children....

Today Thad and I wento to conferences for Ryan, Kate, and Olivia. I was reminded early on that our children really are a product of their parents.

Ryan's conferences went well. He is a very bright kid who is quite social. My parents used to come home from conferences telling me that my teachers said I was social (read: talks a lot).
I see a lot of other similarities between Ryan and me. Ryan is private. Believe it or not, for as much as I talk, I keep a lot to myself. (I know hard for you to grasp) He seems to have an easier time being himself around his friends than his family.
Ryan perplexes me almost daily, but more often that not I find myself thinking, "I so get him." It's difficult to explain....
Friends are Ryan's world. Mine were too. Family comes in handy either a)when he's bored or b) when he's grounded.
I could write a book about Ryan, but hey, this post was intended to be more about Kate.

Kate's conferences also went well. She is also very bright and incredibly sweet. I discussed my concern over her flightiness. As we described things Kate does (or doesn't do), her teacher said, "Based on what you're telling me, she seems to not be too concerned with closure. Does she leave cupboards or drawers open?" Thad looked at me (hello I am the SAME way), and said, "Oh yes she does that."
It hit me today that maybe I'm flighty. I like to think of myself as a disorganized organized person, but lately I'm becoming straight up distracted. Kate and I are both messy people. We care about how we present ourselves, but our surroundings are rather....chaotic.
I wouldn't say I am as flighty as Kate, but like my dad always says, "She comes by it honestly."

Liv's conferences were good too. Her handwriting is atrocious as is her coloring, but she's a young five. She also doesn't seem to care about coloring within the lines. What a change it is going from a fifth grader's conferences to a kindergartner's.
Olivia gets from me her rather outgoing/though exterior. Beneath that, we are both incredibly sensitive. She, like her mama, can crumble rather easily.

Brady...who the heck knows. So far he is sweet, busy, and super friendly/happy. My mom says I was like that as a baby. Thad's mom says he was that way too.

All I know is that we can not create perfect children. When they are the genetic combination of their mother and father, anything can happen. Hekc with the genetics my kids have, they very well may be screwed!