Smith Family

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

So little!!

Ryton and Jaida had their 18 month well-child appointment a couple of days ago and they are still not on the growth chart. Not even touching the line. For those who may not be aware, you can turn your infant (rear-facing) car seat around when your baby is at least one year old and weights at least 20 lbs. Well, my little Jaida Bug still does not weight 20 lbs. Jaida weighed in at 19 lbs at 7 oz. It looks as though she just may be rear-facing until she is two. Ryton weighed in at 21 lbs.

All is well with the twins!!

Kindergarten is almost here!

Ok, so we can't decide (that's right, Neil and Julie -- can not make a decision), what school we want Teegan to attend this Fall for Kindergarten. Do we keep him at the Childrens Academy as an after school program and send him to a school near the preschool he has been attending? Or does Neil stay home another year and we send Teegan to a school (public or charter) near us? Well, since none of these options include the school in our area -- we have had to fill out special permits for all schools (5 in total). And now we are getting invited to attend all of the orientations and being told that it is in our best interest to attend them all. Last Friday we attended the first Kindergarten Orientation for Teegan. I knew it was coming, but I had no idea how soon it was coming. And assessments, are you kidding me. My kid is obviously the smartest kid in the world (and I don't need anyone telling me so).

We would like to see him attend a full-day kindergarten, but also found out that they hold full day Kindergarten for those who score low on their assessment (needing additional time in Kindergarten) or high on their assessment (used as a mentor/role model). The next orientation is in two weeks, and another two in April. We have been told that acceptance letters for the public schools will be mailed on March 31st. We may not hear from the charter school for a few more months. And then on top of this decision, how do full-time working parents coordinate work schedules with school schedules (if/when Neil goes back to work). I have a headache!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Hogle Zoo

I always make it a priority of mine to try to find stuff for Neil to take the kids to do. My resource for finding stuff is usually gocitykids.com. Early last week I found out that the Zoo was free on Wednesday (the last Wednesday of each month during Nov - Feb), and the weather was scheduled to be pretty decent, so it was a done deal -- and this was one that I didn't want to miss out on so I took the day off.

We met Adam, Trista and their kids at the zoo. Teegan was labeled as our tour guide because he is crazy for maps. He did a fantastic job getting us around the zoo, a little bossy, but he was good. I think there is possibly a career for him in tour-guiding (he is that good).

It was definitely one of the better visits to the zoo. I'm not sure if it was the time of year, time of day, temperature, or what, but the animals seemed to have been very active and playful. The zebra's were a lot of fun to watch as they played around. We were just hoping that it was not some kind of a mating ritual. It did appear to be mating season for the bears though. You'll have to contact Adam for these pictures.

We ended our day on the train. Neil took a picture of all of us, while Adam took a picture of Neil. Ryton and Neil are missing because Ryton fell asleep and Neil stayed with him.