Alright, let's see...There was Xmas and a birthday...

The holiday season was pleasantly subdued for us as a family, but fortunately the first year that Morgan has had the opportunity to share in the various festivities at school.
We were not able to travel south, but will be visiting in March for a short spell.
The New Year was also modest as Morgan and I stayed close to home, Chaz traveling to and from Atlanta in time for 2010.

Morgan's birthday was a bit disorganized by weather and illness, so we have yet to celebrate with our traditional 'birthday weekend'. That will most likely entail another trip to Atlanta for the Metro Zoo or up to Chatanooga for the Aquarium and Zoo there.

Sweet Pea is doing very well in her class, either at speed or ahead of the curve. Her DIBELS results came back surprisingly advanced, but we can't be sure how fair the rating scale really is...
She continues the thrive, now reading simple sentences on her own and relishing easy readers. Her speech is also starting to show more improvement, not nearly as difficult as it was a few months ago.

This year brought a new addition to her heirloom furniture. To join the bunk beds and cradle Pop Pop made for her, Grandpa Jim provided for a substantial dollhouse...large enough for her stuffed animals and dinosaurs to play in! :)

Morgan's weight is steady, have not yet seen 40 without her being covered in a parka, scarf and snow boots...but I'm happy that she's creeping up a bit. She has a very healthy, if particular, appetite.
Her length continues in spurts - I believe she's just over 42 inches now. Long and lean. Can wear 6 in a top but the bottoms have to be a 'little girl' five. (5T is too short.)
6 fits but I have to adjust the waist so much that it doesn't feel comfortable to her. Anything with regular elastic is just too large.
I think in a few months she'll be able to jump up again.
Old Navy makes a slim, long legged jean with a regular rise, which on her is still closer to mid-ish...but at least we have that. Will remember this the next time I go nuts trying to find things of appropriate length.

Not much doing with us right now, except that we've been enjoying the snow...even got to ride my ancient toboggan down the street a few months ago when everything iced over and then got topped with a mere inch of snow. I'll take whatever I can get. ;)

Here are some pictures, as I pull them from various files:

More pictures...

ACK, finally got back in here...

Password kept getting kicked back...ugh.

OK, so, LOTS to catch up on now.

Morgan is doing very well in her Kindergarten class, seems to have made friends with not only every classmate but every other kid in school. I'm not kidding, she has a knack for it. Even the oldest know her by name and speak sweetly to her.
Watching the boys already, as there are two in her age range that seem awfully sweet on her. I don't mind that, but I've seen a kiss planted on her cheek more than once...easy now, son, y'all are only 5, OK? Thanks.

We took a trip down to Florida in October to visit with my parents and then spent the Thanksgiving holiday in and around Cherokee, NC. Yes, the strange twist of celebrating such an event while vacationing on a Reservation is not lost on me, certainly gave more food for thought.

Mo has her DIBELS testing this week...with most everything she is at the appropriate level and with some aspects ahead of the game - the challenge comes with the pressure of testing because much of this is 'how much knowledge recited in a minutes time', not how much have they learned since August, which is yet another scale to be evaluated some time soon...so, we'll see. I know what she's soaking in so am not so concerned with how well she does on the test itself. I mean, she's READING, doing light fractions and adding...none of which was happening in August but is now.
Have a good working relationship with her teacher, Mrs. Kramer (nice lady) and Mo and I follow through on any problems teacher may make note of...I'd already prepared worksheets of my own which proved handy.
Mo has a healthy homework load...math, 'logic', reading, spelling, everything phonics...there are weeks where it seems oppressive and others where it isn't so bad, even if the quantity doesn't really change.

Mo is developing well, maturity level is where she should be...though we are certain she is occasionally 14. She calls herself a "little girl teenager" and I can't argue.
She has her own tiny Dell laptop (pink) that she uses for Noggin-cum-Nick Kids games...nothing more. Sorry, no Face Book for Mo.

Still Panda-crazy. Nuts about those things. Pandy's family continues to grow.
But turtles still rock. We got another one while in North Carolina, to be kin to the retiring Turtley Turtle who now spends a great deal of time on Mama's bed keeping me company. The elderly have to stick together, don'cha know?
But this new turtle is not from the Sea...nope, it is a land tortoise and she will be quick to point that out. She named the turtle "Spring". I think she said it's a boy, but...

What else? I think she surpassed 43 inches in height, have to check the wall, Weight is 37-38 pounds. Wearing 5's...some are long enough, some don't even come close. Have to cinch the waist in on everything. Still just 19, 20 - 21 inches on a well-fed day. Got to go get some boy's sweat pants because the girls variety we bought back in August or September (Oshkosh or Carters) are already floods. Shrink and spurt combined. They fit, but cool socks are needed to made it not look quite as much like the accident it really is.
She'll be SIX at the end of January.

Her best friend is Hanna, a sweet girl in her class. Second best buddy would be a boy named Kash that seems to have a real thing for her. Watching that, too.

Kindergarten 2009!

Mo has completed her second week of Public Kindergarten and is looking forward to each school day...daily grades reflect her eagerness and I'm glad to say she's right in-line with all the other kids.
One sweet girl from Mo's former Pre-K is in her class and everyone seems to get along quite well.

Homework started this week and so far Morgan also enjoys completing whatever assignments. Nothing terribly complicated - her math book so far deals more with logic than actual number crunching, but I'd already started her on addition and subtraction this summer anyway...

The school is just down the road and takes mere minutes to reach, but the first few days were a bit insane...that pick-up and drop-off thing is all new to me and everyone was a bit spazzed.
It has normalized to the point that bringing her in is a smooth, quick process...pick up is still a matter of getting there 15 minutes early to wait in line but only 5-10 minutes once the kids start loading.

It would be great to just park and walk over, which I'd prefer, but the lot is so small that this isn't really an option. Parking in front of someone's house a street over is a bit...well...I'm thinking the neighbors wouldn't dig it.

If it were just a bit closer and the daily trip not involving such an incline...

When she gets older she can ride her bike. But for now, Mama taxis her to and fro'.



What else?

Hummingbirds finally came around - quite late this year...and the garden is slowly blooming. Things take MUCH longer to grow around here and I'm still getting used to that.

Morgan and I spend the early morning outside having breakfast if the weather is cooperative, and also lunch or afternoon snacks...

She is now nearing 36 pounds though this fluctuates greatly, dropping back if she doesn't eat well for a day or two...height is this month at 42.5 inches. Waist is about 19 inches. Looong torso. Looong legs. VERY lanky. Her appetite is improving, starting to really put the food away. She burns it sooo quickly.


I'm not sure if we've got colds or if this is the regional allergy kickin' us in the head again...she's stuffy, coughing...gurgling. I'm raw with a raging sore throat and just...UGH. Hot, cold...head hurts. BLAH. But the allergies around here are like that...Huntsville has some Native American history as a valley of illness, despite us living so near Monte Sano; the Mountain of Health.

That's it for now, will write more as I think of it!

Ooooh, yeah....meet Cassie:

Mo had enjoyed the tire horse swing thing at the October Festival last year -so much- that we decided it would be a sure thing to find one for a tree here, somewhere...

Only to find that there weren't any to be had.

Finally found one up the road in Tennessee and brought him/her/it home.

Well...since I can't leave anything alone, I asked Mo if she wanted this somewhat typical rubber contraption to become a zebra or a unicorn? Unicorn won.

And my fun began.

Here's "Cassie" as she is now, still awaiting a new neckerchief more in line with her mythical being, and the hanging from our Maple tree in front closest to the porch. Perfect branch there.

Jungle Gym is still in the picture, just have not settled on size and location.

Tomorrow is the last day of Pre-K. Time for Mo's summer vacation!

Mo and I had gone to Target and picked out two Thank You cards for her teachers...only to have her tell me the next day that nowadays she actually has 3 or 4...
since I can't keep that straight from week to week, I decided the best thing to do would be to make each of them a card, so I folded some construction paper and let Sweet Pea have at it.

She has said that she will miss her instructors, assistants and classmates but does not yet show any great sadness...she liked everyone (a few mentioned more than others) but didn't seem to bond with any one child in particular. No 'best friend' yet to replace Mama. I'd hoped she might find someone to buddy around with, build a friendship, but that has to be on her terms and at her own speed. With Kindergarten at Chapman Elementary (our zone) comes a whole new world and a greater exposure to many, many possibilities. Pals in the making, soon to come.

It will be interesting to see if after this last day she has a tinge of sorrow or if she is not yet at that level of comprehension.
Thinking we'll stop off on the way home tomorrow night and celebrate this milestone with a vanilla malt...she never finishes one but enjoys it all the same.

I have to verify whether or not she starts Public elementary on the 6th or 10th of August...Chaz and I will be enrolling her during the next few weeks. Very strange to think that I'm about to put Mo in to school...I don't have that weird "Oh, my baby!" thing going on...but it is a little disturbing on some low level. Proud and fearful, both. Glad she's moving forward, in want of healthy progression...hoping she's well-enough prepared for these new challenges.


We'll keep this updated.

Family Day 2009 (4th year together)

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE VIEWING:






































Mo is just about finished with private Pre-K and readying for the BIG-K...she should be starting late this summer at the local public school. It will be quite the jump for her...but we'll see how she adjusts to full days, 5 days a week...less play and more homework.

She is maturing rapidly. My toddler occasionally turns teenage on me, but paybacks are hell, aren't they, Mom? ;)

I was just informed today that YELLOW is Morgan's new favorite color...however, she also pointed out that it was unnecessary to purchase everything in the current favor because she "likes so many colors now".

Turtle is slowly being set to rest...not being taken everywhere anymore...and she's probably grateful as she holds herself together by the last few remaining threads...does still have to sleep with Mo.
Pandy has a baby now, that Nana sent up for Easter...a tiny Beanie-like creature that immediately became "Baby Panda". Now those two, er, three are inseparable and Mo continues to take Pandy everywhere...I even bought a sling and fabric bassinet to keep them better contained.

Mo is still slight...I doubt she'll ever be plump...but her height is around 43-44 inches now...I marked it but haven't measured yet...weight is still in the mid-thirties but we're getting to the high end...she burns it off so fast...is now wearing 5's...YEAH! Some 4t still fits, or more specifically, little girl's 4, which is longer...but I've got her in some 5's if the waist is adjustable or elastic. Shoes are a toddler 9, just coming out of 8.5.

She enjoys helping me do anything...dishes (I let her put the plastic stuff away...) watering the plants...and she helped me plant some roses as soon as the frosts were over (writes as she sees a forecast low tonight of 39...uh...this is Alabama and it's almost summer...then we have a high of 80 a day later...crazy weather here.)
Mo now wanders safely around the property, checking the woodland garden with me and draws with her chalk on the steps and front porch. She is learning to read. Still working on shoe laces, basically because she doesn't wear lace-ups very often yet...

She gets along with the other kids in her class and deals well with the troubles that come along - is able to shrug off poor behavior where-as in the beginning she took it quite personally. I have come to notice that the one boy she said "bothers" her actually LIKES her...we thought he was harassing her. Ha! Not exactly. He pays a special attention but being a boy gets kinda...well...you know.

I'm watching her right now from the window as she struggles with the hose to wet her own garden under the Dogwood - it's a long hose but she's determined.

That's pretty much it for right now...we're possibly going to take a road trip to TN next w/e for a night in a cabin...and through-out the summer work on the landscaping and paint what still needs it. Come F/T school time I be able to really get the house in order and studio up and running...hard to do with Sweet Pea as a constant distraction. :)