Stress Freak, Cool Cumber & the Pin Cushion!

School is back in session, and it amazes me how each child handles it so different.  Haley started middle school yesterday, and let me just say, the girl is one big ball of stress.  This child does not handle change very well, so, this moves something like starting middle school into the same category as a natural disaster.  One where I sit back, buckle up, keep my hands and feet inside the vehicle and wait for the ride to come to a complete stop.  After a shopping trip to her new favorite store, Tilly's, to get all the "right" kind of clothes, she was off.  By the time she walked in the door at the end of the day she was the happiest I have seen her in awhile.  Apparently, Haley and middle school agree with each other.  The whole rest of the evening was a retelling of the events of her day.  A good sign, seeing how most of these kiddos hit the mute button at this age.  

Hannah started 2nd grade yesterday as well.  Now she is the complete opposite of her older sister.  She was cool, clam and collected.  Second grade, no big deal.  This kid is so easy going, which I am grateful for.  It would be hard to deal with two tornados at the same time.  Hannah's teacher's name is Mrs. Fararra and so far she looks like a gem!  I am so excited for all that Hannah is going to learn this year.  It's so fun to see your children enjoy learning.

And the most fabulous news of all this year is that Emily was chosen to be a peer model for the preschool at the same school that Hannah attends.  This has been quite a process to get her into this program, so I was jumping for joy when we received the call on Friday.  This program is for children with minor disabilities and they also add a couple of peer models into the group to help the children.  Studies have shown that when you mix children who are developing at a normal rate with children who are developmentally delayed it helps them in many ways.   

The bummer was that Emily had to miss the first day so that she could have all of her shots updated.  The poor kid turned into a pin cushion.  Five shots, two in each arm and one in her leg.  After that she wasn't so sure if starting school was worth all the trouble.  The whole time we were waiting she keep saying that she just wanted to stay at home and forget about going to school.  The next day she had changed her tune.  She said, "my shots are really painful, but I'm ready to go!"  And sure enough she ran right up to where her class lines up, sat down with a really cute little girl and struck up a conversation like they had been best friends for years.  Boy, if I could just bottle that girl's energy and confidence I would be rich!