Springtime

It is warming up nicely here in Florida.....actually a little warmer than I would prefer for February, but I will take the 80 degree days over the 40 degree days anytime!   The robins are flying around, the trees are blooming, my flowers are starting to come back, and everyone is sneezing and complaining about allergies, so it must be spring!  The big girls decided that they were going to get into the pool on Monday.  They did manage to get in, but that lasted for about 30 seconds.  It will still be quite a while before that water is warm enough to swim in. 

Another indication that it is spring, is the middle school registration deadlines.  I cannot believe that Allison will be going into seventh grade this fall.  I went to one middle school last Friday to check it out.  They had an open house to show the parents what the school is like.  It really freaked me out to think about sending Allison to school there.  The school is so much bigger than where she goes now and of course, she is expected to be more independent in the middle school setting.  They have seven classes a day and three minutes to get from one class to another.  That is plenty of time I am sure, but it will certainly take some getting used to for Allison.  Having to keep organized for seven different teachers will be one of Allison's biggest challenges, though.  Organization is not one of her strong points!  Allison also does not excel in meeting new people, so the new surroundings will be somewhat intimidating for her.  I hope that she can get off to a smooth start in the fall.

Rachel is busy learning new words.  She has lots of new words she is trying to say.  Train, chair, kitchen, Sea World, sea lions, killer whales (notice the Sea World influence?) bed, school, class, and lunch are some I can think of off the top of my head.   I am the only one that understands her, but it is great to hear her trying to say so many new words.  Her speech therapist is trying to get her to say the "f" sound, but no luck yet. She will put her mouth in the right position when we rub something on her bottom like and she tries to get it off, but she will  not make the sound when she does it.  She was so funny the other day.  She came home from school with red paint all over her white shirt.  I asked her what had she painted at school.  She looked at me and simply stated, "Shirt."  Well, of course.  Cannot believe I did not figure that out.

Leah is being the epitome of the middle child.  She is cruising along under the radar, not causing any disruptions.  She is even slowly turning into a wonderful big sister for Rachel.  Not that she has been bad, she just chose not to have too much to do with Rachel in the past.  Lately though, she has seemed to grow up a little when it comes to dealing with Rachel.  Allison has always been good with Rachel, but Leah......not so much.  If we asked Leah to get Rachel to do something, a battle of wills would quickly ensue.  Lately, Leah has been offering to help with Rachel, and it has been neat to see her encourage Rachel to do something that she originally did not want to do.