Life's a Beach

Today we met Aunt Kate and her grandchildren at the beach. Fin is in love with her grandson Q.

Q is not exactly feelin' it.


Bummer.


She clung to the back of his chair for awhile and finally asked him to go swimming with her.


He agreed.

Then got stung by a jellyfish.

Bummer.

So, she ate strawberries.


And she made beach soup.


Until the paparazzi and rain showers both became too annoying.


And now we're home.

Her 4th 4th

Today Fin celebrated her fourth Fourth of July. We went over to the beach to listen to some music and watch the fireworks. It was lovely. The weather had cooled and a breeze was blowing. It smelled like cigars and watermelon. People walked by dripping from a swim, or decked out in their to-be-seen dresses. The young men behind us were doing backflips and the old men beside us were grilling hotdogs. Can't beat a Fourth of July at the beach.









And then...




We returned home where ice cream pie waited for us, a belated birthday celebration for Emmy.



Great day.

Do You Think It Was a Successful First Day of Camp?

Bye, Kindergarten! Bye, Mr. M!

Today's was Fin's last day in her kindergarten class. It was also the last day with the wonderful teacher she has had for the past two years. He was so patient with her and with me, a fairly new mom trying to navigate the IEP landscape. He worked very hard to build Fin's trust. She was completely intimidated last school year when she first started in his class and I told her that I thought he might be part giraffe which helped a bit. I know she will miss him and I am betting he will miss her a little, too.

First Grade, Here She Comes!

Fin graduated from kindergarten today!

Nancy and I got to the school more than half an hour early to get a good seat. Think we got there in enough time?


The kids came bounding in...


and Fin's class was second on stage. She was a little nervous...


until the assistant teacher told them to smile. (Scary, isn't it?)


Surprise, surprise, she won an academic award! I could not believe it! She was one of three kids out of fifteen to win the math award. Wow! She did NOT get that from me. If this turns out to be her academic niche, I would be perfectly content. Math will get you far.


Then it was back to their seats and she could not have been more bored.


Until the girl sitting next to her moved and she had a boy to flirt with.


It was a great day. I cried all day long off and on starting with the drive to school and then I even cried in "How to Train Your Dragon", which I took her to see for a third time as a treat.

Kindergarten was hard. She spent two years chipping away at language and speech issues while the other kids passed her in reading skills which are all-important in school at this age. She also overcame so much socially. It was hard at first. The teachers didn't understand her, the kids didn't understand her. All of her friends from last year advanced to first grade without her and she had to make all new friends. If you had put me in that situation, I would have shut down. Instead, she opened up bit by bit. She became her charming, outgoing self with the people she knew. She made fast friends with her classmates. And the reading is coming, slowly but at a steady pace. Friday we were grocery shopping and she asked me if she could have honey. Honey? Then she pointed at the Honey Bunches of Oats box right at the word. Heck, yeah, my baby girl! You can have all of the honey you want!

I am nervous for next year. New teacher, the classes get remixed, and she will move to the big kids hall from the safe preK/K hall she has been in for the past three years. I think she has her confidence up now and she will be ok. She has unreal inner strength and you can't put a grade on that.