Monday, May 4, 2009

A beautiful evening

I am sitting out on my deck, listening to the neighborhood kids play and squeal, and wondering how long it will be before I can't convince Emily to come inside and go to bed on an evening like this. She had a lollipop after dinner tonight, and she was so sticky that she went straight into the tub, and fell asleep without any protest (after 4 books and 3 songs, of course). Anyway, it's warm and still and peaceful outside, and it feels like the kind of night that I'd spend shooting baskets with my dad when I was a kid. Do you suppose I'll be lucky enough to do that for my kids someday? Teach them a killer jumpshot or rebound freethrows until they make 10 in a row every night before going inside? Or maybe they won't be as neurotic as I was!!

When I picked up Emily from daycare today, Amanda told me that Emily is becoming quite the adventurer, and she's having to remind herself that she's not a baby, and she doesn't need as much help! Gah!! Where did my baby go? I really couldn't agree more, though. Emily is really branching out in her vocabulary, and she obviously understands everything we tell her. She can carry out multi-part instructions (get your shoes and take them to Dad), and she can SING! I pointed to the picture that goes with Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, and she sang the first four notes, very close to on-pitch! Then she nods for "yes, sir, yes, sir," which is just adorable. She loves to sing in the car, and "drive" with me saying vroom vroom and beep beep.

I read through the Johnston school newsletter (I kind of miss the ol' Warrior'O'Gram :) ), and I was impressed to see that their ITBS and ITED scores for all grades were 80th percentile and above - mostly in the 90's! Wow! I have renewed optimism that Emily will have a good experience in school. Then I saw the size of their JV swing choir, and it was bigger than my entire high school choir. I am not worried about Emily shining in her own light, so I keep telling myself that she'll be okay in a bigger school. Still, it's not something that I experienced, so I'm a little leery. I guess she stands a better chance at being pushed a little at school, and not expected to teach the rest of her classmates who didn't understand the math lesson the first time through.

I'm really showing now, though. And it's not cute yet, either - I'm just fat. Ugh :( The pilates is feeling good, now that I survived the first 4 days of being too sore to walk. How bizarre that wiggling around on a mat for an hour could make me that incapacitated. Maybe now that I'm officially at the end of the first trimester, I'll have enough energy to bike in the mornings. Or maybe Emily will just keep getting up earlier and earlier with the sun.

Okay, it really is a little bit cold outside. Guess I'll close for now.

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