L Child's Last Day of School

August First Day of School

May Last Day of School

 The Last Day of School picture represents where we are in life currently. No fancy sign. No fancy pose. I'm not even sure his hair is combed. It's growing out from a buzz so it's still low-maintenance. Thank goodness. And I have no qualms about him picking out black socks to wear with khaki shorts. (I repeated that to myself about five times this morning.)

L Child has grown up about a foot this past school year. Between his rapid height change (he is only about 3 inches behind C now) and his awesome ability to wear out the knees, I've had to buy a week's worth of pants for him about three times in the past nine months.

First Day: L Child, Mama, and Newborn Button

Last Day: L Child and an uncooperative Button

There's a few things I've learned about L this past school year:

1) He is different from his brother. I knew he was different, but I learned how much so this past year. From the time he wakes up for school until he goes to sleep at night, L Child is a unique person.

2) His middle-child syndrome really seemed to develop this year with a new little sister and starting school. He needs a lot of extra one-on-one attention. So he got one day a week where he spent it at my parents' house instead of going to school. L and I would go to the gas station for a treat after school and then he would help me set up in the lab. Sometimes we just play whatever he wants - with just him while H and C are occupied with something else.

3) And related to #2, friends are really important to him. If we go to an event, and his friend from school is there, he will probably ditch us for the friend. I had prepared myself for that to happen (I thought it would be much later) so it wasn't too much of a surprise when he ran off with a friend at a wedding we recently attended. He got to have a couple of friends over too today to celebrate the end of the school year. 

In a lot of ways, L and I are pretty different. I have to make it a point to think about his needs and my parenting style. I've grown to love and admire these differences already. I look forward to the next year as his personality continues to develop.

I love you my middle child!