I think my little Monet needs a little recognition. I feel like I post all about the younger kids because they are constantly changing. And with Elise being the oldest, things are new on that end too. Simone is the youngest, Miles is the boy, and Elise is the oldest. But Monet is the awesome middle child!
Monet is an amazing kid. She's got this little sponge of a brain that pretty much soaks up everything. But what is even more amazing about her is her eagerness to learn. She loves a challenge.
When she was two, I was taking a load of stuff to the D.I. In it was a toy with the alphabet letters on it. Monet played with that toy the whole trip there, and I decided that maybe we should keep it afterall. I'm glad I did. It totally taught her the alphabet and the sounds.
When she was nearly three, her grandpa challenged all the kids and grandkids to learn Helaman 5:12, and promised them all a chocolate bar if they could memorize this super long scripture.
So as I was trying to memorize it as I was cooking, I was saying the verses over and over, and suddenly here is little tiny Monet who can't say many of her consonants, and she has it all memorized with me.
She was very motivated by that "big, big chocolate bar!"
In Kindergarten, she acquired her first American Girl doll, Nicky. And because she had the doll, she felt she needed to read the book. So she read her first AG doll chapter book in Kindergarten. More recently, she's been flying through the Harry Potter books and keeps us updated regularly on which page she is on.
Her teachers are amazed with how quickly she catches on to things and retains the information she is learning.
Monet is super tough! She went out for a run with me one day and did three miles just like that. We did another mile for a family reunion, and her short little legs finished the race in eleven minutes or so. I thought that was great! We've started biking a lot more recently and Monet was keeping up with us on her little 16" bike she's had since she was three. She was pretty awesome because even without gears, she didn't want to stop on the huge hills.
Jared is coaching her basketball team this year. It is her first year and she is one of the smallest. But she is great at rebounding and she finds a way to get that ball away from the other team.
I love that Monet still really wants to sit by me and cuddle with me. When I was pregnant with Miles, she'd always lay on the couch with me when I wasn't feeling well. And when he was born, she had to reach up and hold his hand when I had him in the sling. She had a real need to touch him. Even when they were in the car, she'd figure out a way to hold onto his foot in the carseat. She was such a sweet sister. She loved to cuddle. I think I need to do a better job at remembering that just because she is older now and there are toddlers occupying my lap, she still needs some of that cuddling.
