Monthly Newsletter #64

Dear Landon,

This month has been kind of hectic, but in a good way. We celebrated our last Christmas of 2011. And you actually fed Aunt Kelly’s horses…it’s the first time you’ve been willing to come within 5 feet of them, and with no fence between you AND fed them carrots. I was completely shocked! And you said “Mom, I’m five NOW, I didn’t do it before because I wasn’t five!” Like, duh, of course I can do it now. I guess five is the magic number.

We also got some books from the library, one of which featured some kids building a time machine out of a cardboard box. So, we built you a time machine. It seems to be a work in progress. The first weekend it really was only a transporter, we had no dials telling when in time we were going, but we did have a map to pick a place. The next time we worked on it we added a month dial and a year dial…apparently day during the month and time of day are of no consequence to you in your time travels. We also added a door, and talked about how it might need a few buttons the next time we work on it.

This morning during a conversation about addition and multiplication I discovered that you are beginning to understand multiplication. Obviously at 5 you don’t have the multiplication tables memorized, but you were able to figure out 2x3, 2x4, and 2x5 pretty easily and show that you get the concept of it…please don’t be so smart that you’re bored and become a trouble maker. I already noticed that on the backs of all your worksheets from school, Ms. Nicole writes some addition and subtraction problems for you to do after you finish the worksheet…I asked if all the kids were doing that and you said “No, she just does that for me, because I finish faster than anyone else.” I hope you will always have teachers who are willing to go out of their way to challenge you like Ms. Nicole does.

This month you also experienced the death of a close relative for the first time. My uncle died when you were less than a year old, but I don’t believe you were really aware of that. Your Great Grandma died at the age of 95. She led a very full life, and I would be ecstatic if you got to do even a third of the things she did in her lifetime. She has a PhD in education (this, by the way, is a HUGE accomplishment for a woman of her generation), she had her pilot’s license, she’s traveled to so many different countries, I don’t think anyone even knows what that number is. I have some great memories of spending a week each summer with her, and I hope that you’re creating similar memories with your grandparents when I send you there for a week at a time. You took the news pretty well when I told you, a few tears and a long snuggly hug.

Now I’m to the part where I tell you to work on something, and I’ve got nothing for you to work on. You’ve been really great for the last month, so just keep it up.

Love,

Mommy