Talia and Kayli started a hip-hop class yesterday. After the class, the teacher talked with the “new parents” about the show. They are talking the class through the city. It is at a dance studio very near where we live. The students who sign up through the city end up joining an on-going class at the studio. This class is doing a show at the end of the month. To be in the show you have to buy two program ads per student ($25 per ad), buy 5 tickets per student ($10 a ticket) and buy a tank top “costume” for them to wear at the show ($25 each). It all ads up to $250 if I want them both to do the show. I didn’t even have to think about it. The girls will have had 4 classes before this show. It is completely ridiculous to pay that much money so they can be in a show. The girls thought it was crazy to have to pay that much to do the show too, so they aren’t upset about. They do like the hip-hop class though!
Kayli’s Check-Up
Kayli had a well child doctor visit today. She is doing just great, but may need glasses. The nurse got 20/25 in the left eye a nd 20/35 in the right eye when she had Kayli read the eye chart. She said that was a pretty big difference for this age and we should get it checked by an optometrist. Kayli’s weight was in the 25-50th percentile and her height was in the 50-75th percentile. Her blood pressure was in the normal range. She got one shot and was very brave about it. One the way out, she is headed down the hall with her sandals in her hands. I told her to put them on and she said, “I can’t because of my shot.” The nurse and I were both cracking up. She is such the drama queen! And yes, she did manage to get her sandals on despite the pain in her arm from the shot.
Quote of the Day
“Aidan, your nothing like me. I pick off scabs like that! (snaps her fingers)” – Kayli
Gone Most of the Day
Today was Aidan’s last day of preschool. They had a picnic and puppet show and invited the families to attend with their child. So, I went with all the kids. Aidan and the twins sat up front for the puppet show. I think they all enjoyed it. After the puppet show, they had hot dogs and chips and cookies.
Then this afternoon we went to a girl scout pool party. Since the boys do not swim very well, I bought them floaties for the party. They weren’t too thrilled with the idea, but once they got them on and got in the pool they liked them. I got a new spray sunscreen that I just love. You just spray it on them and that’s it. You don’t have to rub it in, except for the face – you can’t spray it there so you have to spray it in your hands and rub it on their faces. Everyone had a blast at the party and were very tired afterwards. I was exhausted afterwards! I was holding Falyn the entire time and then kept having to take one boy after the other to the bathroom. I barely sat down the entire four hours we were there.
Last Day of School
The school year ended today for Talia and Kayli. It has been a great year for both of them. Talia again made the honor roll, continuing her perfect record of being on it since 4th grade when they start giving out letter grades at her school. Kayli also had an excellent report card with lots of “O”s. These pictures are of them with their best friends in their classes. It was taken yesterday at the end of the year Field Day.
Kayli got stung by a bee
Kayli went on a train ride to San Juan Capistrano today with the Brownie troop. They went on a tour of the San Jaun Capistrano Mission. While at the mission, she was stung by a bee. Kayli said she was just standing there looking at the pond when the bee jumped up and stung her. Luckily, she is not allergic. It is good to know that for the future. They said she was very upset when it happened, but was pretty much over it by the time I picked her up. She also left her lunch in the car when I dropped her off and I didn’t find this out till it was way to late to get it to her. One of the leaders had brought extra so she did have a plenty for lunch.
Dinner with Miss McKinley
The kids that read over 150 books this school year got to go to dinner at Miss McKinley’s house. 17 kids out of the 36 in the class met that goal. She spread the students out over three nights. Kayli went on the third night. The evening started out with a game of Jenga. Then Miss McKinley brought out her bird Mercy. The kids all enjoyed playing with the bird. Next we had pizza, chips and fruit. After dinner the kids played Chinese Checkers. The girls played against each other in one game and the boys played against each other in another game. The girls took the game very seriously and were very competitive. The boys were making designs and patterns with their marbles instead of trying to win the game. Kayli’s team ended up winning the girls game. All the kids had a great time and it was so nice of Miss McKinley to open up her home to them.
End of the Year Update
Talia – She’s have a great time in 5th grade. They have gotten to go on a number of fun field trips this year with several more planned throughout the year. She continues to be a honor roll student, excelling in everything she tries. She has taught herself to play the harmonica and has gotten pretty good at it. She does choir and girl scouts and challenge (which is a Catholic girls group). She is a beautiful girl, both inside and out. She has a great group of friends, most of whom she has been friends with since kindergarten. She spends most of her free time outside playing with the other kids in the neighborhood. She also enjoys her gameboy and playing online on Neopets and Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom.
Kayli – She is now 8 years old an in 2nd grade. She enjoys school and also excels in everything she tries. She was recently voted class president for the month of December. She is very outgoing and has tons of friends. She has taught herself to play the recorder and knows a large number of songs on it. She does choir and girl scouts and did soccer for the first time this year. She is very good at soccer and I’ll likely continue to have her play next year. She also spends most of her free time outside playing with the other kids in the neighborhood and enjoys her gameboy and playing online on Neopets and Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom.
Aidan – He is now 5 year old and in a preppy-K class. Over the last month of so, reading has really started to click with him. He knows all the phonetic sounds for a while know and has recently caught on how to blend the words. I expect him to be reading quite well by the time he starts kindergarten next year. He played soccer for the first time this year and really enjoyed it. He says he wants to try baseball next year, so I will likely put him in that instead. He is all boy and his favorite thing to do is run around outside playing. He also enjoys playing on his leapster.
Jared and Riley – They are now 3 years old. I play to start them in preschool next year. They continue to be in speech therapy this year and are getting much easier to understand. I’ve also had them in swim classes and they are both making great progress. They continue to refuse to be potty trained, but we are hopeful that they will decide to start using the potty before preschool next year. They are also all boy and like nothing better than to run around outside playing.
Kayli Was Elected President!
Kayli was elected president of her class today. Each month they elect a new president and vice-president. She is really excited about being elected. She said it is hard work being president and listed all the jobs she will have to do. The best job, she said, is being the person that gets to calling on people to nominate the next president and vice-president and getting to see how people vote.
Kayli Got Braces
Kayli got braces today. They are only on her few permanate teeth. They will add bands as her other teeth come in. She got orange and black rubberbands on them for Halloween. She read all the paperwork about what she can and can’t eat and is very serious about following it to the letter. When she went to brush her teeth before going to bed, she brought the instructions the orthodontist had given her for brushing her teeth with the braces up with her to make sure she did it right.