZ again because I'm a such a bad person!!!"  The frequency of these types of meltdowns goes up and down over time, with weeks or months without one and then a period of time where you'll have one every other day.  I've determined that there is a direct correlation between the frequency of these meltdowns and the number of parenting books I'm reading at any given moment. :)


You are a very creative boy, frequently building things out of cardboard boxes, tape, paper, and markers. You also love to draw and your drawings always fascinate me because you include details I never would have thought of.  Legos are your favorite toy, and you will spend hours building, either following the instructions that come with the sets or making up your own creations.  You never played make-believe much as a toddler, but it is one of Greyden's favorite activities and so I see you doing more and more of it as you and he become better friends.



Speaking of which, you two really are becoming good friends.  And it makes my heart SO happy. You do all sorts of things together and genuinely seem to care about and love each other.  Yes, you get into your sibling squabbles, but on the whole you do way more playing together than you do arguing or fighting. It's become such a blessing as you've started turning to each other more for entertainment and expecting it less from your daddy and me.  Also, you watch out for your little brother and oftentimes do things to take care of him when it's within your abilities.  It's the sweetest thing ever. You've turned into an awesome big brother.


You just graduated from transitional kindergarten at the preschool this past week and will start kindergarten at the local elementary school on July 14th in Track 2. I'm excited for this new stage in your life and really think you're going to do well once you get over the anxieties of dealing with new people in a new place.  I know it's going to be scary and overwhelming and basically your worst nightmare at first, but then I know you'll make friends and it will become your new normal and you'll love it.


I really think math and science are going to be your favorite subjects in school, as you love learning science facts from books and can already do quite a bit of addition and subtraction of numbers in your head. You also know all of your letters and their sounds, but you're not yet reading a ton of words and cannot yet sit down with a beginner's reader book and read to yourself. Which is totally ok with your daddy and me. You'll get there at your own pace.



You're now in your third season of soccer (they run twice per year) and, as it's been from season one, you fluctuate between having rock-star days and days where you're just not in the mood. You're a pretty decent little soccer player when you apply yourself, but being aggressive isn't quite your thing. So you tend to keep your distance from the mob of kicking children and wait for the ball to pop out so you can kick it without being body slammed by five other kids.


We also just had you join the swim team at the nearby pool. You've only gone to three practices but you've already learned to do a kneeling dive and the breaststroke kick which is so neat to watch. It took a lot of talking and some tough parenting and bribing to get you to attend the first practice, but now that you've gotten past the anxieties and awkwardness of that first time, you seem to be pretty happy to go.  We're going to have to do some major praying before the first swim meet.  I'm not sure how you'll feel when it's unfamiliar children swimming next to you and there are a million parents watching. That's really not your cup of tea. But I really do think you could be awesome at it if you can be brave and get past your fear. You're a pretty good little swimmer. :)


Alright buddy boy, I think that's about it for now. You bring so much joy to our lives and we love you so much. I'm so excited to watch you continue to grow into the young man you're becoming. You challenge me, and God grows me through that, and at the same time my heart just swells with my love for you. I can't wait to see what the future holds for you and to be there by your side. :)

Love,
Your Momma