Kate

It was simply a privilege to watch little 2 year old Kate these last 6 weeks. Carianne substitute taught for the same teacher who took her place when she gave up teaching to have Kate. Now the teacher needed a sub for her 6 weeks maternity leave. Enter: a loving, overjoyed, and delighted Grandma and Grandpa! Every morning (except on Wednesdays, when she went to her cousins house) Carianne would bring her by at 7:00 AM or so. She would say, "I came back!" Then the fun would begin. Play time took on a whole new meaning. Think about it. PLAY TIME. What a wonderful way to spend your life. And she shared it with us! Kate gets A+'s in all her playtime subjects: A+ - One Step Ahead After the first couple of story days at the library, I learned that I didn't need to panic when the door opened and everyone exited at the same time . . . except Kate, who skipped out far ahead of the rest. My heart would race! I'd be so relieved when I'd see her at the computers, where she looked to be extremely focused, typing something very important, I'm sure. It was as if she had a sign across her forehead that read "I'm gifted". A+ - Mechanically Inclined Big train parks and little train parks, a train is a TRAIN! She can't ride them enough. We were off to ride the Desert Breeze train on a Friday and learned it was broken and had to be repaired. That is just plain hard for a little girl to understand. The "train doctor" seemed to be my best answer to her sadness. Over and over again, "Where's the train?" "At the train doctor, getting fixed." "Fixed?" "Yep, the train doctor is going to fix that little train." "Where's the train?" "At the train doctor, getting fixed up." "Where's the boy?" (the kid who greeted all the kids and led them in a rousing "All aboard!") She doesn't miss anything. Then, after a week, we went back to the train park to ride the repaired train. We got there just in time to see the repairman (the train Dr.) give the train a few new tightenings and a trial run. Kate watched for 20 minutes until he finally latched the door back onto the engine so the train would be complete again. She didn't have to worry any more. She was overjoyed! A+ Independence The first couple of weeks (before she knew I couldn't keep from laughing) she would say in a sad voice, "I'm going home to find my Mommy, all ba ba ba ma ma ma ma self!" A+ Creative I was surprised when she would slide down the spiral / tunnel slippery slide over and over . . .backwards! That's right, head first! Then she would run all the way to the front of the jungle gym maze - up, down and through, until she got to the top of the slide again. Laying down, head first like super girl, she'd come down again and again. Every time her hair would get bigger and bigger from the static electricity inside. After a while, people would gather to wait for her static hair, head first landings. A+ Miss Congeniality The carousel is a perfect place to gather friends. Kate would be so excited to choose just the right horse, giraffe, or rooster. She could hardly sit still and hold on at the same time. As we rode around and around, it was her duty to wave to everyone she saw. The same people again and again. As she smiled and waved so genuinely, the response from by passers got bigger, also. They would watch for the cute little girl that LOVED the carousel . . . and them! A+ Map Quest As we'd ride along, it became a game to look for familiar destinations. I'd say,"Tell me when you see it!" She would look hard and sure enough, almost pop out of her seat when she knew we were there. Then I'd hear her say, "Tell me when you see it!" As if I'd be so surprised to finally find the place. A+ Families are Forever We were in Gilbert one morning with Grandma and Grandpa B. We noticed that it got quiet so we started half looking for Kate. As we walked into the patio room, Kate came running from the corner by the ice cream machine. With excitement in her little voice, she said, "WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!" For a little girl that frequents that corner for ice cream, she knew that it just wasn't the same without Family sitting around like usual. That makes Grandpa Buehner proud. The stories go on and on. . . And the grades only get more perfect! Did I mention it was a complete joy to watch Kate? Thank you for sharing her, dear Carianne and Rusty! (Brought to you in part by the Randy and Jody Clawson Grandchildren Watch Foundation.)