...we celebrated being a "Party of 5!" for one year on March 2nd! We have had so many good times over the past year - it has flown by!
March 2, 2012 (Nashville Airport - home from China!)
March 2, 2013 (at our home, Chris and I dressed up to attend an event. Eli looks at me in a strapless dress and says "does it have a shirt to go with it?")
...we traveled to Callaway Gardens with Kay, Fred and Kelly! It was wonderful to be outside and explore! The motto there is "Connecting man and nature in a way that benefits both."
...we hosted Mom, Dad, Kay, Fred, Kelly, Jenny, Eric, Ava, Parker and Audrey for Easter and Chris' birthday - full house, full hearts!
...we applauded Lucy, Eli and Samuel in their Spring programs! Eli and Samuel's program was at their school and it was awesome to hear Eli talk about their practices beforehand - he loves music and really enjoyed himself! At Samuel's age, we consider it a success that he stayed on stage and didn't cry! This is Lucy's third year in the choir at our church - she loves the Wednesday night practices and doesn't take her eyes off the Director during performances!
...we cheered on Lucy! She ran in the kids' marathon this Spring! She ran 25.2 miles over five weeks - some miles at school in coordinated practices, other miles at home with us. The final mile of the marathon was a huge event with all the other elementary schools in our area. We are so proud of our Lu - she ran in the cold and rain some days! About half-way through her "training", her school had a 1-mile fun run that Chris and Eli participated in too - between that race, weekend runs with Chris and early-morning runs with me, this marathon was a family affair! Two other highlights from the past few months...Lucy's Daisy Troop sold Girl Scout cookies and her class had eggs in their classroom that they watched for weeks (weeks!) until they finally hatched...the chicks were a creative way to teach "life cycles"...Lucy's had a great kindergarten year!
End-of-school interview:
What did you enjoy most about school?Being with my friends and Miss Gadsey
What do you want to be when you grow up?
A Mom!
What are you excited about this summer?
Having fun!
...we're smitten with Eli! I went to a parenting seminar earlier this year and the speaker described 2-4-year old boys as "explorers" and 4-6-year old boys as "lovers"...well, Eli Wyatt certainly got that message! Over the past few months we've watched his confidence grow and his imagination soar - he's turning into such a "lover!" He loved being part of Lucy's marathon training and continues to be interested in all sports. I like to joke that he has sports attention-deficit disorder...he'll move from shooting baskets, practicing his golf swing, to catching baseballs within 15-minutes in the backyard. He had such a great year at his school! He is very interested in animals and is constantly asking me to pretend to be the mama whale/tiger/kangaroo and he'll be the baby whale/tiger/kangaroo...he imagines that we're being "chased" by a predator and we have to find safety...needless to say, we spend a ton of time outside and he's usually sweaty!
End-of-school interview:
What did you enjoy most about school?Chasing the girls in the gym and eating (speechless)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I'm still thinking about that...
What are you excited about this summer?
Going to the beach!
...we've listened to Samuel...that boy is really talking and singing now! He, too, had a great year at school! When the year started, he would cry when he got out of the car each morning, by the Spring, he was practically falling out of the car in a rush to get into his classroom. His sweet teachers loved on him and they told me that he was the only one who would sing during singing time! His observation skills make us laugh...he's watched us take so many showers that he'll step into the shower, hold the shampoo up to his head, then hold the conditioner bottle up to his head, then wipe down the shower doors - completely pretending, no water turned on!
Samuel qualified for speech therapy through Tennessee Early Intervention Services (TEIS) so a Speech Therapist has visited us weekly for the past month. His progress in that time is amazing! She is working with him specifically on the letters B, P, T, D...all sounds that you make with the front of your mouth. Her first session with him, she pulled out a pinwheel and showed Samuel how to make it turn by blowing it. It took Samuel three tries to get it right - the first try, he blew his nose; the second try, he sucked air in so hard that he made himself cough; the third try, the figured out how to blow air out of those sweet lips! He made that pinwheel go around and around - he was so very proud of himself and looked right at me and said "Mama!"...the therapist and I cried, it was a tender moment to watch.
When I look at pictures of him over the past year, I can see how much he's relaxing and it is great to see him really enjoying himself!
...we celebrated Fred's Birthday and Mother's Day!
...we raised money for the Arthritis Foundation...see the awesome article from our community website below!
Little Lucys' lemonade raises funds for arthritis
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But these two weren’t concerned about the earnings for their piggy banks; they were taking donations for the Arthritis Foundation.
Lucy Schmitt, 6, a kindergartner at Lipscomb Elementary School has been living with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, which is similar to rheumatoid arthritis, since the age of 1.
“She’s such a trooper,” said Mandy Schmitt, Lucy’s mother -- and chair of the 2013 Middle Tennessee Arthritis Walk. “Her medication was administered through a shot, we have to take a lot of blood and she’s missed quite a bit of school.”
Mandy said when Lucy first started school she didn’t want to make a huge deal about the arthritis so she didn’t notify the administration.
“Once we got a letter saying she’d missed too much school I decided to let them know,” Mandy said. “The school was incredibly understanding and accommodating.”
Lucy Schmitt will be a junior honoree at this year's Arthritis Walk at East Park on June 1. It was through her promoting the walk at her school where another kindergartner named Lucy Wyatt, also 6, decided she wanted to help.
“She went straight home and said to her mom, “We have to find a cure for arthritis for Lucy Schmitt,” which is how this lemonade stand was born,” Mandy added.
The Wyatt’s set up the stand and in two short hours the girls were able to raise $265.45, which will benefit the Arthritis Foundation from Lucy’s team – Lucy’s Diamonds, which has raised more than $3,000 for the Arthritis Foundation.
While the two Lucy's weren't in the same class at LES this year they've know each other for some time. Mandy and her husband graduated from Brentwood High School with Lucy Wyatt's father in 1995 and the two families have remainded friends since then.
Richel Albright is a reporter with Brentwood Home Page. She can be contacted at richel@brentwoodhomepage.com or you can follow her on Twitter @rwalbright.
...we're excited for a fun summer!
Loved the article about Lu! Glad to see all is well!
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