We are so proud of Marin!!

Marin underwent an assessment for kindergarden readiness last June. She tested miserably (as we expected because of her language gap). She was almost off the charts low on English comprehension.

Well last week she was retested, and she scored at the high end of the middle range. This is only three months after her original test! We are so proud of her and so happy for her. Marin is doing really well in school.

Entrapment

We have this really large plate glass window in our breakfast nook that frames a gorgeuous view of our backyard. It's usually the first place I stare at after waking up in the morning.

One morning I go to this window and I see about a dozen pieces of scotch tape stuck to the windows. I look a little more closely and realize that each piece of tape is holding a bug- mostly spider, mosquito or ant. I look at Colleen and asked her what is going on. She replies "Reap what you sow."

Then I remembered, last spring we had a lot of ticks in the yard. Ticks are hard to kill, and I read somewhere the best way to disable a tick is touch to touch it with a piece of tape and fold the tape back on itself, immobilizing the tick inside. Apparently the girls thought this trick applied to all bugs.

The most fascinating thing about this is little Emmy having the dexterity, as a 2 year old, to capture a bug between a piece of tape.

GrandParents Day Bust

Today Emmy's daycare hosted Grandparents day. All Grandparents were invited to arrive around 10AM to spend time on the playground with the kids. Then come inside to make a craft (decorate cardboard sunglasses with glitter) and then get photos taken wearing the decorated glasses. Followed by lunch and story before nap. Great idea in theory.

All four of Emmy's grandparents showed. All four of Emmy's grandparents were dissed. Emmy kept her face down and would not make eye contact. Whenever a grandparent tapped her on the shoulder or spoke her name to get her attention, Emmy looked up, scowled, and said in her rudest voice "Go Home! Now!"

We're now looking into etiquette lessons for the young lady.

Funny looking sink

While at the Docs office, Marin had to go potty. Since it was just she and I, I opted for the Mens room. Snuck her quickly into a stall, did our duty, and headed for the sink to wash hands.

On our way to the sink, Marin spots the urinals and makes a beeline toward them. I asked what she is doing. She grins all proud of herself and says "Wash hands in sink. Little one. I reach it by self."

I intercepted her and explained they are not little sinks.
"What then?"
" Those are pottys for boys"
" I use it?"
"No. Only boys"
"I try it" (begins to pull down pants)
"No Marin. Boys do potty standing up."
" I do it by self"
"No Marin, only for boys."
"Really? You boy daddy. You show me."

Gallup Pollster

So the next day I took Marin to the Pediatric Orthipedic to put a cast on her arm. The whole time we were in the exam room applying the case I kept repeating to Marin what brave girl she is. No crying. Brave girl. No crying.

Fast forward a few minutes. We are out in a packed solid waiting room while the receptionist dubs around with the insurance card. Marin starts circulating the room, pulling on each person's wrist to get their attention, one at a time, looking up and asking "Did you cry when you see Doctor? I didn't"

Selling out Dad

It had to happen. Marin was horsing around. She suddenly climbed up on a bar stool and jumped off. It is a swivel top stool so, of course, she lost her balance and landed hard on her arm. It all happened so fast, my brain had just registerd "must pull Marin off the barstool before she gets hurt" and she was already airborne. I was very concered she had dislocated a shouder or elbow, and took her to the local clinic for an Xray.

The Dr asks Marin "so what happened, honey?" Marin looks up at him, her eyes brimming with tears, her chin quivering, and whimpers "Daddy not watch me close enough."

Yeah, we;re gonna get some lessons on personal accountability when our English comprehension improves.

I cannot tell a lie

One family guideline we try to enforce is nobody leaves the dinner table until dinner is over. So one night Emmy is just dilly dallying, playing with her food, taking forever, and Marin is complaining that she doesn't like her food. Colleen got fed up and said "OK, we're just gonna sit right here until the kids finish dinner, or bed time comes." I'm thinking "What did you just say, Woman!!!! Are you out of your mind?? You have to consult me before you throw down the gauntlet like that."

A few minutes later, like any good government, Colleen broke the rules she enforced on all of us, and left the table. So Marin looks at me like "Well, now what are you going to do?" I counted Marins hot dog pieces and said "You eat four and I"ll eat four" Marin gave me the thumbs up.

Then I counted Emmy's peas and said "You eat this little pile and I'll eat this big pile" Emmy smiled.

The plates were clean in a minute or two and we all were preparing to leave the table when Colleen returned. Colleen said "Oh, Emmy, you good girl. You ate all your peas!" Marin stayed cool, totally playing the game. Emmy said "No Mama. Daddy do it. Emmy no like peas."