The other evening we got a phone call from our neighbor, Miss Ruth. Miss Ruth, who will turn 79 next month, seems about 20 years younger than her age and is just as sweet as they come. She called because she wanted to bring something by for Hallie’s birthday. What she brought was a beautiful, handmade quilt/blanket with colors picked especially for Hallie. That she even remembered Hallie’s birthday was remarkable, but to have her make such a special gift was incredibly touching.
We stood on the porch chatting for a while. I was pushing her to tell me her exact birthday. I got her to confirm it’s in July but she wouldn’t tell me a date–she says she doesn’t celebrate birthdays anymore. I told her we have ways of finding it out, though.
While we chatted, she apologized for being late with Hallie’s gift. She said she couldn’t remember whether Hallie’s birthday was the 14th or the 15th. I told her it was actually the 4th but assured her it didn’t matter in the least. Travis, ever helpful, immediately piped up with the following gem: “Even if it was the 14th or the 15th it would still be late either way because today is the 16th.”
Fortunately Miss Ruth has a great sense of humor and got a good laugh out of T’s response. On the one hand, I wish he had a bit more of a filter. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but be impressed that he knew the date and could apply it so quickly.
H&T and I spent some time playing bananagrams before bed last night. We weren’t really following the rules, just flipping tiles over and spelling out words. Travis joined the game late, so Hallie and I had a few words down already. I know Travis is a good reader and speller. But I was still impressed when out of his first ten tiles he pulled all but one letter to spell “elephant”–and promptly added it right on to our game, building around the letter he needed from one of Hallie’s words. Oh, and he was standing across from us so he was reading all of our words and spelling his upside down.
It was a busy spring, leaving me with lots of posts to catch up on. Two of the biggies for Travis were his kindergarten orientation and his graduation from preschool. Both were very nice–and both felt rather anticlimactic.
I’m sure a lot of my reaction comes from having done all of this before with Hallie. But it’s also because all that he’s transitioning to is already familiar to Travis. He’s spent so much time at Conn, knows lots of his new classmates and many of the teachers, and is more than ready for the work he’ll be doing there. So while he really enjoyed his orientation and came out excited about kindergarten, it wasn’t the thrilling, novel experience it was for Hallie (and thus for the rest of us). Read the rest of this entry »
For years Mark has wanted to take me and then me and the kids to Carowinds, the amusement park near Charlotte where he worked as a teenager. I loved amusement parks as a kid and a teen, and my folks were kind enough to endure our family visits more often than I’m sure they would have liked. Still, I was really not excited about being on the flip-side of that dynamic.
Given the choice, I’d rather be hiking or camping or on a family bike ride than trudging around a dirty, hot sea of asphalt and metal with what I expected to be whiny, cranky kids. But I dragged my feet as long as I could. Mark’s enthusiasm, the kids’ excitement, and discount tickets all conspired to wear me down. And amazingly, I had a really good time! Read the rest of this entry »
Over the years the kids have been given all sorts of gifts, some more immediately popular than others. I have a pretty good sense of what each of them will like, but there are always surprise hits (and surprise misses). I’ve learned over the last year or so that a gift doesn’t have to be an immediate hit to become immensely popular or have staying power.
There are several things that I could have written off or packed up for lack of interest. Hallie dabbled in her origami kit but soon sent it aside for several months. Neither kid was too interested in the opera for kids cds Gum and Gup sent them. Hallie’s microscope from her last birthday came out of the box once, maybe twice over the course of the next year. Try as I might, I couldn’t get Hallie interested in Anne of Green Gables. And Travis’s commitment to his erector set waxed and waned for several months before we finally finished his first project. Read the rest of this entry »
H&T had their six-month check up at the dentist this week. First the good news: Hallie got a perfect check-up. The hygienist was literally raving about her teeth, declaring in several different ways that she’s never, ever seen a child do such a good job of brushing as Hallie. I’m very proud of my girl!
Now, the bad news: Travis. A year ago I was blind sided when his x-rays showed 5 cavities between his teeth–cavities that surprised even the dentist, who thought until he saw the x-rays taht his oral hygiene looked great. We got those all filled and have been good about brushing, flossing, and fluoride rinse ever since. So I was dismayed to find that he’s now got a cavity developing in the side of each of his newly emerging six-year molars. The teeth aren’t even in far enough for the dentist to do anything about them, so we just have to wait for them to finish coming in. Read the rest of this entry »
Hallie has made this comment for many months, but I don’t think I’ve ever captured it here. We were talking the other day about toys or belongings, or something and Hallie chimed in, “But of course you know a pencil and paper are my most prized possessions.” Yes, Buggle, we know. And we know you’ll do something magnificent with them one day!
Last Thursday was Hallie’s last day of school. It took her about 3 days to lug home her year’s worth of notebooks and projects and folders and books. On the last day she also brought home her final report card for the year.
Hallie’s has had consistently excellent report cards for second grade. Her teacher’s comments are always glowing, and in her spring conference her teacher’s first words were, “Hallie is phenomenal!” Hallie is graded on a scale of 1-4. A 3 means a student is performing at grade level, a 3* is a bit above that, and a 4 means they are beyond grade level.
For the first three quarters, Hallie got 4s in reading and writing, a 3* in math, and 3s in science and social studies, which are taught in rotating modules by all the grade’s teachers. For her fourth quarter, she improved everywhere she could, with her first 4 in math and 3*s in science and social studies.
Hallie’s 2nd grade teacher will play a role in Hallie’s class placement for the fall. There are 2 teachers I really hope she gets, and Mrs. Lloyd knows this. I have my fingers crossed she’ll have a terrific match in the fall.
Our happy girl is back, and it’s so good to have her! The month of May was a tough one for our girl for a whole bunch of reasons. I think she was just plain tired by the end of the school year. She was finding something missing in most of her friendships. And she was thrown for a loop by a new friend who turned into a bully whenever she didn’t get her way. Read the rest of this entry »
At long last, the Lions Park playground is open for business! Back in early May, Hallie and Travis were delighted to help out during the “community build” day for our new neighborhood playground. They didn’t make the age cut-off to work there, but one of the coordinators gave them jobs raking mulch. They put in a couple of solid hours of work and were very, very proud of themselves. Read the rest of this entry »
