Gabe's Turn!

I must admit... Anna has dominated the blog lately! Sorry baby boy!

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Last week, I attended a curriculum meeting at Gabe's new school, which was very nice. One of the exercises the parents had to do was complete "My Hopes and Dreams for My Child Are ______:" So I write my hopes and dreams for Gabe...
1. ....To know how smart and special he is
2. ....To know he can conquer whatever task lay ahead of him
3. ....To know he is supported and loved
4. ....To have confidence and stand tall and strong.

As the meeting is coming to an end, I start walking around the classroom, and I stumble upon a recent project the class did. It was, what else? My Hopes And Dreams! As I am looking at the photos of the smiling faces and the pictures with "To explore the world" or "Become a doctor"... I find Gabe's.

Next to my kid's funny (obnoxious) face, I see he drew two firey volcanoes and underneath it says:
"I hope I get fired up from a volcano."

While I am slightly mortified, Manny thinks it's hysterical and, in his own words, says "That's Awesome!"

I ask, "Why is this awesome?"
And he explains... "Who doesn't want to jump into something and be catapulted up into the sky?"
I had to admit. He had a good point.

Later, when I asked Gabe about this certain Hope And Dream, he was very sad the kids at school laughed and didn't take him seriously. I told him that sometimes, upon first impression, people just don't get it. But eventually, they will.

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The other morning, I walked out of the kitchen for a mere 2 seconds to come back and find Gabe 3 1/2 feet off the ground in our entranceway. I loved Anna's facial expression sitting next to him; it almost says, "I advised him not to do this."