Almost April

Time for another long-overdue update, I can't believe it's been so long since I've written. It seems like I get (or make) time to do this about once every 3-4 weeks, I'm not a very good blogger. Things are going well around here - Kennedy is getting toward the end of grade five now and getting psyched for middle school. The biggest issue right now is what school she's going to be attending. The one she is slated to attend is up on the chopping block to be closed but the government has not made a decision yet. Apparently we're supposed to know by next week. I don't really have a strong opinion either way. The one she will attend if the original closes is closer in proximity to our home, but will be HUGE in terms of student population; the other is in an area of the city that is really rough and known for drug busts, etc. The school, staff, etc, is good, it's just the periphery that is worrisome. We shall see and whatever happens, Kennedy will adjust and do well, just like she always does. I always worry more than is necessary, but I'm getting better.

March has been fairly uneventful - she's had lots of school work and projects to do so that's kept her busy. This Friday she has two big projects due: one on floods and a 'Wanted' poster for a character in a book. She has been working hard on those. I have been supply teaching a lot and also got a second interview for a teaching position at a private school so I've been preparing for that this week.

In March, Kennedy also went to the endocrinologist, who found she was happy with her growth in terms of height (that had been a concern). She still is around the 5th percentile for height but has remained on her own curve and her growth velocity per year is fine. Other issues we are watching for now involve puberty; we had a blood test done to look at some things so hopefully all will be moving along in that area when her body is ready.

Last night we had a family date to go see Monsters vs. Aliens, which was very cute. Kennedy actually let me dry her hair with a diffuser to really bring out its natural curl. Since it happens so infrequently, I captured the look with my camera. Here are a few shots - I love her curly hair! She is wearing her favourite shirt in these photos - it's her grade five graduation shirt from her school. They have a tradition of having everyone sign their name and putting it on the back of a t-shirt in the year of graduation, with the school crest on front. Cute keepsake!

Front view: my little girl is growing up.



Back view: I love these curls!


Side view: Little button nose :)



Typical pose: I wish Kennedy would open her mouth and smile more for pictures but she has it in her head now to keep her mouth closed. It's still adorable, but I miss her open-mouth smiles. At least she lets me take pictures, I remember my boys did NOT like getting their pictures taken at this age!

Another March Break has Come and Gone

Random musings on March Break '09...

Well today is the last day of March Break. Kennedy had a fabulous week - the first weekend of March Break we had Taylor home all to ourselves for the weekend for the first time without her Mom & Dad. I had a ball being the doting Nan and Kennedy loved helping out with everything as the ever-loving Auntie. She helped me give her baths, feed her, hold her, change her bottom, play with her. It is so beautiful to see the two of them together. I am so proud of how responsible she is becoming.

On Monday, she began to go to theatre camp. She asked to go for the whole week so we signed her up and she went on her own each day. There were different themes for the days, such as 'Broadway Bound' and 'High School Musical'. She came home so happy and excited every day. It was not as fun for me as we usually have the whole week together and didn't this year but she's growing up, expanding her interests and I think it's great she wants to do other things.

We did catch a movie together on Tuesday night: Jonas Brothers 3D. It was a lot of fun; those boys have a LOT of energy. Kennedy loved it! Friday night, after theatre camp was done for the week, we had a girly spa & movie night, complete with a full massage, bubble bath, manicure, and movie. Oh yes, we also had fun playing 'Guitar Hero: World Tour' together. Graeme actually joined in for that. Kennedy's score beat ours almost everytime, no matter if she was on drums or guitar. She loves that game so much and is so cute to watch. She is her mother's daughter - loves the 80s music - we often hear, 'Eye of the Tiger' and 'Beat It' pounding away down there.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a cooking day, she wanted to make cheesecake so we spent the afternoon doing that. In the morning,though, we had to go out and do a few errands, one of which included going to Home Depot to pick up a small light switch. I wish I'd had my video camera because Kennedy began giving us a guided tour of Home Depot. She would walk us over to the kitchens and say, "This is the cupboard, these are some lovely drawers," etc...and would open them and point just like she was little Miss Saleslady. It was so adorable.

On another somewhat related topic, something she is doing a LOT of lately is asking us, "What will I do if I work here when I am older?" She does this at almost every new place we go; she has a real curiousity about working and having a job. She is very excited about this. We spend a lot of time talking to her about different responsibilities of different positions. She thinks she might like to work at the hospital where people register - you give them your Medicare card, they enter your info in the computer and then tell you which way you need to go to get to your desired destination. I think she'd be great at this (or whatever she sets her mind to). She certainly knows her way around the hospital and is excellent on the computer. Time will tell, I just want her to be happy in her life no matter what she does.

Last note about March Break '09 - K got a cheque for Xmas this year that had been sitting on a shelf in our kitchen for going on three months and we decided we better get it cashed. So Kennedy opened her very first bank account yesterday, learned all about getting an account, how much she could take out in one day, got her new bank card, selected her own PIN for the account, asked questions of the bank manager who set up the account, etc. It was happy and sad at the same time - happy to see her taking in the information, getting more independent, but sad because my baby is growing up!

Back to school tomorrow - I'm not scheduled to work tomorrow yet so that's a good thing as Kennedy's big brother, Kyle, is coming home from his high school trip to France at about 1:00am. She is excited to see him as am I - can't wait to go pick him up tonight, Kennedy will have to wait until the morning to see him, though as she does need to wake up for school!

Hope all of my readers had a great break or will have a great break if you haven't yet had it!