Fall Continued

A few more highlights of fall '10...

Isabel lost ANOTHER tooth. She totally planned this you know. Which is hilarious if you know her. She always has to know "what the plan is for today". She made her own calendar (with no regard for the number of days in a week or number of weeks in a month) and has been writing important upcoming events on the calendar. On November 15, she wrote "Loose a tooth". And, on November 15, she totally lost a tooth. Cue the exaggerated lisp.

Church (ward) campouts are not for the faint of heart. Or for those who have a problem with their children running wild, playing in precarious teepees, or eating dirt. Lots of dirt. We had SO much fun but it didn't even compare with the amount of fun these wild children had.

Isabel and Milo have continued their love affair with Ramona Quimby. Her antics have fueled some of Isabel's antics. Such as the stunning homemade rabbit costume seen above.

CSU's homecoming parade provided us with an afternoon of fun and a week's worth of candy. It's always entertaining to see the floats the students come up with and to see all of the animals (CSU has a vet medicine program and is an ag school so there are animals aplenty!).

We (okay, Spencer and the kids) participated in the Tavelli Elementary duathalon again. It's a 1/2 mile run followed by a 2 mile bike ride followed by another 1/2 mile run. The twins weren't quite riding on two wheels yet so Spencer pulled the locomotive. Note that he appears near death at the completion of the bike ride.

Triumphant finish! Keeler cried the ENTIRE time. He did not take kindly to being left behind.

Then there was Halloween. This guy was the cutest puppy dog ever.

Trick-or-treating with cousins. We feel so lucky to have Kiana and Mya pretty near by--especially for fun stuff like this.

This one deserves a post of its own. When Isabel decided that she wanted to be a pioneer-slash-Mary-Ingalls for Halloween, she knew just who to call: Grami Tami. You see, Grami Tami is both a seamstress extraordinaire AND a fellow lover of all things historical. She immediately volunteered to just "whip something up". This totally true-to-its-time-period costume was the result. The anticipation and the emailed/blogged pics of the work in progress were almost as fun as the actual costume.

A few things to note:

1. There are actual bloomers under that.

2. The doll has actual bloomers too.

3. There is a row of teeny tiny rose shaped buttons up the front.

4. It got more comments than any other costume at the Cornstalk Festival (also known as the Halloween carnival).

5. Isabel felt like she'd died and gone to heaven--and was so over people asking her if she was a pilgrim!!

There was also soccer--for both kids. Isabel was a soccer machine this year. She didn't even yell at me for "choosing this when I've always known she wanted to be a ballerina!". She loved it. Milo, of course, loved it. His team was undefeated (by miles and miles of goals) and took first in the tournament at the end of the season. They both scored goals and they both can't wait for spring soccer!

If you made it to the end, you are a true fan. Or you are my mother.

First Grade...so far.

My own memories of first grade are pretty basic. Mrs. Thayne. Cindy Lauper (my Halloween costume). Winning a ribbon for the obstacle course at Field Day. My mom was PTA President. I broke my arm on the monkey bars. Pretty basic. Nothing stressful. Life was good.

So, here we are. First grade for I&M. Well, it turns out that first grade is a whole other world these days. News flash for me, the mom.

Things started out hunky dory. The kids are at our neighborhood school (which, if you live in a district that does not offer the "school of choice" option or does not complicate things with charter schools then you do not know what a controversial choice we made). Spencer and I stood on our soapbox (okay, mostly me) and pontificated about the mix of students at our school, about the need for involved parents, the dangers of self-segregation etc. etc.

Then school started. And things were tough. Really tough. There are 27 students in their class and one adult. The kids are from diverse and sometimes very challenging backgrounds. Funding keeps getting cut. Their teacher is great but she is a very new teacher, still making her way and determing what works best for her. And there are 27 of them. Did I mention that?

New school clothes and new backpacks. Isabel had her outfit layed out for 24 hours before. Shocker right?

The first few weeks were loud. Make that LOUD. And chaotic. And...hard. Isabel really struggled. Going to full day was a big change. Her vision had changed--and not for the better. She came home crying almost every single day. Crying.

Then I was crying. And she was struggling. And I was calling Grami Tami (first grade teacher and literacy expert) every.single.day. And the pediatrician. And the eye doctor (who is a complete saint as far as I am concerned). And meeting with her teacher at least once a week.

Isabel has always had some difficulty with sensory stuff--too loud, too hot, too crowded etc.. Well, it turns out that the changes in her vision had made it too difficult for her to shift focus from far (the whiteboard) to near (her desk) and was causing her vision to be distorted or blurry much of the time. That combined with the noise and activity level in the class was just too much.

Milo is a total school lover. He loves every subject. He loves every teacher. He loves lunch. He loves recess. He has some cutie friends from soccer in his class. He loves to read. He wants to be in science club. And chess club. And pretty much every other club.

Things have slowly gotten better. Her teacher was very attentive and responsive. I was in the classroom twice a week. She is now in bifocals. The class is quieter. And, did I mention Grami Tami? Lifesaver.

Watching your normally super resilient child struggle that much is painful. It was a tough six weeks and I am very, very happy to be on the other side of it. It's still a work in progress but things are much improved.

This is her "Ramona" pose. Remember when Ramona's shoe got eaten by a dog on the way to school? And she had to lead the pledge? She stood like this. What a goofball.

It should be noted that having a brand new super twirly skirt made by that same Grami Tami will make the first day of school pretty darn exciting. :)

Yearly tradition: cupcakes or cake the night before school starts.