Little bird ... Four years ago

and she chose a feather in her cap, too...


Half her life has passed... Auntie Jdawg saved these precious memories. We can't get over it. Can we please rewind??? The video is killing me.

First Grade graduation

Jadyn poses on her last day with her awesome teacher, Miss Schindler....

How did it all fly by? Looking back on the first month of this school year, Jadyn seems so young.. Campbell was just born, everything is a crazy blur. We all really lucked out with such an awesome, caring teacher this year. Jadyn idolizes Miss Schindler and has learned so much... reading, writing, 'rithmatic... in addition to tons of cool artist appreciation projects she did with them, telling time, performing, watching butterflies grow from caterpillars...

As far as non academic growth this year... Jadyn has spent many afternoons feining injuries in the nurses's office, playing basketball with the Jr. High volunteers, making mini-pencils and not eating her home lunch.

On the way home from the last day celebration, I had Jadyn and Taylor in the car. I was eavesdropping on their "recap" from First grade.. reminiscing about the level they just barely missed in math, boys, trouble makers, etc... They then included me in the conversation when Jadyn says "I really want to take gymnastics again".. Taylor echoed her sentiments... and I said, "well, we just haven't had time and probably won't do it this summer.. but when you guys get to college you can do whatever classes you want" (way to give them goals, eh?)... so they got all excited. "YA, when we go to college, we're taking gymnastics for SURE" ..all I could think about was how obsessed Stef and I were when we were that age with Mary Lou Retton and gymnastics (that OUR mom didn't let us take).. and they say you turn into your mom... it's so true.

They asked me what classes I took in college. "Sewing, fashion, yoga, art... and some math, science and english... you can pretty much take classes in any subject you want in college. It's awesome"

"RAD!!" Jadyn says. "I'm taking fashion, 'LECTRIC guitar, and gymnastics"

What a renaissance woman.

Grow up, stay small

Jadyn Heit circa January 2006

So, we know this is textbook child development stuff, but we still look at one another dumbfounded, annoyed, and kind of frustrated when Jadyn displays her "I'm not going to be the baby around here much longer" behavior.. nothing really dramatic, just the completely understandable clinging to what has always been, for her entire life, her turf. HER blankets, HER toys, HER dad.. and no one else's. Yet, we can tell she is excited, and the whole "starting first grade" and being a "big girl" and a "big sister" is an attractive proposition for her, so we can tell, her poor little spirit is torn. Most of the time, she is a big help (my assistant, afterall) and very proud of any kind of responsibilities she has. And it almost breaks my heart to see her as such a mini grown up... trying to shed her old ways, give up her old toys and stop saying those words that we all know she misprounounces, but love to hear, so don't correct her.

I will miss it when she stops holding my hand to cross the parking lot, and I will miss hearing her say "Kah-Koozie" instead of jacuzzi ... "YOU-sick" instead of music, "PACK-pack" instead of backpack... "POT-cicle" instead of popcicle.."LOOS-ually" instead of usually...and there are more little jems I'm sure I'll remember as I post this.

I guess it's just one more time in this life when we get so anxious for the future we don't realize the things we'll really long to have back. Little Jbird is growing into the big sister we hoped she'd be.. and now we almost cry remembering how she has changed. Soon, we won't wish she could read better and wanted to read more.. we won't be pounding our heads with our fists wondering how to get it through to her that "reading is FUN!!" ..no, one day soon, we'll be wishing she wasn't reading the celebrity gossip magazines and her friend's myspace pages.

I wish I was Evie in that one show from the 80s where she could just freeze time by holding her fingers together.. what was that called? And enjoy everything that is perfect the way it is. Not wish for tomorrow , or the next day, year or month.. just enjoy today... because it will all pass faster than we can catch it.

Note to self: remember this...

I always say I'm going to write down all of the precious little kid things that Jadyn says before she's not a little kid anymore.. and so many of them have long been forgotten.

yesterday, Jadyn was telling us about Grandpa. He's been in the hospital for a while and we're all worried about him. Jadyn told us she was a little scared at first, but that he was doing good and just needed to practice his words and sounds... "he LUSulally practices the vowels.. like A, E, I, O.." She went on to explain, he has tubes in his nose, so I might not want to go.. it's probably best that she and dad handle it, because she knows how to talk to him. I asked how he sounded; how his voice was, and she said without skipping a beat, "It was really deep... You know, like the low black keys at the end of Beethoven" awe, the innocence of a musical prodigy. (wink)