Catch-Up

Ok... back to getting on with the task of living. I'm going to put aside all the worrying and stress for a little while and tell you about all the wonderful things that have happened lately.

This is my opportunity to play catch-up with you.

Things in Hailey's world have been happening quickly. She had her first dance recital back in May. It was a very informal and short event, but it was so adorable! She and her friends danced to 'Under The Sea' from the Little Mermaid... complete with bubble machine in the background. For me, this was really fun to watch, I would love to see her keep doing dance classes. It is important to me that she try different activities and decide which she enjoys enough to continue - I would love it to be dance. Hailey did a really great job and was totally focused on what she was supposed to do - which is a big difference from her performance at the Christmas pageant (those who have seen the video of that event will understand).

That leads me very seamlessly into a quick mention of how much her pre-school has developed her focus and behavior. You may remember a post I made not too long ago about her first conference at pre-school. It was pretty upsetting to me. She was having a very difficult time socializing with the other kids. Her personality was too intense and she had some real serious listening problems. Last month, we had another conference at school and the result was completely different. She still has her moments where she doesn't want to listen... but her entire demeanor has changed. However, much to my delight, her personality has stayed pretty much the same. She is still silly and funny and has a wild imagination, but she channels that energy much better now. If she is separate from the group, it is because she chooses to be. Her teacher even said when she is getting frustrated with the kids, it is usually Hailey that pulls her out of her bad mood and makes her laugh again. I couldn't be any happier at that thought. It is hard for me to go back and read that original blog post...now that I know how things have turned out. The post is pretty over the top dramatic....but... I have to remember it's an accurate record of what I felt at the time. You don't always know how things are going to play out. I'm just glad those earlier feelings didn't end up being justified.

Now that I mentioned about how great pre-school has been for her, it is time to say that she graduated from it last month. We had the little ceremony - with a diploma and cake...the whole enchilada. It was super cute. We got her a white dress outfit and they supplied a crepe paper and cardboard graduation cap (it was very, very stinky). She got to sit in the front row... and we got to spend most of the time trying to get her to sit like a lady in her dress. I'm going to miss her pre-school, we made a really good choice taking her there. They have really done great things with her. I wasn't sure I'd ever feel like she was ready to move on to school, but I am sure that she will be able to handle whatever this fall will give her.

Her next move now is to kindergarten. She is signed up to go to Comstock North Elementary, but I really have some serious reservations about that school. We are possibly going to put our house up for sale yet this summer and that is another twist we have to deal with. So while she will definitely be attending Kindergarten in the fall...where it will be... is a little bit up in the air at this point. Decisions will have to be made very soon.

In terms of happenings on the adult side of the last couple of months, Nathan is in the process of adjusting to his new job. Things are going generally pretty good there. My parents just celebrated their 52 wedding anniversary - which is awesome! I'm up for a possible promotion at work...we'll see how that goes. It's not a big deal, but it would be nice. Speaking of promotions, my sister-in -law Angie just got one and moved back to town - another super happy event (although moving her from 3rd floor apartment to 3rd floor apartment on the hottest day of the month wasn't quite as 'super happy').

I think that is enough for this post at the moment. I do have many other things to share, but I will break them into smaller posts with funnier info.

If you would like to see pictures/video of Hailey's dance recital and graduation ceremony you can click here (there are new pictures that have been added, so you may have to dig for the dance recital).