Approaching 3rd Grade

So when I took off running this morning I didn't go out with a path in mind...when I started running a different way I made a mental note of where I was going to stop BUT when I came to that stopping point something in me kept running...I soon found myself running the same path that I remember walking with my friend Shawna and her two young boys (only two of them at the time) and Kennedy. We were pushing the kids in the stroller, mine a single, hers a double...she didn't know it at the time but I was keeping a HUGE secret...my stroller would become a double because we had just found out I was pregnant with baby #2. The reason this walk was significant and sticks out in my mind is that Kennedy was only a young 3 years old and as we walked this path the first time we were young moms talking of the joys and struggles of hitting toddlers and exhaustion (ha if we only knew) but just enjoying our littles on a spring day. When we finished walking Kennedy screamed because her baby at the time, "Just Baby" who was her end all be all WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD type baby was NOT in the stroller. Just Baby went everywhere with US! Shawna suggested we go back around the loop we had just finished and look for her...all along my mind is racing what if the baby is gone we are leaving on a plane tomorrow morning what am I going to do BUT Shawna just kept talking to Kennedy telling her the squirrels are probably playing with her and she is just taking a rest and while she didn't know it at the time, she was keeping us both calm.

We soon found baby on this same stretch that I ran across today. This same stretch that winds its way towards Kennedy's school. The same school I had no clue she would be attending come these elementary years. I couldn't help but smile when I came to the spot we found Just Baby at and kept running towards where she is today. Not a small 3 year old with pudgy cheeks and a happy smile but a 3rd grader who will begin this new year not far from where she lost that baby over 5 years ago. This third grader who had a summer of adventure and experiences all to do with growing up....like braces, an MRI and ultrasound. A third grader who has met a group of friends who are starting to call each other, talk about fears and giggle through their sleepovers. A third grader who I can tell is starting to realize this school thing gets harder and harder each year and you can see the bit of hesitation in her eyes and her heart as she approached her classroom today to meet her teacher who is LOVELY...I have always wanted to use that word, Brooklyn does so gracefully :).


KK I am praying and cheering you on as you begin your 3rd grade year! I can't wait to see you grow and learn more not just math, reading and science but more about life, the friends around you and who God made you! I will be cheering you on as you start to take more risks and not be so afraid of not getting it just right but trying and trying and trying some more.

We approached this last week of summer with abandon and it has not dissapointed. We will go out with a bang and hold on to these years as closely as we can because it was just the other day you were here...

The Welcome Home Poster Tradition...

And the cupcake helper tradition is the BEST...

Can't wait to add a cutie 2 year old in the mix this year...time to introduce him

to the 1st day school traditions!