Britt Monthly Summary: August

This post covers all of what Britt was up to in August!

Britt has never been as “into” writing, drawing and coloring as Kye so I was EXTREMELY surprised when she handed me a note one Sunday during church services and it had her NAME on it. I hadn’t ever seen her write a SINGLE letter and then to write her whole name?!? Child always surprises me!!!

I also think it’s so neat how much more detailed she is in her drawings than Kye was as a kid. Maybe it’s a boy vs girl thing? Her people look a taddddd creepy but I love the thought she puts into them. Just fyi…the black circles inside the mouths aren’t the teeth, it’s the spacing between the teeth haha!

She drew these ghosts for me

And more people!

Kye started coming home with homework pretty early on in the school year. It’s not much and it doesn’t take long but I set aside “homework time” each afternoon. Tess has her snack, Kye does his homework, I drink my Spark and get the kitchen ready for dinner, and Britt needed something to do too! She LOVES being a big kid and my friend Rachael suggested some preschool workbooks. They have been great!

Britt is very “big kid” in a lot of ways but is MUCH more dependent at this age than Kye was. Again, I think it might be a gender thing. I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m SUPER independent in some ways but then am totttttallllly the type of girl who will say I NEED A MAN in other ways 😉 Britt may be the same way. She really, really resists dressing herself so I’m trying to encourage it more now that school has started. My mornings are rushed and it’d be one less thing I need to do if she can dress herself! This is the first outfit she completely put on by herself (play clothes: clearly)

Speaking of clothes it CRACKS me up how much of a reputation I have for taking anything people want to pass down to me. I walked on my front porch one afternoon to get Kye off the bus and was greeted by a HUGE black trash bag filled with really nice shoes and clothes that Britt probably won’t even be able to wear for a couple more years. Score! I still don’t know who left it there but I appreciate it 🙂

This month was also one of my personal favorite outings: KID SALE SHOPPING! Whoop whoop! Last year I couldn’t go because I was just coming home from the hospital with Tess so I was super excited for this year 🙂 It’s SO great now that Britt is getting older because she truly appreciates the deals I find for her. At least someone in my house “gets it” 😉 She went through every single thing I bought and was so pumped!

Britt’s school measured her at 41 inches and the max height for her car seat rear-facing is 40 inches so the time has come to move her forward facing…she will be 4 in Dec and is STILL rear-facing! Y’all it’s SO important to do extended rear-facing…you can read more about it here 🙂

Britt is OBSESSED with dancing. She dances all the time to any song and she is just so happy to put on a “show” for us. It really fits with her “always moving” energy and I love that she has found this outlet!

It’s been no secret here that Zach and I are trying our best to parent Britt the way she needs to be parented. I remember when she was born in the hospital and we heard her cry and said “whew, we are in for it!” Britt has a very dominate personality and as she’s getting older that’s only become more apparent. We realized it’s not something that is “just a phase” and that she truly requires parenting of the heart. I want to reach her heart to help her grow closer to Jesus and to understand the depths of his love and the power of his love and the freedoms she can achieve through him. Many people have recommended reading Don’t Make Me Count to Three

and I’m pretty far into it at this point and so far it’s fabulous! We have made SO much progress in better understanding the best way to reach Britt’s heart and to help her truly reach closer to the potential God has blessed her with!

It took some adjusting not having Kye with us at home or at school. Britt really loves being the only kid in our family at her school. She loves that it’s her school now and she’s so proud! The first week she kept asking to have her picture taken 🙂

When we go through the drop off line in the mornings I unbuckle her and let her come sit up front with me. We have great talks and sing to our “jams.” Tess just chills quietly in the back 😉

On days when I take Kye to school and take Britt to school we have a GOOD chunk of time in-between. Kye gets dropped off between 7:30-8:00 and Britt doesn’t get dropped off until 8:30. The mornings started cooling down a little so the girls and I would enjoy some swing time at her school playground while we waited!

This year Britt is still in school only three mornings a week. Most of her class is actually there for the full 5 days. There weren’t enough kids to justify their own 3 day class so she’s in with the 5 day kids. That has been a tad tricky b/c she WANTS to go the extra two days. But too bad haha Mean Mommy 😉 I want her to be home with me those mornings to spend time together and have that bonding time with her sister 🙂 Next year we won’t have a choice, she will go all 5 days so I want to cling to my two mornings of Britt time while I can!

I love how she sits when I paint her nails 🙂

Along with our mornings together we also love to wait for Kye when he gets off the bus in the afternoons. We have a shade tree in our yard and that’s “our spot” where we sit and wait together. Love my girl!

Britt enjoys her time with me, but she especially enjoys time with her siblings. She thinks her brother is THE best person in the world and is starting to feel the same way about her sister. I know as they grow up that Britt will be the one I can count on to make sure they all stay close! Her siblings bring her so much joy!

I LOVE how into dancing Britt is…but I especially love her new “model poses” she does when picture taking. It cracks me up every single time. Watch out world, model in the making haha

More Going on with Britt this Month:

Britt tends to WHINE rather than ASK. For example she will say “I’m sooooo thiiiiiirsttttty” rather than ask “Mommy may I please have a drink?” We are working on this!
She has some random memory of a red ladder on the school playground from last year and leading up to school starting she would pray for God to keep her safe on the red ladder!
She calls Tess “sweetheart” and it melts mine!
Britt has GOT to learn to eat FASTER. Child will sit and entertain everyone and NOT EAT.
To speed up the morning breakfast routine I started giving her cheerios in a snack cup in the car to eat on the way to take Kye to school. She eats her bananas and prunes and drinks her milk at home but then has the cereal portion in the car.
While she may take AGES to eat…she is a BETTER eater than she was. She doesn’t complain nearly as much and she even is starting to enjoy more foods (like she LIKES carrots now! yay!)
One day she lied to me about being done with her food. After we had a BIG talk about lying she then started telling me every day that she’s “not going to lie!”
She’s finally starting to wipe herself when she poops
She will say “i trust you” a lot about random stuff…like she will ask me if we can read a book and then say “mommy I trust you to read the book”
She is so sweet majority of the time and gives SUCH awesome cuddles and kisses! She’s still very much my physical touch baby and I appreciate all the affection she offers up 🙂

Videos:

I miss my girl when she’s at school 3 mornings a week and truly cherish our two mornings together! I’m so thankful she’s mine and she brings such joy and love to my life each and every day!