2nd Grade Wrap-Up

Tonight I was blessed by a wonderful sister-in-law who invited my girls to spend the night at her house. (Or maybe they invited themselves and she was too gracious to say no. Hmmm...) That has left me with a little bit of very rare quiet time. Perfect time to finally get around to posting about Mackenzie's 2nd grade year. I have to do these quickly or I will forget all of the marvelous details!

Dear Mackenzie,
If I had to choose one word to sum up your 2nd grade experience, ACCOMPLISHMENTS would be my pick. You have grown so much this year physically and mentally. We are always working on the spiritually and emotionally part, but here's a little secret from me to you - I'm still working on my spiritual and emotional part too! It's a lifelong journey, so don't feel pressured if you don't quite ever get that part figured out. God will take you where you need to go, always. So, let's run through some of your great accomplishments of your 2nd grade year. I usually try not to be the bragging mom, but this is my blog and gosh, I am super proud of you, so I won't hold back here! ;)

Your 2nd grade teacher this year was Mrs. Devine.

Isn't that a great name for a teacher that was, well, divine! You loved her so much! I could tell that she was important to you because you talked about her all the time. You would tell me so many stories about encouraging words that she said to you. I praised God that He had blessed you with a teacher that would help your confidence soar! At the start of the year, you jumped into the AR (accelerated reader) program with both feet. You usually read 2 books a night and then tested on them in the morning for points. By the end of the year, you had over 200 points, won the award for most books read and got to spend the last day of school having a private lunch with the principal in her office! WOW! I was so proud to see your love of reading grow so much.

Of course, you get that from me! I love that you are reading books that were some of my favorites when I was little and we get to talk about them and experience them together.

Some of your favorites this year were the Katie Kazoo Switcheroo series, A Dog Named Kitty, the Little House on the Prarie series, A to Z mysteries and so many more. This summer we are going to read the 1st Harry Potter book together. What fun!

Of course there were other awards during the year (outstanding music student, ambassador for your class, principal's honor roll all 4 semesters, getting accepted into GATE, etc.),

but you were also busy doing so many other things in addition to school. You still love soccer so much and I'm glad you do because your practice schedule really stepped up this year.
Practices 2-3 times a week and games on Saturdays. You even got invited to play in a few tournaments in the spring. We had a great time taking you to a few nearby cities so you could experience some advanced playing. I was glad you learned how to lose graciously many times in the spring. You learned it wasn't really about scoring goals, but about playing as a team and always playing your best, even when you lose.

After watching Avery's dance recital last spring, you decided to try dance again. This time, you only wanted hip-hop. It was fun to see you on stage again. You were so nervous before you performed, but I could tell you had a great time!


One of my favorite memories from this year was Mother's Day. I wouldn't say this to anyone else, but you made my Mother's Day this year. You got out of bed before anyone else and decided to make me breakfast. You know how to use the toaster, so you set out to make me some bagels. It was only after toasting them that you realized you had toasted hamburger buns instead of bagels. I got cereal instead, which was wonderful, but I love that you made me laugh with your hamburger buns story. You also wrote me a letter, which I will quote here:
My mom is the best.
My mom likes to read magazines.
My mom knows how to look the best.
My mom says, "let's get in the car".
My mom can cook spaghetteos.
My mom wishes that I would be a famous artist.
My mom loves Wheel of Fortune.
My mom wants to go to Disney World.
My mom is talented.

Like I said, you made my day. So, so sweet. The best Mother's Day gift ever.

The biggest adjustment for you this year has been learning how to be a big sister for the 2nd time.

You are a great big sister to Nathan and I can tell that you love him so much. However, it has been hard for you to see me devote so much time to him. More responsibilities have been given to you (taking a shower on your own, brushing your own teeth and hair, more chores, etc), while you see more attention given to the baby. These are the hard parts of growing up and being a first born kid. I am trying to find ways to make special time for just the two of us. Even though I can't spend 30 minutes playing with you in the bathtub or rocking you to sleep, there are times spent with you that I love just as much. One of my favorite sounds in the world is hearing you laugh. It's why I love to watch America's Funniest Videos with you. You love that show so much and laugh so hard! I love when we are in the car together and I get to hear you sing or hear stories about your day. I love to take you on more "grown up" outings to see Junie B. Jones or Hannah Montana. You and I are so much alike and I love that we can enjoy the same things like books, music and shopping. Of course I miss those times when you were a baby too. I miss the quiet times we spent just the 3 of us before the house got so noisy and so busy!
But what I am loving more and more every day is seeing you grow in the young lady that God wants you to be. You are so beautiful, smart and funny!

No one else in the family can make me laugh like you.

(I think you get this from your dad!) I am so proud of all that you have accomplished this year and I can't wait to see what 3rd grade has in store for you!