Have I told you lately how proud I am of my kiddos?
I don’t think I could be any prouder of them right now.
Gilbert is powering through the end of the year and surprising everyone with his growing focus and drive. At a time of year where he would be forgiven for being overwhelmed with the demands of the silly season, he has been improving every day at school.
Yesterday he brought me to tears when he got up on stage with his class for their performance in the school christmas pageant. He had been adamant prior to the day that he wasn’t going to be in it, but the lure (or bribe!) of candy canes got him up there in the end. And he did brilliantly.
I bawled my eyes out. Happy tears. Proud tears. Relieved tears.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be completely relaxed with his move to a mainstream class, but milestones like today give me renewed hope that all will be okay in the end.
Matilda is also trying her best, despite being unwell and feeling the increasing stress of the end of the year. She is missing a particular friend at school but that’s not stopping her from involving herself with her other classmates, which is absolutely lovely to see.
She has made her own christmas cards this year and is painstakingly making her way through them, adding a personal message to each one. I haven’t even looked at christmas cards for me yet – her organisation and drive is a real inspiration to me.
Her growing maturity is also a source of pride. Yesterday she waited patiently for an hour for her face to be painted only to be told that they had run out of time and she would miss out. Instead of getting upset with the disappointment, she moved on to another activity and kept her cool – that is real progress.
Delilah, my baby, is growing up in front of my eyes every single day. Her vocabulary and conversation skills are far more advanced that her siblings’ at the same age and she just seems too smart for her own good at times. Which is both frightening and exciting…
We’re about to embark on toilet training and, while inconvenient (and slightly embarrassing!), seeing her trying to get her pants off in public yesterday shows me that she’s ready to give it a go.
Her progress in staying in her bed every evening and throughout the night also makes my heart swell with pride. We have struggled with getting her to stay in bed at all and it’s a relief to finally see some progress and a light at the end of the tunnel.
So, considering all that progress, please forgive me for being extremely proud of my kids right now!
What’s making you proud as punch of your kids today?
I know how you feel. That feeling of pride overwhelms me at times too. Especially with my son who has challenges. It’s been a great year.
Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit
Leanne, it’s fabulous to look back and see just how far they’ve come, particularly when you lose that perspective in the day-to-day challenges. So glad to hear it’s been a great year for you too!
So you should be proud of them all. Well done Gilbert, Matilda and Delilah 😉
Thanks Mumabulous – they are good kids, I am a lucky mumma to have been blessed with them!
It’s so lovely to read this Kirsty and you should be proud! I am so proud of all my kids but I know there will be tears of pride this week when my eldest graduates from primary school. He has had many struggles along the way but rarely complains and whilst I am anxious about the challenges ahead I am going to continue to instil in him the confidence that he can still a achieve so many great things.
Thanks Martine. And all the best to you and your son. Making that move from primary to secondary school is a challenge for every child. I agree that instilling confidence in our kids gives them the best chance to thrive – that’s what I’m trying to do, anyway!
Beautiful post Kirsty and I agree there is nothing like a Mother’s pride when you children have extra challenges to cope with too.
Thanks Trish. We should all be allowed our indulgent mother posts once in a while, shouldn’t we?
What a beautiful post Kirsty! I love reading posts that are so positive and proud about kids. And you should be proud!
What an achievement all of them have made for themselves – I have the biggest silliest smile from reading this post.
Have an amazing rest of the weekend lovely xxx
Thanks so much Miss Cinders!
It’s so lovely to have those proud moments. I’m proud of my boys as they had to cope with a lot of change this year, going to a new school and they’ve done well.
Btw Gilbert, Matilda and Delilah are such beautiful old-fashioned names. Gorgeous.
My kids have handled everything thrown at them this year (we moved house earlier this year too so that made the challenges even harder) so I am very, very proud of how they’ve come through.
As for their names, they are not their real life names, as cute as they are. They are the names of their teddy bears that we use to identify them instead of their real names. The girls have old fashioned classic names in real life too, but Gilbert’s is a little more out there. I do catch myself calling them Gilbert, Matilda and Delilah occasionally – they think it’s hilarious!!!