A Minute with the Martins: September 2016

Poor Harper. She hasn't gotten a post lately. Really, poor blog, I haven't posted in forever. Thankfully the blog isn't a person and I'm totally fine with living life and not worrying about updating the blog. However, I do love that it is here for posterity's sake and it helps my poor mommy brain remember sweet things that I otherwise wouldn't (I've actually referenced our blog multiple times in the past 2-3 months so I can compare Harper and Hendrix). Anyway...Harper turned 6 yesterday! It is getting harder and harder to put into words what I feel for my precious girl. Literally since she was born I've felt she was just too good to be true (I know a lot of parents must feel this way but I KNOW it is true). That doesn't mean that I think she's never done anything wrong or that she is perfect, but I can see what an amazing creator God is when I look at her. He designed her so special and unique and I love getting to watch her life unfold.
Harper started kindergarten in August and it is so amazing to see how much she has 'grown up' since then. If nothing else, kindergarten has promoted such independence in my sweet girl. Independence in thoughts, in life skills, in her ability to verbally work through things...so amazing! She is also reading a little now (though she still says she "can't read") and writing sentences that we can actually read, now! The other day she wrote "Hannah went to the zu"! I love watching her learn and love that she is continuing her zeal for learning. That was my goal for her in kindergarten, just that she would continue to love to learn. We were blessed with the sweetest teacher who does such a great job of teaching the children based on their interests and ideas.
Harper also continues to have such a kind heart. Yesterday, on her birthday, she woke up to her brother crying (he had gotten in trouble) and she came out because she said "I heard his hurt or scared cry and I needed to check on him". The first thing she did on her birthday was a selfless act of checking on her brother. Sweetness. Her kind heart also leads to bigger feelings, too. She is more concerned about lots of things than I think most children her age are. But she's also experienced more than most kids her age. We often have to answer (or at least attempt to answer) tough questions or battle some fears and anxieties with her, especially when she gets tired. Since she feels all the feelings it leads to some major outbursts, especially since she's been worn out since starting kindergarten. These are not often but are SO hard for me as a parent because they are so atypical and I know she knows how to behave and I think my expectations for her are too high often times.
Now that Harper is "Miss Independent" she had a big hand in planning her birthday this year. Instead of just telling me what she wanted as a gift or where she wanted to have it she had input in most of the details. And it was truly such fun planning it with her. It was a great lesson for me in letting go and letting her have independence. Several things she helped me with I wanted to take control of and make "perfect" but I knew (thanks to great models of discipleship) that letting her gain independence in these tasks was more important than me just doing them for her. Parenting is such a humbling experience and I know God has used it as one of the biggest teaching tools for my life. Harper decided on a tea party this year and after watching Alice in Wonderland we made that our theme for the tea party. She has such fun playing with all her friends and even got to use some of the manners she learned in Colonial Williamsburg this summer (though the loud belch probably wasn't one of those!). Enjoy the pictures of my precious 6 year old! Time continues to fly but I am (very very slowly) learning to enjoy the ride!