The Milestones of Incredible Braun

I'm always amazed at how Clare's weight matches her height. It's been consistent most of her life. Today she weighs 50.5# and she's now 50 1/2" tall.
Crazy.
Last week Clare started public kindergarten. It's a huge deal. She's had to enter into a new school completely on her own with little notice about who her teacher is. She is thrilled to be one of Mrs. Harvey's hula bears, a position I requested based on her many years of skilled teaching and the most loving and firm boundaries I have ever witnessed. Her classroom is kind and positive and hums with order...just like Clare. She is in the right place, there is no doubt about that.
Two weeks ago she started a real ballet class. No more baby dance for her. She has a gorgeous polish instructor who is well over six feet tall. She is delightful. I'm so glad that Clare has her grace and beauty to soak up. That's a really great thing for a future (giant) superstar to be a part of. ;)
Last month, she started getting an allowance. There was a day when daddy was traveling that she made breakfast, lunch and dinner for the family. She also folded two loads of laundry and learned to mop the floor. At the end of the day she kindly advocated for herself and let me know she thought it was time she got her own money, as she was working hard to earn it. So after making a plan with daddy about what to save and where, she is off and running with $5 a week. She deserves every penny. Now when we leave the house to go somewhere, she brings her purse with her wallet in case she sees something she wants to buy. Today she made her first purchase. Her own diary.


She paid, waited for her change, and carefully stowed her receipt. She is so pleased with her purchase. We're still working on the lock; that's been frustrating. And we had to have a long talk about the difference between privacy and secrets (because our family doesn't keep secrets). But after all that, she is diligently filling it in page by page.
Writing so much about herself and her life sparked a pain in her that she's been struggling with for a while. She misses her other. Mac left for St. Louis on Friday and it's slowly been dawning that she's moving for real. Yesterday it smacked her like a wall and she cried with the heartbreak of it for hours. Her first grief. I felt so honored to sit in that space with her and help her hold her tender heart with care, making a space for her to learn this incredibly important process.
I cannot believe how far we've come this summer. September, I'm glad you're here.

Community Service

In this house, if your behavior is hideous enough to suck the air out of the room, you get to do something to rebalance it.

Today is laundry day and Ella is feeling pretty bossy, slightly sassy and a tad destructive.



So today she learned to fold napkins. Too bad she can't cook dinner yet. ;)

Swimming, for real.

Ella can dive for rings!

And jump off the diving board. Wowza, she's brave.

Two days ago she could scarcely make it to the steps if you pushed her. Today, she swam the length of the steps on the surface and learned side-breathing. Mr. Ian is doing a great job with her.

Clare can already swim on her own, but she is working hard on newer, better skills. Today she was in the lap lane working on strokes and kicks. She's also working on her dives with Miss Emily.

They'll follow up these two week lessons with a three week swim and gym camp at Crenshaws. I'm so excited for them. I've always loved swimming, so I'm glad they do, too.

bELLArina

Doesn't get much better than this.



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Soaking it in

We are loving this summer. For the first time, we are truly big enough for adventure. We live without naps, walk far, carry our own packs. We can read, cross streets properly and explore without much mischief. So we are thick into experiencing all that we can of this thing you people call summer...cause really, it's our first one. :)
Today we visited the Austin Nature and Science Center. We weren't new there, so we played hard with no reservations. We took some of our favorite friends with us for reinforcement.




Some of our nearest and dearest.



Here's Big Dude looking for frogs.



Here they are as explorers digging dinosaur bones...



Adventurers feeding fish...



Climbers working together on their balance...



and strengthening their muscles...



feeding their growing bodies...



and simply loving each other.
What a great day. Thanks, Mags. We adore you.

Biggest goodbyes

I cannot begin to express how very blessed we were this year.


These women loved and cared for Clare in ways I did not even imagine she needed. They set down their typical curriculum in order to teach her what she needed most: how to stand up on her own two feet. They held her up and offered her the chance to grow into her full stature. They encouraged her to be a loving and brave friend, and I could not be more grateful. They taught her to read, gave her space to speak her mind, and fostered her sensitive voice. They validated fears, nudged her to engage fully, and showed her how to speak up. She can now stand up and read to her class with confidence. In many ways, I feel like she just had her kindergarten. Next year she will be able to focus on the transition to public school and relax about everything else. We have Mrs. Race and Mrs. McCullough to thank for that.

We celebrated with our school family today at the bowling alley.








The we headed back to school for pizza and popsicles.





The kids were showered with gifts and love.











And had to say some very sad goodbyes.
We will make a lot of changes next year. We have been processing them the best we can as we walk up to them, and we're doing fairly well. Still, the realizations are coming fast and so is the grief that always comes with every change. The hardest realization we've had so far was yesterday when it sunk in for Clare that Mac will not be with her in school next year. At the end of their last real school day together, she got in the van and cried for 45 minutes. She and Mac have been inseparable since they went to Palaestra at Crenshaw's last summer. They save each other seats, push each other on the swings, fight like sisters and defend each other just the same. It's been inspiring to see the tender hearts of these little girls as they have plowed through the new and complicated social aspects of school life side by side. They came through it beautifully by supporting each other.
Today they split Best Friend necklace, so that when they're apart they can remember that they have support out there in the collective heart.


Thankfully, it won't end here. Their friendship has inspired a connection between our families that will continue for years, God willing. They're a big part of our church family and we also share a play group.
Time marches on, but the best things (and people) stay in our hearts forever.

Olympic style endings

Ella had her last gymnastics class today. She has grown so much with Coach AJ. He supported her perfectly and pushed her gently to be independent. I was so happy for her when I watched her cross the beam all by herself. Today she had the courage to flip over the uneven bars, something she hasn't had the courage to do very often. This little girl has a lot of gusto.



She stood up on that podium with her trophy held high. It was enough to make a mama choke back a sob. A moment like that for a child builds more self esteem than a years worth of compliments. I saw her filled up in that moment with her own pride, soaking up a feeling of accomplishment.



She'll carry that forever; and so will I.