End of Year Family Awards 2026

Quinn, this year you completed your first year as a middle schooler. It wasn’t always easy, but you managed to push through it all. That’s why, this year, you are receiving the BULLDOZER award. I can think of several examples where you had to just plow through the difficult times in order to achieve your goal: pushing through the challenging PACE projects and sticking with it even when you wanted to give up, growing in baseball – from not wanting to get up to bat to swinging and having fun, taking on your Hebrew tutoring sessions and practicing even when it felt overwhelming, and never complaining when it was time to get ready and go to cotillion, even if it wasn’t your favorite thing. And there were a few times this year when others tried to take you down to their level, tried to upset, deceive, manipulate, or bully you, and you would not let them get to you. You were tough, driven, and stood up for yourself. Like a bulldozer that pushes through anything in its way to clear the path ahead, you are driven, decisive, and forceful in standing up for yourself and not taking anyone else’s “bull.”  

Knox, this year we are awarding you the “I GOT THIS” award. When I think back to a year ago, you were worried about going to camp, unsure you could be away for 3 and a half weeks. But when you got home, you were so sad that camp was over. You know that it’s okay to be a little homesick but still have fun with new and old friends. This school year, you learned so much! Your handwriting has improved greatly since August, you are on the A honor roll, and your math facts have vastly improved! At home, you’re sleeping in your own room again – even going to sleep without someone in the room with you. You are trying all kinds of new foods, packing your own lunch, taking charge of your snacks and knowing you need to be eating healthfully to grow taller. You tried baseball for the first time this year. You didn’t love the first season, but by the end, you saw that your team could come together and be really good! This season, you started swinging that bat, sliding, taking chances at stealing, and running so fast. You have grown so independent this school year, and it shows. You are capable of so much more – making your own meals at home, trying to earn money to buy what you want, getting yourself ready for school with less help, and remembering what you need each day. As our youngest, we often forget how capable you are, and I love hearing you say, “I got you!” Because you do – you got me, and you got this!

Banner, your award this year is the RELUCTANT ENTHUSIAST! If you think back to the beginning of the year, you were uncertain about marching band. You had also spent much of the summer preparing for baseball try outs. You didn’t know what was going to happen when the school year started. You were reluctantly along for the ride. But when things got underway and turned out the way they did, you were enthusiastic about all that you were involved with. You jumped into leadership roles in Kaplan and through the BBYO year – helping to steer a convention you couldn’t even attend, running for and being elected Moreh, and attending IC. You have put in so much time and practice to band, and you eagerly applied and auditioned for section leader. HGAP wasn’t always easy, but you pushed through it and learned the way Mr. Cotto teaches and tests in order to be more successful. You easily could have dropped the class, but you stuck with it and even taught us some of the lessons you learned. You weighed the options carefully and over time when it came to a couple of antisemitic classmates who were constant distractions in class. When you finally had enough, you set reluctance aside to stand up for what is right. Banner, sometimes you’re unsure, but when you finally put your mind to something, you are unstoppable. 

 

Tova, this year, you earned the RIGHT AT HOME award! This year, you learned to make yourself comfortable in our new house. You are the one who spends the most time here, and you have found some very cozy places to settle in. You found a favorite spot upstairs where you can see pretty much the whole house and everything going on. You don’t like using the turf to pee and poop, but you’re willing. You can navigate our new neighborhood with ease, and you know our new routines around this house. While I think you still prefer to go on walks behind the old house, and you still know exactly how to get to the Chesterwood house from the park, you know that wherever your people are, that is home. 

And Another Year Makes 10! (Knox's Newsletter)

Dear Knox, 

We've officially known each other for an entire decade. How is that even possible that 10 years have come and gone so quickly!? Obviously, to you, it's been a lifetime, but to me, it's been the blink of an eye, and as I reflect on 10 years of knowing you, I see 10 years of you at all your various ages and stages flash before my eyes. I have loved being in the very front row with the best seat possible as you've grown these past 10 years. 

Here's what you're like at 10!

-You have your own, very unique style and personality. You have never shied away from wearing, snuggling with, or asking for whatever you want. You continue to pretty much always wear a hoodie - no matter the weather. You adore your bubble slides. They are currently the purple ones, which you reluctantly got after you outgrew your pink ones. For Hanukkah you asked for pink Croc slippers. You won't wear a coat when it's cold, but you don't mind grabbing your blue zipper hoodie with the white, fluffy trim around the hood (part of your Sans Halloween costume from a couple years ago). You wear the same bunny pajamas (of which you have 3 different sets) every night. You have interesting stuffed animals/friends - Bibsicle (from Yeeps) and Dingus (Gorilla Tag toy), for example, and you love wearing your cow hat, dressing up in your banana costume, or watching the iPad under your burrito blanket. 

-You still won't eat a vegetable. Your picky food habits have made nutritious selection and meal-planning a real chore. Packing your lunch for school each morning is the most stressful part of my day - and yours too perhaps. We have an appointment with some ARFID specialists in the coming weeks, and I'm hopeful that will give us some ideas on how to help you. The variety of foods you eat is dwindling, with you becoming pickier and pickier, and that should be going the other way at this age. Here's a list of foods you DO eat: dino nuggies, chicken patties, steak, hamburgers, ramen noodles, coffee ice cream, watermelon (most of the time), pizza, apple slices, bananas with chocolate syrup, chicken tenders, kolaches, donuts, spaghetti, waffles, and pancakes.  You've recently developed a liking for drumsticks, which blows my mind because dark meat is gross in my opinion! What you DO eat, you don't eat much of. You'll ask me to make you ramen, but then you will only eat about 2-3 bites. You want hot chocolate, but you won't finish but maybe 1/3 of it. Which leads me to your stats:

WEIGHT: 60.8 pounds = 15th percentile

HEIGHT: 52.125 inches = 18th percentile

BMI: 15.74 = 33rd percentile

Your weight percentile stayed the same from last year, and your height percentile dropped a percentage, which wouldn't be a big deal except it has steadily declined over the past several years. I just worry you're not growing enough as you don't eat enough or enough variety, specifically when it comes to nutritious food.

-Gaming is your passion. You love VR and iPad time. You hop on the VR and play with Damon or other friends. You love Gorilla Tag, but you play other games also. You spend way too much time on these devices, and it's something Dad and I want to limit more. You do play with random kids sometimes, and we hear you playing with them, instructing them on how to do something or helping them with a task they want to complete. It's actually very sweet, and you are so active while VR-ing, but it's just too much screen time. 

-You had the best time at GFC this past summer. I'm so proud of you for going your first long session and letting yourself have the best time. You even came home saying you might want to go to a Jewish school, that there's something about your Jewish friends and how you "get" each other better. I loved that you felt that connection to those camp friends and loved spending time at my own "home away from home."

-In PACE this year, you did a "leadership" project on Hitler. It was quite an interesting spin on "leadership," showing what not to do or how he led in a harmful way. You learned a lot about Hitler and shared your presentation and your knowledge with all of us. 

-You and Mila "broke up" this school year - within the first week or so of school, actually. You got in the car and told me all about it saying, "Now we are just crushes with each other." I'm guessing her parents won't let her have a "boyfriend" now that she's a little older.

-You finished your first stage of orthodontics this year. Got your braces off and expanders out the week after third grade ended in May. Now we just wait for you to lose more teeth, and then we can proceed with the second stage of braces. :)

-You finished your first season of baseball last semester - on the Savannah Bananas team with Coach Drake. You were reluctant to join the team, but your friends really wanted you to try it out. Your team didn't win a game all season, and you hated practices, but by that last game during playoffs, your team really came together, and y'all were actually good! You lost the very tight game by one run, but it was the first time you all really clicked and saw some great successes. After that game, you finally saw the fun of baseball and being part of this team. I thought for certain you wouldn't want to keep going with baseball, but after that game, you were hooked. I'm looking forward to this next season as a Party Animal with Coach John.

-When you're holding back tears and pretty upset, your voice gets pretty high pitched. Dad wants to remember this voice forever. 

-Speaking of voice - you love to squeak and squeal. And when you're super excited, you scream unnecessarily sometimes. You definitely have some "spectrum-y" behaviors, and I'm not convinced you're not a little on it! 

-Quinn is your best bud. You don't really enjoy time with Banner, and you call him mean and a bully. I do think you are craving his attention, but it's often such a negative interaction with him that you would rather just avoid him. You and Quinn have more typical sibling interaction - best friends one minute, enemies the next, and then back to best buddies. You stay up late talking with Quinn, laughing and being silly - and loud. You would LOVE for Banner to invite you to do something with him or be silly with him, but he can be pretty dismissive of you, unfortunately. I think he forgets the age difference, and I also think he resents that you "get away" with things he didn't. He doesn't realize, though, that he didn't have older brothers like you do; he didn't get to watch or listen to the things you do since he wasn't already exposed to so much of it by older siblings and their friends. He didn't have siblings with late events that kept him up later or brothers with later bedtimes that made it harder for him to get to sleep earlier. I will say, though, that when it's just the two of you, you two can have fun together. Hang in there - one day he will be one of your best friends. 

-You aren't afraid to tell me all the things. My favorite example of this is when you got in the car a couple months ago and said, "Mom, I 'John Cena'd' Luke today." You expected me to be so proud of you, but I was like, "What does that even mean?" You said, "I attacked him and threw him to the ground." After you told me the whole story - that your friends were all playing Keep Away and Luke and you got into a tiff - I texted with his mom about the situation, of which she knew nothing about. After more investigation, we decided you both owed the other an apology, and while on FaceTime, you told Luke you were sorry for ratting him out. You thought maybe, if there's a next time, you won't tell me so much. But, that hasn't stopped you really. You continue to let me know what is going on - when you said something mean to someone who was annoying you or how your teacher was so wrong (when it was really you) or what you wanted to say to someone who you disagreed with... and then we can handle it from there. I love that you're willing to be open and honest with me, even if it might get you into trouble. 

-Your friend group is amazing. I just adore your selection of kids you hang out with the most. You are well-liked by your peers. Your "tightest" group of friends are called "Bub" by you all - based off of Elliott's mom calling him "Bub." It consists of Alfie B, Elliott B, Luke M, and Tevin Y, but it also includes Ben R from time to time. At Sunday School, you add in Dylan R and Jeremy and Josh H. I think your favorite person in the world, though, is Damon, followed closely by Zavier who idolizes you. 

-Things you can't stand: Trump, going to Sunday School, having to try new foods, getting off the VR/iPad, brushing your teeth, dressing nicely, fixing your hair or getting a haircut, having to sleep in a room by yourself (you nearly always sleep in the same room or bed with Quinn).

-Things you love: the foods I mentioned above, snuggling with Tova, sleeping in our room, staying up late, going to a fun place like Altitude, playing with cousins, swimming, hugs, Tyler, the Creator albums, cussing!

Knox Morgan, you are wise, inquisitive, quick-witted, scrawny, loud, and a total spitfire. We call you our feral child still, and you are a wild one at home for certain! But, you also know when to rein it in and keep your cool, especially with teachers and at play dates with friends. You are very well-behaved at school and have excellent citizenship, high grades, good study habits, and a great moral compass. For all the complaining I do about your behavior at home, I'm very proud of how you maintain your composure at school and away from us. But... when you're comfortable and "unleashed" (or perhaps unmedicated) at home, you are fiesty and argumentative, noncompliant a lot of the time, and questioning of our authority. You pushback and push the boundary. At the same time, you can be exceptionally affectionate and nurturing. My absolute favorite time with you is our quiet morning snuggles. Per your request, I gladly wake you up a little early just to have some extra cuddle time while we both savor the snuggles and fight the urge to go back to sleep. 

A whole ten years have flashed by, but I can still remember the way your tiny, slender hand felt in mine when you were a baby. You still have those long, thin fingers and bony hands. As my youngest child, you always surprise me by just how "big" you are, how mature you can be and how I forget to expect more from you as you get older. Different from Banner as my oldest, my perspective of you is that you're so young. But you remind me daily that you're growing up and becoming your own, unique young man - a"big boy" I can hear you say. Letting go of my children is never easy, but especially you, my baby. Keep hugging me, keeping cuddling me, keep telling me all the things! Because as much as you think you need me, I need you more!

Happiest birthday, BabyLove! And many, many more happy, healthy decades ahead!

Love,

Mom

Days away from 10 at your
Valentine's Day party at school - 2/13/2026

Last photo as a 9-year-old