school

People have been asking me about how school is going for Jane so I figured I'd write about it here. Jane loves school. I'm very glad she's going for half the day because it's definitely enough stimulation for her. She's made new friends and she loves to show us the projects she worked on when she comes home.

When school first started she was very clingy with me when she got home, but now she's back to normal. She's actually sleeping better at night which I never thought would happen!

At her teacher conference I found out that she's pretty shy and not very talkative at school. Her teacher isn't worried about it. She said that she's observing everyone and figuring everything out. She periodically evaluates all the kids and in two months Jane could already do everything the teacher requires for the whole year. She plans so start challenging the kids who are a little further along in reading, etc. soon, so that will be great.

Jane has been better about helping to clean up around the house and I love when she plays school with Malcolm! Malcolm misses her a lot when she's gone and the two of us are trying to figure out what to do when she's away. I think it will be easier when she switches to morning in January because then Malcolm and I can go to playgroup and storytime. The timing doesn't work out right now since Jane has to eat lunch so early.

She takes the bus every day and she loves meeting new kids who aren't in her class. The bus driver has them sit in order of age and he really seems to have the situation under control.

Thanksgiving

Nana and Grandpa came for Thanksgiving this year. I had bought a kit to make turkey placecards and that took up a couple hours while Daddy was cooking before lunch!

Jane did the lettering!

Ready to eat!

After lunch we went to the arboretum to be outside and take a little walk.

Then it was pie time! I had never made cherry pie before but it was pretty easy and everyone liked it.

new hair and cowl

Jane asked for bangs so I cut them for her. Then I decided to cut a few inches off the rest while I was at it. She had developed a weird habit with her hair and now that it's shorter, it's harder for her to do!

You can also see her new cowl. I thought it would be easier for her to wear than a scarf!

"computer class"

Jane and Malcolm were playing school. They used some books to pretend they were in computer class. Jane was "checking email, the weather and the news" and Malcolm was "playing a game." It was very funny!

I love the tiny books they used for mice!

sleepy boy

Malcolm came down with the same illness Jane had and fell asleep on Daddy!

snowy day

It snowed a little last week. It was fun to have winter for a little while!

Drumlin Farm

We spent a chilly but fun day at Drumlin Farm a couple weeks ago. Jane took this photo of us. Now that the camera is getting older, I don't mind her using it as much.

The new barn is finally open! I love new barns.

The brown and white cow off to the right is named "Jane."

Here's Jane's calf! We haven't found out her name yet.

Jane and Malcolm always love to pretend to ride the horses.

They also love to dig in the dirt.

They found an earthworm, how exciting!

They were fighting over who got to look out the window; that's why Malcolm looks so upset!

This rooster noise display had been gone for a long time but it's back now. They loved pushing all the buttons!

Malcolm found a wooden platform and decided it was his stage. He walked in circles and made up songs.

owls

Daddy helped the kids make these cool owls. Thanks for the idea, Grammy!

Halloween

Halloween got kind of messed up this year (sort of like last year after the blizzard)! We had a hurricane two days earlier that knocked down some trees and power lines in town. We were totally fine but our town postponed trick-or-treating from Wednesday to Sunday.

Wednesday night was pretty nice out and our road was fine, so I took Jane to a few neighbors' homes anyway. Malcolm decided he wouldn't thank our neighbors, so he stayed at home.

She did well walking around and saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you." She showed Malcolm all her treats when she got home, and shared a little with him. (Yes, that's an apple, and no, there were no razor blades inside it!)

Our plan was to go with some friends in a different neighborhood with less traffic on the correct trick-or-treat day. The kids decided to change from Spider-Man back to a bunny, his costume from two years ago, and from a panda to Cinderella. I ran out and bought some cheap sparkly shoes and some Cinderella pjs to wear under her dress since it was supposed to be cold out. Here's Jane modeling her outfit. The bun was very important to her!

But then on Sunday Jane came down with a fever. She even fell asleep on the couch.

I had to call off our trick-or-treating outing with friends. When she woke up, they dressed up and trick-or-treated at home, just like last year. (I didn't bother with the right undershirt or doing her hair because she was so exhausted!)

Look at the poor thing eating her candy!

I'm not sure what Westie was dressing up as...