A Letter to My Small Fry

Dearest  Julia and Colin,
On August 10, 2009, it was the first day of school and I was the proud momma of a first and a third grader.  You both seemed SO grown up to me on that day...

Today was the last day of school and I am now the proud momma of a second and a fourth grader (so hard to believe, I'm even having a hard time TYPING it...).

Check out the pictures below and see what an amazing year it has been....

Colin, you are no longer a baby (although you'll always be MY baby).  You are SO grown up now.  I've watched you learn so much this year- you became a READER (holy cow, I can't believe the level at which you are reading!), your math skills grew so much (keeping going with that algebraic thinking my dear and you can be an engineer like Daddy and your uncles!), and you gained more confidence in yourself.  You learned to stand on your own two feet and to stand up to your sister a little bit more (although the house was much more peaceful when you just took it....).  You also grew some front teeth, which is always good....

Julia, I think you grew more on the inside this year.  You went from being someone who just wasn't quite sure how much she liked herself to being a self-confident little lady.  You took off as a reader and REALLY discovered the true JOY that can be found in a good book (I still can't believe that you are starting the Harry Potter books over again though!)  You bonded with your teachers this year- I believe that Mrs. Collins (aka Ms. Stolfa) helped you discover your true self, and Ms. Munzinger helped you to understand that it was okay to just be who you are.  And I fully agree.  I happen to absolutely love the person that you are and I am looking forward to knowing you as you grow older.  And the physical changes are coming as well.  You know, the ones that you aren't quite sure how to feel about, the ones that are taking you from being my little girl to being a young lady.  (Yeah, those.  Well... momma could really stand for you to wait a LITTLE longer for all of that- K?)

Munchies- I am just so very proud of both of you!  You are both great students, great people, and overall a lot of fun to be around.  You both grew so much  this year.  You were lucky to have the best teachers who were matched (just to you) to help you grow in the ways that you needed to grow.  You worked hard, played hard, and grew an AMAZING amount.  This mom couldn't ask for even one more thing!

Happy Summer Julia and Colin... you have earned a GREAT ONE!
Love always, your momma