Dear Callum,

When Miles describes the life-stages of the kids in our family, he says that he’s a sixth-grader, Tobin is a second-grader, and you’re a homer.  That means you’re not actually in school yet, just a guy who stays home.  Well, that’s not going to be the case for long.  In just a couple of weeks we have back-to-school night, when you’ll visit your new preschool classroom at the same school as your brothers.  Then, just a little over a week after that, you’ll start half-days at preschool.  I think it will be a bit of a shock for you, since you’re still pretty attached to your life as a homer, but I hope being at the building you’ve visited many times and knowing your brothers aren’t too far away helps.  I know it will be good for you to gain some fresh perspectives and learn about school-boy life.

Photo by Denny

We just got back from a big road trip to Colorado, and you had a chance to spend a good amount of time with kids who aren’t your brothers.  You did a good job, and you even did well during the long car ride.  We borrowed Skitter’s van, which was useful in terms of brother-torture prevention.  You had a lot of fun, and just last night you mentioned how much you liked the YMC-Day (aka the YMCA of the Rockies near Estes Park).  I was most impressed by how well you did on our mountain-climb hike.  When we first started out, I was worried, because you really, really wanted your dad or me to carry you.  The combination of high altitude and your body weight made that a very limited-time option, so in the end, you walked almost the whole way.  You did a great job, but I think what you liked best was having cocktail hour with your new friends.  As we were reminiscing about our trip, you wanted to talk about them.  I asked you what their names are, and you claimed to need help (sometimes you feign ignorance just because you like to hear me say things).  I said their names are Sam, Lucas, and Ben, and you said, “That’s not all of them.”  I asked who I was forgetting, and you said, “Sarah and Pete.”  I’m glad you think of my friends as your friends, too.

You also really enjoyed going on a pony ride, hammering along in the drum circle, general running around outside, and swimming.  You were a little nervous about trying the pony ride, but you ended up having so much fun and feeling very proud of yourself.

After our trip was done, we dropped Miles and Tobin off at Mubby and Skitter’s house, so we’ve had lots of Mommy-Callum time over the last week.  We’ve gone to the library, played in our park, done art projects, gone to Tot Time, run errands, and gone to the splash pad.  You even joined your dad and me at a special dinner to celebrate our anniversary.  It’s been fun having the time and energy to pay extra attention to you.

You really miss your brothers—whenever we FaceTime with your brothers, you never want to hang up.  In a couple of days we’ll go pick them up, and then the whole group of us will dead down to the Iowa State Fair.  Your Papa is going to receive a special award for being an environmentally-responsible farmer, so it will be fun to spend time with him, Nana, your brothers, and lots of fried food all at once.

Your dad and I have both noticed how sweet and fun you’ve been lately.  When a well-meaning librarian asked you whether it’s fun to be four, you answered, “Not so much,” but that can’t possibly be true.  You’ve been smiley and cute and funny, mostly good at getting your work done without us having to ask too much, and a cool guy to have around.  I do wish you’d stop swinging your arms around so much, because sometimes you bonk yourself or others, but we’ll keep working on it.

Your current favorites:  Ethan and Cole on YouTube, Knoppers (a German sweet snack we get at Aldi), Robert Munsch bedtime stories, cuddling with your stuffed animal friends and having conversations with them, cooking for me in your play kitchen, and anything that involves spraying water.  We don’t have much summer left, but something tells me the remaining weeks will be drippy and happy.

Love,

Mommy