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Happy Lily Surprise

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Often enough in recent times, Lily will excitedly sneak behind me, encircle her little arms around my back, covering my eyes with her cute hands to happily shout, “Happy Lily Surprise!”.

Yet, she has already succeeded over the the last 4 years to truly amaze and surprise me at how bright she really is.

Don’t get me wrong, Emma, my older daughter is also pretty smart for her age, but her younger sister is always been a bit quicker on the up take.

Maybe, it is because she idolizes and adores Emma wanting to always follow in her big sister’s footprints.

She is the younger sibling of Irish Twins that is constantly trying every which way to make the “Irish” in Irish Twin non-existent.

But even as far back as the early days, I surmised my younger baby was wise beyond her little years, when she began to call me, “Mama” at not quite a year old and by 13 months old, spoke her first phrase and was potty trained even before she turned 2.

Surprise Quote by Lisa Wilhite

I will never forget the night though that Lily spoke her first phrase as Kevin and I were sitting on our couch relaxing a bit after a long day.

We clearly heard a little unrecognizable voice coming from the other side of the room say, “I got it”.

Immediately, I turned to Kevin, quite taken by surprise asking, “That wasn’t Emma, right?”

Logically, we knew it wasn’t Emma’s voice, but still neither of us believed that Lily spoke that phrase as Emma although ahead of the curve for other milestones, was not as quick where her speech and vocabulary was concerned.  

Lily at 13 Months Old!

Lily at 13 Months Old!

Again, as many would tell you, “No two children are alike” and definitely not with milestones, such as speech.

But still that evening, our toddler came waddling over with her barely walking legs clearly and loudly expressing what we only we could have imagined with the three word phrase once again, “I got it!” to validate with our own eyes what we did indeed hear

One of many, Happy Lily Surprises!

And from there, she just took off and we never knew what, Lily would say or do to surprise us next.

So much of my past blog articles have been dedicated to her surprisingly, silly, but brilliant antics, such as this.

Trust me, when I say this kid, even though born at the end of the year in November, can run circles around some of the kids her age that are born months earlier at the first part of the same calendar year.

Lily-My sleeping Christmas Baby!

Lily-My sleeping Christmas Baby!

So, when the topic of redshirting came up for Lily, it was never a question of doubt in my mind that she would enter kindergarten the year she should.

Yet, when people hear how late in the year she is born, they can’t help, but wonder.

For those unfamiliar with red shirting, it is essentially the act of holding back a kid, who by all means age-wise is ready for kindergarten, but for others reasons, such as emotional, intellectual or even for physical size are kept back from entering elementary school for an extra year.

The thought never even crossed my mind, as my girl is pretty much right where she should be for her grade level, if not above.

I am nevertheless familiar with the concept, as former teacher, but also because Lily’s birthday is seven days before the kindergarten cut-off for her school grade here in NY.

And yet as much as I was aware of the arguments on both side of the redshirting debate, I admit I didn’t realize how common it was nowadays until last year, when it was Emma’s turn to be registered for kindergarten.

Emma has a July birthday and well before the kindergarten registration cut-off date.

So, for Emma, it was most definitely not a viable option here either to redshirt her.

But, still I clearly remember one of the parents in Emma’s pre-school class redshirting her son, because he was on the smaller and younger side.

Clearly, this is a personal choice though and would assume that on each side of the redshirting coin (those would have and those who haven’t) regrets might very well be more abundant then can even be imagined in the aftermath of this huge and momentous parental decision.

For Lily, though the decision was clearly made pretty early and through the years my prospective hasn’t wavered.

About a week ago, I was sitting with Emma, who was reading of her books to me.  Lily slid in next to me on the other side and began to read the words on the pages.  Not going to lie, I don’t home school and while I do read to her, I have not actively made her read to me.

Happier iPad Playing Sharing Moment

The Girls in Happier iPad Sharing Times Here…

So, imagine my surprise that, Lily was clearly reading the words on the Level 2 reading book.

Again, A Happy Lily Surprise indeed.

Even as recent, as this Monday, when Lily came out at pre-school dismissal after her evaluation (yes they test pre-school age children), were were told that she not only held her own and then some, but her teachers were blown away by the sheer volume of what she knew and was capable of for her age.

Lily blowing Out Candles

We partied it up at Lily’s 4th birthday, but now onto…

The Latest Lily Surprise, but sure many more will follow…

And for all of the above reasons and more, I will be a kindergarten mom again for the second year in a row this September as Lily was registered for Kindergarten over 2 weeks ago.

Bittersweet, for me, as this is the end of the baby and pre-school era, but excited for all the new, wonderful surprises and challenges to come Lily’s way in the upcoming school year.

Once again thank you to Lisa from The Golden Spoons for hosting the One Word Blog Challenge with this week’s word being, “Surprise”.

And for another “Surprise” announcement, I ecstatically accepted Lisa’s offer to help co-host this awesome and amazingly wonderful linkup weekly starting next week alongside Lisa and Marcia from Blogitudes on Wednesdays.

[Tweet “Life is full of surprises #1word @TheGoldenSpoons @Blogitudes “]

So, in the weeks to come, please feel free to join us. Again could not be happier as this linkup has given my writing a renewed sense of direction helping to grow, cultivate and bring my writing skills to new heights already.

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About Janine

Janine is a published author of the books, The Mother of All Meltdowns and Only Trollops Shave Above the Knee. She has been featured on The Huffington Post, Mamapedia, Today Parenting Team and SheKnows. She also runs her own graphic design company at J9 Designs.

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Comments

  2. Seana Turner says

    I sent my little, oldest daughter on to Kindergarten as well. She was definitely able to handle the academics… if anything was difficult, it was the social stuff. But no regrets. She actually graduated from college a semester early and will have been working full time for more than 6 months before she turns 22. Especially for girls, getting ahead of the game can be nice, as there is a lot going on in the early adult years (education, family, etc.). What fun it is to have precociously verbal little ones.. it is an insight into their brains!

  5. Ginny Marie says

    In Illinois our cut off date for Kindergarten is September 1 so Emmy is one of the youngest in her class with her July birthday. I considered having her wait a year, but she was also more than ready for Kindergarten!

  6. Susanne/The Dusty Parachute says

    So exciting, my little guy is heading off to Kindergarten this year too. I was a super late birthday (November) and very young for my class, my daughter is the youngest in hers as well (July birthday). Although we’ve never had any issues with grades or the ‘know-how’ part, I have noticed this year (4th grade) that her friends who are having some hormones kick in already) seem about 5 years older than her than just 1. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out during full on puberty.

  7. Susanne Lewis Kerns says

    My little guy is heading off to kindergarten this fall too. He wasn’t redshirted but he’ll probably be the oldest in his class since he’s a September birthday (Texas cut off is Sept 1). Worked out for us since he had a speech delay but since he’s 100 percentile for his height, he looks like a giant next to most of his classmates.

  9. Bev says

    I had never heard the term redshirting before. Learn something new every day! I think you know what’s best for your child, and it sounds like she is ready for kindergarten! I made the cut-off date by 3 days and was always one of the youngest (I wasn’t a legal adult until a month after I went away to college!) but I still succeeded in school. I was a little on the shyer side, but that was more personality that social readiness.
    And I love that she said “I got it” at 13 months. It sounds like she really does have it 😉

  10. Bill says

    I’ve never heard the word “redshirting’ used regarding school….sports, yes…..interesting that it is used that way, but it makes sense in a sports sort of way. Anyway, I was redshirted….not sure how I feel about that. LOL It might be a bit late for me to worry about it now. 🙂 Happy Hump Day, Janine.

  12. Dara says

    Lily starting kindergarten sounds like the right choice. I have the same thing with Simon, though our cut off here is earlier, so he is older than Lily, I think! But he is big and although he might be young, I think he belongs in the class he is currently in!

  13. Marcia @ Blogitudes says

    Lily! She is indeed full of happy surprises, Janine! Wow!!! She sounds seriously amazing! To have grown and accomplished SO much in such a short time! Wow, again! Your future there with her is going to be one very happy, exciting, incredible ride … and I hope you’ll keep us posted on her progress as I loved reading about them here today! Of all the surprises life carries – Lily-type surprises are the absolute best kind! 🙂 Go LIly!

    On a side note… I’m so seriously excited, too that Lisa decided to keep this One Word Challenge going! And I’m so extremely happy that she’s asked you and I to now help her with it! 🙂 I’m also very happy that it will give me an opportunity to get to know you better, Janine! These past eight weeks of the Challenge round, I’ve loved and tremendously enjoyed reading your excellent posts! I’m so glad that the Challenge will continue and that I can now keep reading more of them! 🙂 Lisa, really gave us a happy surprise this week by announcing the Challenge continuance and then asking us to help. Its first round hosted solely by her, was tremendously great. I know that together the three of us will work hard to keep it that way. Happy surprises! One Word! Two of my very favorite things! 🙂

    • Janine says

      Thank you so much Marcia, first off, for your kind words about, Lily. She really is an amazing little girl, who seems to blow me away more often then not. And as crazy as my days are with both my girls, I know I am blessed to have them.

      That said, I mean it when I say I am overjoyed that the three of us are going to continue the One Word Blog Challenge together now. It has been my absolute pleasure to link up weekly and also to get to know you and your blog so much better through it. I am honestly so happy and excited that we have indeed gotten to know each other better here and look forward to us learning more int he weeks to come from each other. Thank you so much always and really can’t say enough how happy I am to be a part of this with you ladies!! 🙂

  14. Eli@coachdaddy says

    Our kids have the capacity to amaze us, don’t they? It’s like we wind them up as babies, and spend the rest of the time watching them go. Just imagine how things will be around the dinner table as they both get older and begin to explore the world around them.

    • Janine says

      Eli, I couldn’t agree more and truly does so very much amaze me and can only imagine as both my girls do grow like yours, too. Crazy, but definitely look out for what will indeed come next 😉

  15. Jeannine says

    Your daughter sounds like an absolute delight! I hope they have a high-ability program at her school.
    My brother was born the end of August, and he went to K as a VERY YOUNG 5 year old, and he was a straight A+ student all his life.
    My 2nd daughter is a June baby, also started K as a young 5, and is in the High Ability program at her school (she takes after her uncle, I guess!)
    My 3rd daughter is also a late-August baby, actually started K about 2 weeks before her 5th birthday, and does very well both socially and academically (not high-ability, but definitely near the top of her class). There is NO WAY I could have put her through another year of pre school, she was just ready for Kindergarten.
    It seems like it’s popular these days to hold children back an extra year because, why not? But you really have to make the choice that is best for YOUR CHILD and for your family. Now, with my son, I kind of wish I’d waited another year, but… here we are. We’re all just doing the best we can, aren’t we?

  18. Diane Roark says

    Janine,

    I loved reading about Emma and Lily. I bet Lily is feeling like a big girl with being registered for kindergarten. Three of my kids were born in late August. Carly and Casey were extremely smart like Lily. Carly reading books at two years old and Casey walking at 9 months and reading at 3 years old. They both made the cut off to begin school in August. The birthday cut off was Sept. 1st. I started Carly on time and she was Valedictorian of her class, etc. Casey is also at the top of his class and will graduate from high school this year, but I held him back. He was premature at 4 pounds. He started playing ball at 4 years old. We held him back because of his size and I am glad we did. Another year helped him on the football and baseball field. It was truly a very difficult decision and I am so glad it all worked out.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Diane Roark

    • Janine says

      Diane, I can truly understand what a hard choice this is for moms to have to make. I know I put both my girls in the year they should have been, but still can clearly see from what you shared that this wasn’t an easy decision to make nor one you took lightly. Glad it worked out for both Carly and Casey and sounds like you make the right decision for both. Thank you for sharing this with me today! 😉

  21. Rosey says

    Little smart cookie. Love the, ‘I got it,’ that’s hysterical! I can only imagine how shocked/delighted you were. 🙂
    My youngest was born in Sept. and when it was time to put him in school I did, even though we could have waited a year. He could do the work but he was never confident. After a lot of hemhauling around I finally opted to hold him back at the end of the year. Best decision I ever made. 😉 He’s reading at 4th grade level in the 1st grade now, and he’s not a bit wavering in his academic confidence (thank goodness). For us it seemed like he’d either always be a bit behind or a bit ahead. We opted for ahead…well, mostly I did. Hubby didn’t want to do it, and still says it wasn’t a good idea, BUT he did defer to me on that one, letting me decide, and I’m so so so glad he did. In my gut and heart and I know it was what was best.

    • Janine says

      Rosey, I think we (moms) just know in our hearts and guts what is best for our kids and I do recall you mentioning this to me about your son in the past and love that he is doing so well in the 1st grade (seriously awesome about the reading!) 🙂

  22. Kelly Suellentrop says

    Redshirting is such a hot topic, but I love that you went with your gut. I think everything else should fall away when it comes to that. My son is actually in his second year of Kindergarten, and that ended up being the right decision because it is what felt right for HIM…not based on anything else. I was always the youngest in my class, and I did just fine! And you know your daughters well enough to know they will too.

    • Janine says

      Thanks Kim and she actually just spoke to Emma’s kindergarten teacher who called to tell me how well Emma was doing now and is even more excited hoping she gets the same teacher next year now 🙂

  27. Jack says

    Sounds like you are getting nothing but good surprises. I remember when I realized my days as a preschool dad were behind me. It was surreal, but in a good way. There are so many good things about every age.

  29. April G says

    I’ve noticed that Butterfly is moving along quite quickly as well. Both of my children will be some of the oldest in the class, thus redshirting (I didn’t know they applied this to school), will unlikely be an option. They are WAY past the cut off, and will both be almost 6 when they enter Kindergarten. I feel like Bunny was much farther ahead than the girls, but that also may be because he went to school outside the home so I “learned” as he learned. Butterfly has already appropriately been replying “Thank You” without being prompted, counting to 10 and trying to sing her A, B, Cs. They are all amazing!

  30. Dana says

    My son is one of the youngest in his grade – his birthday is four weeks before the cut-off. He has friends in the grade below him who are actually older than he is! Yet after three years of preschool, we had no doubt that he was ready for kindergarten. Nine years later, I think we made the right decision.

  32. Lisa @ The Golden Spoons says

    Red shirting is very common here, too, especially among boys. However, our cut off dates are different. Kids have to be 5 by Aug. 31 to start kindergarten. My oldest & youngest both have August birthdays and I never considered redshirting either of them. My oldest is currently attending a magnet school for academically gifted kids and is maintaining and almost 100% grade average in every class and she says it’s easy. Holding them back was never a consideration for us either.

  33. Amanda @ Growing Up Madison says

    I’m beginning to think that it might be true for the 2nd child since my Kyle surpassed his big sister when it came to speech and almost everything else. Even now he’s taking college math and only in the 8th grade. I remember he was actually promoted to a grade above his age level but cried because he missed his friends so we moved him back. It’s something I regret doing now but he’ll still graduate at age 17 instead of 18 so not too bad. 🙂 Lily is always full of surprises and you’ll be surprised even when you’re old and gray. 🙂

  34. Rabia @TheLiebers says

    Frances missed the cutoff here by 5 days. At first I was annoyed to have to keep her back, but now I’m glad I did.
    She’s very bright and she’s tested into the gifted program, but she’s also very immature and she’s on the small side. My boys are springtime/early summer birthdays, but people keep saying they’re young. I think they really mean ‘small,’ but that’s not news to me. I’m small too!

  36. Stephanie @ Life, Unexpectedly says

    How amazing!! In our home, Lily is clearly the ambitious one of the sisters, Violet is more dreamy, playful, and somewhat protective of her baby-girl position 🙂 We do have a system like that as well in Germany, with the official cut-off date for entering first grade being September 30. Kids born between October 1 and December 31 can test into starting early, and sometimes kids that are born before the cut-off date can be held back a year for the reasons you mentioned above, but it all has to be backed up by teacher and sometimes psychological recommendation. I am really, really glad I don’t have any so-called “can-kids” (those that “can” start school but don’t “have” to). It’s definitely a hard decision to make, and not always as clear-cut as with your Lily. Most parents here actually decide on keeping their “can-kids” home an extra year…

    • Janine says

      Stephanie, it is becoming more prevalent here, as well, but still glad I didn’t have to make that hard decision with either of my girls. And think you may be right about the name, Lily though 😉

  37. Tamara says

    She looks so much like you in that last photo! Wow!
    We don’t have that option of sending kids to kindergarten unless their birthday is before September 1st! I don’t think they make ANY exceptions, but clearly Lily is so ready. And if she were my kid and born in November, I’d build a strong case against her being ready to go!
    Scarlet’s best friend has a November birthday so is on her third year of preschool and she’s so bored!

    • Janine says

      Tamara, I get told quite often that Lily looks more like me then Emma does, as Emma is pretty much a carbon copy of Kevin with brown hair! But still, I am glad the cut-off here is at the end of November, because I would so have been fighting for her to be in Kindergarten and not pre-school again. As it is soccer get cut-off at July 31st and Lily was behind for that and truly bored. So much so that we stopped soccer this past year for her because of it.

  38. Gingi says

    I loved reading about the differences between your two girls! I keep hearing no two kids are alike, and how my two girls will be SO different. I seriously can’t even begin to wrap my head around HOW they will be different.. I can’t even begin to fathom! Great post my friend, thank you for sharing! <3 – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com

  39. Chris Carter says

    Look at THAT!!! She is a constant amazing surprise indeed!!! Wow Janine, you have a smart little kicker over there!! Next year will be so different for you… sad but liberating!! What a proud mommy moment for you, over and over again, it seems… so wonderful!!

  41. Rea says

    Lily is such a darling! She should be ready for kindergarten. What a milestone for you as a mom — though both kids are growing up and may be hard to fathom, it’s a great achievement for all of you in the family.

  42. Aunt Gloria says

    You have two little scholars Janine! Glad the smart genes are kicking in! I know Lily will do very well in kindergarten, as Emma has. I do hate that the system puts such pressure on the little ones to perform academically. I remember kindergarten as fun and not pressure……and we did learn our abc’s and numbers. Looking forward to seeing you soon. Happy weekend! xxoo

    • Janine says

      Thanks again Aunt Gloria and also not a fan of the push for the kids to know as much as they do at 5 and just wish it could be more about having fun and being a kid still. See the you soon xoxo

  43. Jhanis says

    Such an awesome kid Janine! She is indeed smart! My daughter started nursery at 3 years old, the same age my son joined nursery however, I realized later that I should have waited a bit longer. She is a bit behind on reading and math and thinks school is just a place for her to socialize. LOL She also had challenges in speech but she is improving bit by bit.

  46. Tamara says

    Loved to read about Lily’s surprises. Aaaawww on the xmas baby picture!

    We “green shirted” our son to start first grad a year earlier because he was reading fluently, doing math, etc. He’s doing great in school. No regrets there.
    But I do hear you on the “downside” – they are gone from the house, pursuing their career.

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