LISTENING AND RESPECT

Gage goes to World Tae Kwon Do Center with Grand Master Hong. The two things he teaches most are listening to and respecting your parents. He has such a way of making all the kids love him, yet respect him fully at the same time. They don't dare disrespect him, and yet he is also very kind and loving. Gage really likes it and I think it's really good for him. Grand Master Won Ki Hong is from Korea and has a very thick accent. It took Gage some time to adjust to it and understand what he was saying. He and his wife (who works the desk) love Gage. They always comment on how he's so smart and "like an old man". Recently, Grand Master has been getting after Gage to not be so serious and to smile more. It's funny because he's not like that anywhere else but there. In this picture is one of Gage's favorite friends, Yi Geon Pak. He is also Korean and has such good form and technique. He's a good friend to Gage, always encouraging him.

On this night, Gage was testing for his green belt. He always gets very nervous on testing nights because it is very formal and serious, even more so than his regular classes, and there are a lot of people there. The first part of his testing is sparring, where they partner up and spar each other. That's what Gage gets most excited about. At the end of the skills test, Grand Master will ask each student various questions, all different. For Gage, he asked him about his family and if he is kind to his sisters, even when they bug him. He also asked him to demonstrate how he responds when his mother calls him. He even asked me to play my role, and then let Gage respond. Gage did it, but it really embarassed him and as soon as Grand Master moved on to the next student, I saw Gage wiping tears away.

Growing up, my brothers went to a wrestling studio under Mu Chang. He was a Korean man who taught my brothers innumerable things. He became a close family friend and I remember once when I was very young that about four or five of his friends/family came from Korea to stay with us for a few days. That was really neat. As it turns out, Grand Master is a very good friend of Mu Chang's and really enjoyed talking with Dad about it when he came to watch Gage once. I am hopeful that Gage will learn the same principles and qualities that my brothers did. Confidence, self-discipline, respect, honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, hard-work and fun.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

The day I have dreaded since Gage was born inevitably came today, August 11th, 2010. He is off to start a new and exciting adventure and I have mixed feelings. I'm excited for him - all the fun things, learning, the gain of independence are all good things for him and for that I am happy. But I miss him. He's only gone for three hours and I miss him. Is he prepared? Will he make friends? Will he be teased because of his glasses? Have we taught him enough to make good choices? I suppose it's partly because I know that his long school career has begun and there's no turning back. The freedom of doing what we want, when we want is gone. My little boy is growing up. It's a good thing......right? I've tried my darndest to hide these feelings from him, but he feels it too. He's too much of a deep thinker not to. He tells me that he loves school now (it was a little rough the first week). Today's conversation went like this:

Me: Gage, how was school today?
Gage: Oh, it was awesome! I love it! But can I not go tomorrow?
Me: I don't understand. You tell me all the time how much you love it, but then you say you don't want to go. Why?
Gage: I know it doesn't really make sense, Mom. It's hard to explain. I really do like school, but I like being at home more. I like playing with you and Bella and Paisley.

I hope he always prefers home over any other place. (Except maybe when he's 25...because that might be weird.) I was very social growing up and always had lots of friends that I loved to be with. I remember it caused some problems between me and my parents because they wanted me home. I could never understand it then, I thought I was just being normal and they were being odd. But now.....oh, how I understand it. And Gage is only 6!

This picture just makes me laugh. He's always overdoing his poses in pictures.

Walking from the car into his classroom, he was all smiles and really excited. Rob and I both got to take him and he thought that was really cool.

And then the excitement turned to this. He was scared and unsure. The teacher asked them to write their name on this picture and then color it. Gage can write his name and does so all the time. But he wrote it and it didn't even resemble letters. In all my anxiety I worried that the teacher may think he was really behind and told him to erase it and rewrite it. He did and it didn't look any better. He was nervous and I was NOT helping. Poor guy.

And then his face looked like this!! Just look at him! He was killing me!! But I should get the Academy Award because I put on my best face and even laughed (I mean, really, how silly) at the teacher's suggestion to us that we attend the "Boo Hoo Yahoo" where all the sad parents could meet and have questions answered about the goings-on of kindergarten. Secretly, I REALLY wanted to go to that sob-fest.

Before we left, I reminded him that he is our "Boy of Steel" and he faked his best smile. I held it together all the way out to that same sidewalk where Gage was so prematurely excited and then I lost it. Rob just laughed at me and put his arm around me. I had my own little private sob-fest all the way home.

Later that day, when Gage came home he showed me another picture he had colored. The teacher asked them to draw a picture and write a word (if they could) about how they were feeling. Gage wrote: "SAD". Ugh. But at least I could read it.

P.S. A couple of side notes that I forgot. In June, my friend asked Gage if he was getting excited to start school. He said, "Ummm, kinda. I'm worried that all the kids are going to think I'm bald." (He had just gotten his haircut really short for summer).

During the first week of school, he told me that he didn't like going because he felt like he was missing out on things at home. I told him that the only thing he was missing was chores. He said he didn't believe me and that he just knows that I take the girls to Dairy Queen while he's at school. Ha!!

GAGE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

We had Gage's Birthday party at Bounc U on July 10th. My camera battery died after about 5 minutes so my superfox friend, Erna, came to my rescue and took all these pictures for us. What a great friend to do that. Thank you!

The kids had spent an hour jumping, climbing, running, and bouncing.

Gage was so happy to have his friends there. Reese, Wade, Ryleigh, Ellie, Neil, Luke, Natalie, Lincoln, Jake and cousin Callie came.

These two girls had no trouble at all eating all this cake!!

We all had a great time and especially liked that the party was INDOORS!!

Is there any wonder where Gage's personality comes from??????????

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAGE!

You're 6!!! What??? Every memory of you is etched so deeply in my mind, so vividly. How is it that six years have gone by in the blink of an eye? The girls used their money to get you this Buzz Lightyear sprinkler. They couldn't wait for you to open it.

You are always posing and being silly - such a ham. We love that about you!

We were supposed to spend your birthday in Snowflake going to the rodeo and watching the fireworks, but the day before your birthday, you got sick with some sort of flu. We drove home so as not to get baby Mack sick too. You are the toughest kid when you're sick. You are always reassuring me that you're ok, it's ok, it's going to be fine. All of this in the middle of throwing up. It's amazing. You were going to help Grandma make my birthday cake and I, in turn, was going to make your cake, but.....we have this store-bought cake instead. Next year, buddy!!!

You still love exploring indoors and out, catching bugs and lizards, making up games and stories. You still pretend to be a pirate, a jedi master, a superhero, a cowboy, and anything else your imagination comes up with. You get so focused on something or on daydreaming, that sometimes you don't hear your name being called right in front of you. You love your sisters and your friends. You love to make people laugh and you know how to be kind. We have been learning about the Golden Rule and you remind us all of that. You want to make us happy - you get so sad if you think you've disappointed us. You want to make your Father in Heaven happy too. We hope that you will keep your zest for life and your love for others. No matter how many birthdays you have, you will always be our baby boy.

EXCITING DAY FOR GAGE

Today was a particulary exciting day for Gage. Rob and I have continued to be frustrated (as I'm sure Gage's soccer coach is) about Gage's overall soccer performance. We don't need or expect him to be the best or to score all kinds of goals. More than anything we just want him to try his best. I just don't even think I can accurately describe Gage during a soccer game. He just stands there, even when the ball is right at his feet, he freezes. It's so bizarre. I decided that he just must not be interested in soccer and doesn't like it, but I have continually asked him if he likes it and wants to keep playing and he excitedly says how he loves soccer. It just doesn't make sense.









Last night, Rob asked him if he wanted to play in his soccer game the next day or if he just wanted to do something else and he again insisted that he loves soccer. Rob asked him again and Gage said, "Dad, it seems like you don't want me to play soccer anymore." He is so insightful. He has no idea how it's pure torture for us to watch his games.









Well, I sat him on my lap in the rocking chair and started talking to him about it and asking questions. I discovered what should have been so obvious. He was afraid of the ball smacking him in the face and afraid of being hurt by one of the other kids. I talked to him about the courage and what that means. I reminded him that he is a boy of steel and even though he's afraid, he can be brave and push through it. I told him one of the best ways of doing that was to pray for courage and strength. We continued to remind him of this on the way to the game the next day and he was fired up.









It paid off. He played a whole different game that day. He still wasn't the best on the field, and that's really ok. More important, he was doing his very best. He was facing his fears and playing the best game of his life. The last play of the game, he broke away from the pack with the ball and scored a GOAL!!!!! We were so excited!! But my pride was not about the goal, it was that he had faced it and overcome it and had done his absolute best. That was a great feeling for all of us.









Gage, you really are a boy of steel. Remember that feeling always, facing down your fears and overcoming them.










Later that afternoon, he lost his first tooth!!!!!! He was so excited and I actually got a little emotional secretly.









So, in one night the tooth fairy AND the Easter Bunny visited. The tooth fairy brought him one dollar and the Easter Bunny brough a basket full of goodies.

TREASURE BOX

At the end of each month, Gage gets to use his "funny money" that he's earned throughout the month for doing little good deeds at preschool. His teacher lets them buy little trinkets as a reward. Did he get toy cars? Rubber lizards? Candy? Nope. He came home with these beauties.

Papa LaDuke would be so proud.

SOCCER

Gage played soccer with his friend, Golden, this fall. These boys are so cute and fun to watch. Just look at these pictures......adorable!

SNAKES, SNAILS, AND PUPPY DOG TAILS

Gage is the epitomy of this saying. This boy can entertain himself all day long outside. Often, he sets up his animals outside and plays some sort of game with them, running back and forth to the walls trying to catch lizards and bugs. He is fascinated with it all. I love it!!