Dear Tobin,

Summertime was made for kids like you.  You’re so active and wiggly.  We recently had a spate of very hot (potentially dangerous) weather, and I nearly had to tie you to the couch to keep you inside.  You’ve been really into riding your scooter lately, and you have a little loop on the path in the backyard out to the park that you enjoy taking.  You’re proud that we trust you to do it by yourself, and you’re very responsible about always wearing your helmet and sticking to the zone that doesn’t require crossing any streets.

You’ve also done a lot of reading this summer.  Your first motivator was the library’s Summer Reading Program.  The prize package for completing the program included coupons to some of your favorite places (Bruegger’s, Panda Express, and Aspen Leaf Frozen Yogurt), and you’ve been very excited to use them.  You and your dad have a tradition of going out for bagels and dad/son time on Sunday mornings, and you were very proud to donate your coupon to him so his bagel would be free.  Of course, then he bought a bagel for you, but the gesture was noble nonetheless.

Even though all three kids have now completed the program, you’ ve still been excited about reading.  You got really into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and I think you’ve read almost all of them now.  You read some from the library, some from copies Miles already owned, some on your Kindle, and listened to at least one as an audiobook.  There are also a few movies based on the books, and as luck would have it, your dad never got around to cancelling his HBO subscription after Game of Thrones ended (not a dad/son activity).  Several of those movies are available on HBO, so you were pretty excited to watch them on the iPad while cuddled up in your bed.

Your face in the photo above expresses how you felt the first day of a sports camp you attended.  Being the social creature that you are, your favorite aspect of it that it was a week of full-day playdates with your friend Ben.  The two of you signed up to go to the camp together, and you had tons of fun together.  It was hosted on campus near your dad’s workplace, so one time over lunch hour he stopped by to visit you.  You and Ben had crammed your lunches into your faces and used the time you saved to play full-court one-on-one basketball.  That’s a lot of work for someone who’s only four feet tall (Ben is slightly taller, but you make up for it in commitment).

You got to try all kinds of different sports, including tennis, flag rugby, swimming, rock-wall climbing, and more basketball.  You would have been happy to do ten more sports, but you only had a week.  Maybe next year I’ll have to sign you up for two.

Photo by Gary Clarke

Baseball season wrapped up nicely, which gives us a lot more of the aforementioned free time.  You had a serious mid-season hitting slump, and I think you were feeling frustrated by it, but in your last few games you turned things around.  You helped take your team to the championship game of the Pitching Machine league, and you won.  You have proudly displayed your trophy on your desk.  As much of a time-suck as baseball is, you do truly enjoy it, so I guess we’ll be in for another summer’s worth next year.

You are a person who always wants to be out for an adventure.  We had some car trouble yesterday that thwarted our plans to go downtown, so we made the best of it by taking a walk through our neighborhood to the shaved-ice stand (thus checking an item off our summer activity list).  You enjoyed your treat, climbed a tree, and kept a good attitude.  The heat wave I mentioned previously had abated, and it was one of those rare, perfect afternoons.  It made me happy that we went light on camps this year and have the free time and flexibility to change our plans and find fun as we go.

We have a trip to Colorado coming up, and you’re so excited.  You just woke up, and the first bleary words you said to me were, “Just two more days until our trip!”  You’ve had your bag packed for about a week, and you’ve been guiding Callum in packing his bag as well.  We’ve had to make a few adjustments—you’re frustrated that he’s overdoing it on the stuffed animals and books and going too light on essentials, and during your first round of packing you packed all your t-shirts and would have had nothing left to wear for the rest of the week at home if I hadn’t managed that.  In any case, I admire your enthusiasm.  As long as you save a few books to read during the long drive and can manage to get along with your brothers, I think we’ve got it under control.  I’ll make sure you have enough underwear.

Your current favorites:  pizza (especially from Blaze), watching YouTube, reading, riding your scooter, jumping at the trampoline park, swimming, and having special time with me before the other kids get up.  You’re the earliest riser of the bunch, and I too cherish the moments we share on the couch during the quietest time of day.  “You’re writing about right now,” you just said, as you read my screen.  I can see your lovely curls in the photograph below while at the same time seeing them in my peripheral vision as your head rests on my shoulder.

You’re a treat, my sweet.  As long as you can balance the quiet with the wild, I think we’re in for a great wrap-up to the summer.  I’m excited for an adventurous vacation with my adventurous, exciting, energetic guy.

Love,

Mommy

My sweet Callum,

It’s summertime, the greatest time of the year to be a little kid.  We’ve been working steadily through our summer activity list, including lots of time at the Splash Pad and running around in the backyard playing under the sprinkler and with splort balls.  We had to make a new batch of splort balls, and of course you had to do it ALL BY YOURSELF.  That was tricky, as they require the use of big scissors, so I did what I do so often lately:  try to create the illusion of you doing something by yourself while sneakily guiding the process to keep you safe (and not totally screw up the project).  It worked out okay in the end, and you and Tobin have been having a lot of fun blasting each other with them.

It’s interesting how differently you relate to your two brothers.  Miles enjoys cerebral activities like creating complicated games and intricate Minecraft scenarios.  He also loves setting up activities for you, and you relish his attention.  Sometimes he gets frustrated when you don’t do things quite the way he wants you to, but mostly he’s very patient.  In the photo above, you’re playing with the potions he set up for you.  I think it was supposed to be a lesson about the color wheel with a little practical magic thrown in, but mostly you just liked splashing the colored water around.  In any case, you were happy because he was spending time with you.

With Tobin, you love to get physical.  He’s just as smart as Miles, but he’s a little less patient and methodical and more inclined to run and jump than sit still.  You always have an adventure buddy in Tobin, not only for backyard splashing, but for playground exploration and dance parties.  You two clash sometimes, especially in the car, when you cannot keep your hands to yourself (and Tobin knows special, secret techniques for goading you).  Still, you can always count on Tobin for some good, wild fun.

I was going to say that you’ll miss your brothers when they go back to school in the fall, but you’ll be going as well.  I know you’re going to be proud to go to the same school as Miles and Tobin.  You’ll probably have a bit of anxiety as you transition, though.  You tend to be a little nervous and clingy in new situations, but you’re brave and intrepid in your own way, too.  I have to keep a close eye on you, because you get interested in things and wander off to explore them.

Due to your dad’s travel for work, I ended up managing all three kids at a four-hour-long stint out at the ballpark for your brothers’ games.  That was a situation I mostly avoided thanks to all the baseball management your dad did during the season, and Mubby and Skitter were here to help during most of the time your dad was gone.  That one time, though, I certainly had my hands full.  Fortunately the ballpark is a pretty flat piece of land, so I could see you from most vantage points, but I didn’t get to watch either of your brothers play in their championship games as much as I would have liked.  For the first part of the evening, I plied you with snacks, but a person can only eat so much popcorn and Mike & Ikes before he’s ready to run around petting doggies and chasing wiffle balls.

Photo by Gary Clarke

Your current favorites:  playing Zelda with your dad (both on the Wii U and a live-action adventure version you two invented), bedtimes stories (especially Rumplestiltzkin and Creepy Carrots), taking baths, popsicles, and playing outside.  Fortunately, your spring allergies have mostly subsided, so as long as we keep you on your nightly bath and Zyrtec schedule, outdoor play is back on the table.

We’ve got some fun events coming up during the remaining summer weeks, including a trip to Colorado.  That will give you lots of time outdoors, but it will also mean a long car ride.  We’re going to borrow Skitter’s van, which will help because we can separate you and Tobin.  One thing I learned while they were here is that the 12-inch separation between the two captain’s chairs in the middle row is not enough to keep you from grabbing Tobin’s face.  Why do you have to grab his face?  Why?

You’re becoming such a big boy, and I know you can do most things ALL BY YOURSELF, but I’m glad you still find your way back to me at bedtime.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Miles,

Happy 11.5 birthday!  We celebrated yesterday morning with your favorite chocolate croissants, and I did my regularly-scheduled boggle about how old you’re getting.  I was talking to a friend who has a daughter your age, and she noted that her daughter has seemed really sleepy and lethargic lately.  I’ve noticed the same thing about you.  Maybe it’s a pre-teen thing, or maybe you’re just recovering from how busy you were during the first half of the summer.

Photo by Gary Clarke

You wrapped up baseball season with a solid performance.  Your team ended up getting second place in the league, and even though you probably don’t have a future as a pro ball player, you had fun and made friends.  You even got a hit and made it to base during the championship game.  You looked truly astounded.  Baseball games made for some very long nights, especially when baseball season overlapped with your animation camp at Filmscene, so I can understand why you would be tired out.

You enjoyed the Filmscene camp a lot, and you particularly enjoyed taking the bus downtown with your friend.  The camp happened to fall during a time when your dad was out of town for work, which normally I could handle, but the confluence of activities made me want to call in some backup.  Fortunately Mubby and Skitter were able to come and spend several days with us to help out.  Equally fortunately, your dad made it home in time to come to your film premiere.

You’ve had a lot of fun transferring the skills you learned in animation camp to your own projects.  You’ve been having fun enlisting Callum to “help” you make animations.  Mostly he provides sound effects, but he feels so special when you include him.  I’ve really appreciated how much I can count on you to help him.  Early this summer, I told you that helping with Callum would help your case in getting your own trombone.  You’re currently borrowing one from a friend, with the idea that we’d see how invested you got in trombone-playing before we bought one.  As it turns out, you love the trombone and in fact are quite good at it.  I was anticipating getting you one in the Christmas/birthday timeframe, but with all the great help you’ve been providing with Callum, it may well happen in the fall.  Best of all, I never even have to remind you.  It seems like you genuinely enjoy teaching him and playing with him, and afterward, you seem pleasantly surprised when I remind you that you’re earning credit in your trombone fund.

You still love Minecraft, reading, hanging out with friends (you’re very happy that your friend Jacob is back in town for the rest of the summer), and jumping at the trampoline park.  I sort-of-accidentally bought 3-month passes, so we’re going to be doing a lot of bouncing for the rest of the summer and into the fall.  I don’t mind, though—it’s a good way to keep you active, since your natural state can be a bit couch potato-y.

Your current favorites:  the Artemis Fowl book series, orange chicken from Panda Express, pasta, sleeping till 10:00 or later, various YouTube personalities I can’t keep straight, making animations, and recounting the storylines of FoxTrot comics.

I hope the rest of the summer is more relaxing for you, my dear.  We’ve got some good adventures coming up later this month and into August, but most of them won’t require you to wake up very early.  The next thing you know, you’ll be a sixth grader, and I’ll have to fret some more about how big you’re getting.  Until then, enjoy the rest of the summer.

Love,

Mom