The Royal Blog

Happy 6th Birthday Elea!

 
 

The kids on their respective supply/photo/schedule pick up days

 

 

 

I could write a sonnet about your Easter Bonnet

I just choose not to.

 

Soooo Big!

Z has grown over three inches since he turned 12 last June!  He is about 5' 6 1/2"!

 

Em is about 4' 7 3/4"

 

E2 is about 3' 9 1/2" 

 

 

So ~

Z:   almost 13  5' 6.5"     size 14/16  (96th percentile)
Em:        11.25  4' 7.75"   size 8/10    (27th percentile)
E2            5.75  3' 9.5"     size 6/7      (71st percentile)

Can you tell which two kids got the tall Taylor genes?  And which one is the little Italian?  :)
 

Sister

While E2 got her hair cut, Em got an updo and then both girls got mani/pedis.  I ♥ Sweet & Sassy!

     

Before & After

I love this time of year  -  meet season is over, hair gets chopped off...

 
 
 
 

E2's Parent-Teacher conference

I was dreading E2's conference last week.  As soon as I sat down with her teacher, I started apologizing and mentioned how lazy and stubborn E2 is at home.  Her teacher's eyes were as wide as saucers as she told me that was not what she was expecting to hear at all.   For the next 15 minutes I got to hear that E2 is "right on track", "right where she needs to be",  "maybe even a little bit ahead here", "model kindergartner", "good listener" etc etc etc.  PHEW!!  

I was a little, okay a lot, concerned in October when we received a letter that  E2 qualified for reading intervention but the teacher assured me that it is not a big deal.  Over half the class qualified, it's a special program this year, teachers are really excited about it.   (When the big kids were in kindy most of the kids could not read early in the year but very very few were pulled out for intervention.)

Another new thing this year is that our district has implemented MAP (measures of academic progress) testing for the kindy kids.  Seriously?  They're FIVE.

Lynd's Fruit Farm

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 12

This is an the-girl-across-the-street-is-getting-into-her-car-i-am-just-going-to-walk-away-quickly shot:

Day 11

E2 bought her lunch yesterday for the first time (french toast day).  I asked if she liked it and no, she did not.  The "triangle things" were terrible!  Fortunately, B asks better questions and found out that the french toast was yummy, but the hash browns were bad.  She is still very tired and a total crabapple when she gets home from school.  Hopefully she'll adjust soon.  I feel for her - I know she's tired - but I am also tired of getting shrieked at!

 

Day 10 + Then & Now: September 8

2008:

2010:

 
  

Day 9

 

Day 8

A. I didn't realize Z had so many yellow soccer shirts and B. I don't know why that's all he wore this week.    

eta: Sweet Jeebus I just realized he is wearing the SAME shirt as on Wednesday.  I am 99.99% certain he doesn't have two of that shirt AND he asked me before he left "how did this soccer stamp get on my shirt".   "You."    He asked how I knew it wasn't E1 or E2.  My response "because THEY don't do things like that - just YOU!".  Argh.  12 year old boys are weird.

So he is wearing a possibly dirty shirt that he stamped 'soccer' on (used to use it on my calendar when he had practice). 

eta again:  E2 admitted that she stamped the shirt.  So I apologized to Z although I'm still puzzled as to why he'd put on a DIRTY shirt.

Day 7

*gasp* "Why are you wearing your opponent's jersey?

"Well, it's comfortable."  

Day 6

 

Day 5

 

E1 overrotated a front tuck last night and face planted pretty hard. 

Z is home today. Sigh.  

Day 4

E2 only got to go to school ONE day last week thanks to Gentle Start.  [ 1/3 of the kindergartners went W, 1/3 went TH and 1/3 went F]   So far the only thing E2 is enthusiastic about is recess.    I asked her Wendesday night if the day felt long and she said "Oh my gosh, yes!!".    Hopefully she'll adjust quickly.  2 1/2 - 3 hours three times a week to 6 1/2 hours five days a week is a pretty big jump. 

 

FREEDOM!!!11!!! Er, First Day of School

I was okay until E2 got on the bus, then I had to walk home thinking "I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry"!   She woke up at 11:30 last night and had trouble getting back to sleep.  So this morning was a little rocky until she switched into happy camper mode.

E1 on her first day of kindy. 

And as a Sixth Grader.

Z on his first day of 1st grade [no digital camera until a couple months into kindy :(  ].

And as a big bad Eighth Grader (who also had trouble sleeping last night).

 

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

We did E2's birthday dinner at Red Robin Wednesday night.  As you can tell by her expression, she enjoyed having the staff sing Happy Birthday to her! :)

Show What You Know

Today was meet the teacher day for E2.  Meet the teacher, drop off supplies, etc.   Our school used to do kindy assessments/play based observation in April and you would get a little note in the mail of things to work on over the summer.  Now they do a quick KRAL on MTT day.  The teacher told E2 she did a great job and is a very smart girl!

The two K+ (all day) kindy classes will do most activities together for the first two or three weeks (I think so the teachers can tweak the rosters?) and after that will continue to occasionally work together so that while one teacher is teaching, the other can do small group work.    40 kids together sounds like insanity to me, but it worked last year so I'm sure they have an effective system. 

5ive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

E2 got a phone call from Ariel this morning, wishing her a Happy Birthday! ("I should have asked her for her phone number!")   And the only present I let her open this morning turned out to be.......an Ariel doll (good job daddy!)