Hello! Happy September! And happy birthday to Gretchen, Richard, and Marshall! We are wrapping up another epic birthday week in the Leake home, and I am glad I am still standing. :) Here's the rundown, starting with the youngest.
Gretchen's birthday was on Thursday, September 1st. When I put her to bed the night before she told me that I could wake her up anytime the next morning to open presents, so accommodating of her! For a couple of years we could not wake her up for her birthday or Christmas, or else all her morning happiness was thrown off, so this is actually a very good change! She desperately wanted to open her presents in the morning, but that did require that I wake her up at 6:50 am! When I walked in, I was surprised to see Rachel in bed with her, but I also loved it. Sisters. :) When I woke her up she said, "Mama!" and just gave me a big hug. She knows all my love languages. She was immediately chipper and happy and was so eager for everyone to gather around her and her presents. We took pictures and sang happy birthday and then watched her open presents. She was so good to remember to give a hug and a thank you to each gift giver and she was just so happy with each gift! She got a dress up from Encanto, magnet dolls, Barbies, a stuffed animal, and dress ups for her doll. She was elated with each one. After presents were done we said good-bye to Richard and a few minutes later said good-bye to Marshall. Gretchen requested Dick's donuts for breakfast, but the girls hardly ate breakfast because they had those new Barbies upstairs and in the loft. They wasted no time getting to play with them. Before school, my parents called Gretchen to sing happy birthday and Gretchen had the happiest and most expressive conversation with them telling them all her birthday gifts and cards she had received. My parents loved it, and so did I. Gretchen was so excited to go to school. She had been the line leader all last week, which she loved doing on the first week of school, but on Thursday she got to wear a birthday crown. She was loving it. I got to go into her class for the last 30 minutes. Gretchen got to sit in the big birthday chair while they sang a special rendition of "Happy Birthday" to her. She then did her "Show and Teach". I had no idea how this was going to go because she has yet to say one word of a scripture or talk in primary, and she refused to practice or work on this at home with me! Sure enough, she was pretty nervous, and was on the verge of shutting down, but she and I compromised. I talked about the bells and what she is learning, and she did all the demonstrating, and she did a great job. She also got to talk about her birthday poster and answer questions about herself that her classmates asked. By the end of it all, Gretchen was completely uninhibited and was much more relaxed. She ended her school day by passing out Oreos to her class. She loved doing so many birthday celebrations at school. Thankfully, she and I had a laid back afternoon at home, and I definitely needed it! Ha! We ate lunch, she watched some of Encanto and played, I took a power nap, got stuff ready for her birthday party, and she and I read books and snuggled. My little Bear Cub! Once the girls were home from school, the girls and I drove up to Freedom Hills Park for Gretchen's birthday party. This was not Gretchen's year for a friend birthday party, but that girl has made so many friends in the last year and had been begging me for weeks for a party, and I finally said yes. We hosted a party at Freedom Hills Park from 4:00-5:30 that afternoon. I kept it super low-key, really hoping that the kids would just play on the playground 90% of the time. The day before the party I realized how hot it was going to be, so I planned a couple of easy water games. We really lucked out with the park because the bowery wasn't reserved, and no one else was there...quite possibly because it was like 100 degrees, but I'll take it. For the 90 minute birthday party, the kids played on the playground, played one water game, and then made their own water fun, had snacks, played more, opened presents and had ice cream treats. Richard was working, so I didn't have his help, but four other parents stayed and they were SO helpful. Gretchen had the time of her life, and all the kids went home soaked and happy so I declared it a success. Right after the party, Bridget left with Cambria to work at the farm. Our plan was to meet Richard at Costa Vida for a quick dinner before Rachel's piano lesson, but I-15 was a mess and it took Richard 90 minutes to get home from work. The girls were also pretty tired and did not want to rush on to the next activity. So, instead, we relaxed at home for an hour, I took Rachel to piano, picked up Costa Vida, brought it home and we had a super relaxing and calm birthday dinner with just Richard, Marshall and Gretchen. We were all so full and tired that night we didn't even have Gretchen's chosen birthday dessert-brownie bites. It had been a full and happy day and Gretchen went to bed on Cloud 9 that night.
I have been a bit of an emotional wreck this week over Gretchen starting kindergarten and turning six all at the same time. Monday was her first day of kindergarten and she was beyond excited and she has been excited every day since. In fact, this morning she woke up and was sad and confused about why she was not going to school! So I am so happy she is loving it, but I cried no less than five times on Monday. And my first two crying sessions were more like sobbing, shoulder shaking cries. I have never been that overcome with emotion about a child going off to school, but it seriously did me in. And then on Wednesday night, I cried as Richard and I were going to bed about Gretchen turning six and Marshall turning 14-those two bookends are going to be the cause of a lot of tears for me! But, enough about me, let me capture Gretchen at age six. Gretchen has really honed in on being "Princess Bear Cub" the last month or so. At night, instead of a song, she wants me to tell her stories of Princess Bear Cub. Sometimes she requests made up stories, and other times she wants me to tell a story from her own life, but using Princess Bear Cub as the main character. :) Gretchen still loves to run and she makes time for it every day, multiple times a day. She continues to thrive in the loft and I love her imagination. She still loves Ziggy and he loves her right back. She is loving Let's Play Music and on Thursday she starts dance class!!! The girls and I have all been walking to school together this week. Gretchen will still often hold my hand as we walk, and twice this week, she has kissed my hand while we have been walking. Could she get any cuter?! Nope. Bridget has been begging to walk Gretchen by herself, or at least say good-bye to me at Main St. and then taking Gretchen to her line. On Friday, both Gretchen and I finally felt ready to let this happen Oh my heart. I watched those three girls walk until I couldn't see them anymore. Gretchen's backpack is wider than she is and I watched as her older sisters helped her navigate around kids on bikes and scooters and my heart was happy and sad all at the same time. Gretchen still remains incredibly picky with food. This week I asked the kids at what age we think Gretchen will start eating the dinners I make...no one guessed before age seven. Who knows what she will do for lunch at school next year?! Gretchen remains a snuggler and both Richard and I love it. She is a complete delight to have in our family and we love her dearly.
Next up, Richard's birthday was on Sunday. 42 years old!!! Sunday was so calm and low-key and exactly what all six of us needed! I texted all of the bishopric before Richard got to his meetings that morning and they all greeted him with hearty happy birthdays. I know that deep down, he was happy with every single happy birthday he got at church yesterday. I actually got to go to ward council with him yesterday too, and even though it was a meeting, it was great to sit by him and walk home with him. After relaxing afternoon naps, he finally opened his presents. All his gifts were almost exclusively Legos. :) He has very much enjoyed putting them together yesterday and today, and he still has more to go! For dinner, Richard grilled steaks and we had potatoes and corn and his birthday treat was peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream. We played games last night as a family and that provided plenty of laughs. Richard enjoyed a great phone call with his brother, Nathan, last night and then we just relaxed. It was honestly a great day and had the perfect amount of calm and family time.
Richard is so wonderful. He has been at his new job for six months now and he has settled in really well. His summer was intense with so many work shifts, but his schedule for the remainder of the year is totally manageable, and that feels really nice, for both of us! Richard is a great husband and a great father. He is our biggest cheerleader and it is so great to have him in our corner. Richard is a hard worker and he does so much for us. On Tuesday evening, in the middle of an absolutely wonderful and unusually laid back school night, Richard and I discovered that we had gallons and gallons of leaking water under a valve box in our front yard. It was a mess. Richard wasted no time complaining, instead, he changed into his work clothes, put on a headlamp, and got to work. It was not at all how he wanted his evening to end, but he did it, and did it well. Richard is kind and thoughtful. He is quick to apologize and correct mistakes. He is an excellent listener. He and I make a good time in this busy family life we have created, and I am so glad we are on each other's side. I love him and this life we have.
Marshall's birthday is today! The boy who made me a mother is 14 years old today. I can hardly believe it. We all got to sleep in, which was very much appreciated. We opened presents as soon as everyone was awake. Marshall got a Lego Groot, a BYU sweatshirt, a plane magazine subscription, a framed picture of the Manchester City game at Lambeau Field, a model plane, two tikis, and a giant tiki mask. All the things he deeply loves! We had scones for breakfast and had a relaxing morning. Bob and Becky drove out and spent about three hours here. We talked with them and they got the birthday update on everyone. We had Domino's Pizza for lunch and sang to Marshall and had his confetti birthday cake. The kids chilled and played this afternoon. All four of the kids are coming down or are in the middle of very mild colds, but I can tell none of them are functioning at 100%, so it has been nice to have a relaxing day. The kids played a bunch of Lego City late this afternoon and then we went to Five Guys for dinner, per Marshall's request. When we got home, Marshall wanted us to watch some plane videos with him, we spent some time outside eating a conglomeration of birthday treats and then played games. It seems that everyone is going to bed tired and happy. We also did a little friend birthday party for Marshall on Saturday evening. He had some friends out of town for the holiday weekend, but two were able to go. Richard took them to In-N-Out for dinner and then bowling. They bowled two games and Marshall almost doubled his friends' scores. Ha! He had a great time. A happy and successful birthday for him.
My love runs deep for Marshall. He has stretched me in more ways than any other person or any other thing in my life. Seriously. But my love for him is fierce and I cannot believe how quickly he is growing up. Last night as Richard and I were decorating his bedroom door, I couldn't help but think we don't have many years left of doing this. Time passes too quickly. At 14, Marshall is completely obsessed with planes. When Richard and I were in ward council yesterday, Marshall was outside plane watching. :) An A380, which is the biggest passenger airplane flew over our house. It was the first time he had ever seen one in person. It was flying from Dubai to Los Angeles. He texted Richard and I that it was the best moment of his life. :) When we got home a bit later, we found him in the driveway, sitting in a chair, with his binoculars. :) Love him. :) Marshall is still loving soccer. His team played in a local tournament this week. They were up against tough competition, and lost their first two games. They won their third game and Marshall scored the game winning goal! He has only ever scored a handful of goals, because he loves being back on defense, but his coach is playing him up more this fall season. On Saturday Marshall was a mid-fielder and the score was 1-1. In the second half, his team got a free kick and it went right to Marshall. He headed it down to his feet, took one touch, and then kicked it in. It went high and the goalie tried to get it with a jump, but he couldn't reach it and it dropped right into the goal. Oh my gosh. It was a great moment. Richard and I were both there and we were so happy to see it. We both screamed and clapped and cheered and Marshall ran back with open arms to his teammates. I so wish we had it on video, but I hope every detail of it stays in my mind forever. Marshall is doing well in 8th grade. He seems to really be enjoying all of his classes and even though we are only two weeks into the school year, he is handling all of them really well. He is getting more and more comfortable in social situations and I am so grateful for all of his growth there. It is not easy for him, but I am so proud of every single difficult thing he chooses to step into.
Other than all of that, our week consisted of dance, piano, music, the farm, soccer, me spending hours in the car driving kids all over, and all of us falling into bed tired every night! Looking ahead to this week, it does not appear to be much calmer! Makes me extra grateful we had Sunday and Monday! And I cannot wait to say good-bye to 100 degree weather-sheesh!
Love each of you!
Richard, Jenny, Marshall, Bridget, Rachel and Gretchen :)
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