First Parent-Teacher Conference

We had our first parent-teacher conference for Shayna today.  We heard about how Shayna developed from a shy kid with a constant deer-in-the-headlight look to someone who is helping bring out the goofy side of another shy kid who has been there a year longer.  The teachers are still working on getting her to stay with tasks to the end (eg. painting for 4-5 minutes instead of 2 brush strokes, putting the "work" back on the shelf exactly as she found it for the next "friend").  One of her favorite things to do is clean so she's  dusting the shelves frequently, scrubbing the walls, tables, and chairs, and was even caught polishing her friend's belly.  They said she's quite a little ball of energy. They try to get the little ones out early so they can run around the big grassy yard before the big kids are out for recess because, when they don't, Shayna will run laps around their little wood-chipped play yard.  We also were told they have never seen a child get dirtier than Shayna.  "You guys must think we lay her down in the dirt and roll her around."  And she does look like that most days but it's how I measure how much fun her day was.  The dirtier she is, the more fun she had.  It was nice to just sit with Ms. Elise and Ms. Nancy for half an hour talking about our great girl.

Elijah had his 9-month appointment yesterday.  He weighted in at 25.5lbs (98%-ile), is 29" tall (75th-ile), and has a 18.75" sized head (95%-ile).  His favorite thing to do it jump on the bed with Shayna (while I hold him around the middle) and walk around the house holding someone's fingers.  His crawling is getting much faster and he's even started letting go of things to stand on his own.  He only lasts 2 seconds before he falls on his bottom and he's only done it 3 times but I'm so proud of him.  My walking bet is for Thanksgiving as he's still quite wobbly.

Halloween was fun.  Shayna loved getting candy from everyone but promptly forgot about it once I put her bucket up.  Shayna used some of the sugar energy to push Elijah around the house in their little car.

Last week we had a great visit from Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Joe (my dear friends from Pueblo).  We all loved having them.  They're the easiest people to get along with, helped a ton with the kitchen,  and played with the kids all day so the kids worshiped them and I got a mini vacation.  I took Elijah over to Kathy after feeding him and he about leaped out of my arms to get to her.  Shayna asked for 2 days after their visit, "when is Grandma Kathy coming back?"  Here's some pictures from our duck pond outing.