Movers and shakers

This morning Emma told me she had trouble sleeping last night because her bed kept shaking.
"From the storm?" I asked.
"No," she explained. "I dreamed that little things were living underneath my bed, and I think I dreamed them alive a little because when I woke up they started shaking the bed."
I told her that her nightmare sounded really scary, but she quickly set me straight.
"I was awake when the bed was shaking, so I wasn't having a nightmare. And they aren't scary because if they start shaking too hard, I just go to sleep again and that makes them go away. But it's hard to fall asleep when your bed is shaking! That's the trick of it. Those little things are really smart."

Tidbits from Today

Emma...

• Emma got 100% on her first spelling test! It was the practice test, but if they get them all correct then they don't have to take the "real" test tomorrow. Her words were: a, the, am, can, cat, man, map, at, tap, ran.
• Emma fell while climbing a tree at the park, and she got a pretty good scrape on her arm. Of course, she lost her mind. Immediately, a boy on the swing (never got his name) asked us if we needed a band aid. I told him that would be very nice, if he had one. Before I even finished my sentence, he turned and took off running. His mother saw my perplexed expression and explained that he was running all the way back to their house to get the band aid. I told her he didn't have to do that, although by that point he was already halfway down the street. She said, "He's had a crush on your little girl since the first day of school. They ride the bus together." As I stood speechless, she rolled her eyes and added, "He's a sucker for the blondes."
• While the swing kid was procuring first aid for Emma, his younger brother swooped in for the kill. By the time swing kid got back from the house and presented Emma with her band aid, she was happily playing with his brother and didn't even say thanks until prompted. The older brother sat by his mother and just watched Emma play with his sibling the rest of our time at the park. He had the most desolate look on his face! I actually wanted to give him a hug or something, but I didn't want to embarrass him. At one point his mother tousled his hair and I overheard her say, "Don't be sad. Be patient. The hero always gets the girl in the end." (I really want to be this mother's friend, but I think she's too cool for me.)
• Gojan (above mentioned younger brother) was fascinated with a new toy of Emma's that another boy on her bus gave to her today to keep "forever." (Why? I've no idea. What in the world is going on during these bus rides??????) He kept questioning Em about who had given her the toy, but she couldn't remember his name. Finally he asked, "What color was his skin?" Emma seemed totally baffled by this question and just looked at him mutely. He elaborated, "Did he have white skin, or brown or black?" Emma shrugged and answered, "Same skin as me. Just...people skin."
• Lovely Gojan, or "first grade playa" as I came to think of him by the end of our park visit, told Emma that the boy on the bus probably gave her his toy because he wanted to get married. "To who?" Emma asked. "Duh! To you," Gojan replied. "That's silly," Emma said. "People who get married stay together forever. I don't even know him. Besides, when I grow up I'm going to marry my grandma."

Sophie...

• While at the grocery store, Sophie started counting balloons and made it all the way to 14. I had no idea she knew any numbers past ten. How did I not know this?
• A really, REALLY big bird flew over (and barely cleared) our heads this morning. It freaked me out so much that I let out an involuntary yelp. I don't know what kind of bird it was, but Sophie apparently thought she had it pegged. As it went past, she dropped to the ground with hands over head and screamed, "No goose! No! Naughty goose! Naughty big goose!" Then she stood up and asked me, "Okay Mommy?" I told her I was fine. She hugged my legs and said, "Sshhhh. All better."
  

This and That

Second week of kindergarten, and all is well. Yesterday, Emma tried to teach me how to count to 10 in Chinese. She has a spelling test on Friday, so Chris and I helped her review the words. She already knows them all, so there wasn't much for us to do but listen and praise. At bedtime, she read me the entire book "The Fat Cat Sat on the Mat" and only needed help sounding out a few of the words. And it's a long book - over 30 pages, with several sentences on each page. Perhaps she is simply on par with her peers - I wouldn't know as I don't often hang out with other 5 year olds. But to me, she's a genius.

The last couple of days, Sophie has given us a slight reprieve from the screaming/whining/crying of the last few months. It's been so lovely. She's been giggly and silly and saucy and delightful. I've missed that Sophie. A lot. Right now, she's happily playing on the floor with a big pile of fake bugs. Once in awhile she shouts "Hello bug," gives the bug a kiss and then puts it back on the floor. She is talking more every day. Her favorite phrase of the moment seems to be, "I do it." Translation: "Get away from me adult person, I can do it myself!" She won't let me hold her hand when she walks down the stairs, so I'm forced to back down in front of her with my hands splayed out, ready to catch her if she stumbles. She is still fascinated with baby dolls, and her new favorite toy is Emma's Light Bright. She will spend an hour or longer quietly moving the little light bulbs in and out, in and out of their holder. In addition to using the phrase correctly with people, she's often overheard saying, "Thank you! Welcome" to toys, furniture, the car, etc. We aren't sure what these things did to warrant a thanks, but Sophie feels obligated to express her gratitude for whatever reason. As we watched Em's school bus pull away this morning, she sat on my lap, waving goodbye and quietly repeating, "Bye Emma! Luv you." Then she pointed in the direction of the bus and told another parent, "My Emma bus!" The mother leaned down and asked, "What did you say? My Emma?" Sophie glared at her and yelled, "No! My Emma. Ma-ma Emma. No you Emma." Sophie ain't too shabby in the intelligence department either.

The First Week

I don't know if you've heard, but my baby is a kindergartener now. She really enjoys school and likes her teacher a lot. She's already a pro on the school bus and has come home speaking Chinese, counting to 100, and singing new songs. She told us all about Mrs. Parker's reward program for good behavior, and she's very excited to try and earn an ice cream cone party for her class at the end of the month. She even made us a "kissing hand" - a cut-out outline of her hand with a heart pasted in the middle, which we are to keep with us and look at for comfort when she is at school because, as she explained, "It's like I am blowing you a kiss so you won't miss me and feel sad." So far, so good.

However, there were a few bumps in the road. The biggest involved morning transition from bus to school. After the bus dropped Emma off Wednesday morning, she apparently had no idea where to go and there was no one there to guide her - this despite all parents being assured Tuesday that there would be adults "everywhere" to help the children. So she started crying and calling for me until another parent noticed and asked where her Mommy was. (Hearing Em tell me this story, after I'd just spent eight agonizing hours wondering if she was safe/happy/scared/etc., was akin to being told, "Your daughter needed you and you weren't there. You failed." Excruciating.) The parent read the note I'd pinned on Emma's shirt and saw that she needed to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Thankfully, this stranger helped her get where she needed to be. Em told me all of this as if it were just another little anecdote about her day, but Chris and I were NOT happy. I exchanged long emails with her teacher that night. Mrs. Parker was very empathetic, but ultimately not much help. The gist of her advice was that if Emma needs guidance, she needs to ask for it. Needless to say, I wasn't reassured.

I was very, very tempted to just scratch the bus entirely and take her to school myself the next morning. But Emma enjoyed riding the bus and wasn't that freaked out about what had happened. I feared that if I rearranged the schedule and made a big deal about it, then it would suddenly BECOME a big deal to Emma and she would get scared. So, not at all sure I was doing the right thing, I instructed Emma the next morning to go straight to the first adult she sees after arrival at school and ask them to show her the way to the cafeteria. Then I spent another eight hours worrying myself into a mini-frenzy.

However, I should have had more faith in my little girl's resourcefulness. That afternoon, Emma got off the bus with a huge grin on her face and declared, "Kindergarten is GREAT!" Once Em got to school that morning, she discovered that she remembered the way to the cafeteria and got herself there all on her own. She was very proud of herself, as she should be. That school is huge! I honestly don't know if I could have done the same. I'm still worried about her getting lost, but she doesn't seem to be, and that's what really matters I guess. Because like it or not, I can't be there with her. For the first time in her life, she's kinda on her own...and there's not a thing I can do about it.

So, first week under our belts...although it has ended up being a bit abbreviated. Emma woke up with a fever today, so no school. She was bummed, I was (secretly) elated. It sucks that she's sick, but I've really missed her this week and don't mind having her at home at all. And Sophie is over the moon to have her playmate back. She's been a bit lost all week without her big sister. Walking home after seeing Emma off to school yesterday, Sophie suddenly stopped, turned in a circle, reached her hands in the air and wailed, "Where's my Emmmmmaaaaaaa?" I just looked at her helplessly and said, "I know how you feel, kid. I know how you feel."

One week of school down, 13 years to go.

First Day of Kindergarten

We survived.

Today was very overwhelming. We had a lot of information thrown at us, and we were only there until 10:30am! But I'm feeling much better about things now that I have a clearer picture of how Emma will be spending her days.

Tomorrow is the true test. Em will get on the bus at 6:45am. She'll arrive at school, eat breakfast, and begin class by 8am. Dismissal is around 1:30pm, and the bus drops her off at 2:15pm. No parental accompaniment. We shall see how it goes, fingers crossed.

Here are a few shots from today.

All dressed up and somewhere to go - kindergarten!

Daily class schedule - they forgot to allot time for breathing!

Emma with new friends Olivia (in her class), Lana and Simona.
Em with classmates and her teacher, Mrs. Parker. Mrs. P will have 30 students in her class with NO aide this year. Thankfully she is young, energetic and seems up to the challenge.

Em listening attentively in her studious pose...she's got the whole "student" thing down already!

Down on the Farm

You can take the girl out of the country, but...well, you know the rest.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. We spent it in Indiana, and Emma had a blast on Uncle Al's tractor. She and Sophie are staying with Grandma sans parents the last weekend in September, and Em was promised an actual tractor ride (like, with the engine on and movement and stuff) when Mommy is not around to protest. Considering Chris and I will be on our first kid-less weekend since the littlest was born, I doubt I'll much care.

And now, to bed. Tomorrow is the dawning of a new era in our household...the era of PUBLIC SCHOOL! Kindergarten, we shall meet in less than nine hours. Until then...