Brigg...entering Grade 3

School starts Wednesday.
We are getting geared up for a new school, new teachers, new house, new friends, new neighborhood.
I'm not sure the kids really understand how big this is, and that's good.
They are secure.
They are flexible.
They say they are ready.
So I wanted to jot down a few things about each of them as they enter into this new school year.

This blog is my only "journal".
I go back and look at old blog posts (this is my 4th year blogging!), and "remember" things that I never would have remembered if it hadn't been for this blog.
Just reading some of the posts stirs up such emotion. Things that could have been gone from my mind forever, literally bringing me to tears.
I certainly hope that the kids find joy in reading through these entries one day.
That maybe they'll remember certain moments here and there and it will bring emotions to the surface.

So Brigg.
He's is hilarious.
He turned 9 in July...which makes him one of the oldest in his class.
Every picture I look at of him nearly brings me to my knees these days.
He's just so old.
I feel like I'm running out of time to build that strong foundation for him.
It's scary!
Remember me posting on his first day of kindergarten?
There was this fear that I had failed.
I felt panic that I was sending him away and I had no idea what I had done to prepare him over the previous 6 years!
I was trying to squeeze in 6 years of lessons in 5 minutes as we waited for the bus!
(maybe a little dramatic, but not too much!)

And I'm starting to feel that way again.
We are halfway to 18.
9 years from now I'll be leaving him at college.
And I don't want to be trying to squeeze in life lessons as I'm driving away.
I feel like I'll be yelling out the window as Paul pulls away, "DON'T SKIP CLASS!! DON'T GET PUT ON ACADEMIC PROBATION! DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!! STUDY HARD!! REFRAIN FROM DOING DRUGS!!"
Ya know...all those kinds of things. :) maybe all those things I should have done in college but didn't.

Brigg is the most like me (so far. i'm afraid Ayla may come closer...emphasis on "afraid").
Here's a little bit about him as he is entering 3rd grade.
Brigg loves to be around people.
Lots of people. The more people, the better.
Yesterday we got home kind of late and I had told him that he wasn't going to play outside with the neighbors because we had to come in and get showered and do some things in the house.
I had prepared him for the possibility of seeing all the neighborhood kids outside and him having to say he couldn't join them
It played out just as I had imagined.
He graciously declined as they all ran towards him yelling, "get your baseball stuff! we want to play!"
I was so proud of him. I knew how badly he wanted to join in on the fun.
As we walked inside he quietly said to me, "Mom, I feel like I am going to burst. I want to explode out of here and go play with them. I can't stand it!"
I know Brigg. I know the feeling. And that is what is scary for me as a mother.

He loves loud music and lots of activity and lots of chaos.
He's a party guy.
School comes easy to him. But he loves to be the first one done with his work so he can have a little free time to do as he pleases.
And that usually includes turning his school paper over and drawing a baseball diamond and listing the whole roster for each of the teams that are "playing" each other in his mind.
I cannot tell you how many papers like that came home daily in his back pack.
Or how many papers like that I find laying around the house.
Too many to count.
He loves to watch sports.
He has an amazing memory.
If he's the first one up in the morning, he'll put on sports center and listen to every. single. detail.

He doesn't just sit and watch sports though.
He plays the sports while watching them.
He'll get out his baseball glove and a tennis ball if he's watching baseball.
He can imitate probably 20 different players swings.
It's crazy weird.
He'll pull out the little basketball hoop if he's watching basketball.
And he'll have a football in hand during football season.
He's a visual learner.
He loves little details.
He askes WHY? all. the. time.
It can get frustrating, but I have to remind myself that he really needs to know.
He likes to know what's coming next.
He wants to know HOW LONG? and WHAT TIME?

If he gets in trouble in school it is because he wants to be moving all the time.
His school work comes easy and then he wants to play.
He blurts out all the time.
He wants to know everything that's going on in the classroom at all times and be a part of it.
He can be a know-it-all.
Teachers don't always love blurting out, active, know-it-alls.
(sometimes mothers don't always like them either!)
But he is compassionate and is genuinely worried about other kids.
He always cheers for the underdog.
He wanted to get a mohawk for his school haircut. I reminded him that he was going to a new school where he may not know anyone in his class.
He quickly said, "Oh yeah... nevermind. I don't want them to think I'm a bully!"
Funny...apparently bullies wear mohawks.
Didn't know that.

He's competitive.
And loving.
And driven.
And passionate.

And I love him with everything that I am.
I thank God nearly everyday that he blessed me with a son.
With this son.
And as freaked out as I get about him growing up, I have no doubt that he will become an amazing man. One who loves deep and is loyal beyond belief.
And the best part about Brigg right now is that he still kind of thinks I'm great.
He'll still give me a hug before he walks into school. (no kisses and he certainly won't hold my hand!), but I'll still get a hug right before he sprints off to meet the new friends he's about to make.
I'll take it.
Brigg in a nutshell.