leenaok

Alisha was tested for the gifted program this week. In order to qualify for gifted, you need an IQ of 130 or above. Alisha’s was “only” a 117, which is a high-average IQ, but not high enough to qualify for the program. I have to admit, I’m surprised that her score wasn’t higher. The RIAS, which is administered through the school district, is considered more of an IQ screener than a full-fledged IQ test like the WISC-IV or Stanford-Binet. With that in mind, we are probably going to request a full IQ test through a private psychologist. If that doesn’t work out, we will most likely send her back to her private school at Noonan Academy.

Why send her back to her old school? There is a world of difference between public and private school curricula. The curriculum at Noonan is at least 1-2 grade levels above public school. It’s the reason why Alisha has complained, since the beginning of the year, that she’s in first grade “all over again”. In her current school, Reading, Math and Language Arts are the only subjects that receive A-B-C-D-F letter grade on her report card. Science (optional in 2nd grade), Social Studies (optional in 2nd grade), P.E., Music and Art get an S or U. Bottom line is that in the public school system it’s all about demonstrating Adequate Yearly Progress which is based on scores from standardized testing, such as the Stanford 10 or FCAT. Private schools don’t have to demonstrate AYP so they can design a curriculum that’s not all about “teaching to the test”.

So, why did we send Alisha to public school in the first place? It was Sanjay’s suggestion :) He went through the Florida public school system and had no complaints. What he’s come to realize is that going through public school on the gifted track gave him a totally different (and much better) educational experience.

Aside from the educational aspect, Alisha really enjoys public school. She goes to the gifted class for reading (she’s currently at a mid-5th grade reading level) and it’s the only time she learns anything new. I’ve told her that learning is the most important reason for going to school so she knows that returning to private school is a definite possibility.

I taught Jacob how to count from 1 to 5. Okay, so he doesn’t actually SAY the numbers but he does hold out his hand and wiggle his fingers, like he's counting along with me. What comes out of his mouth is more like, "zih, zih, zih," I’m not in any rush for him to start talking; I actually think his babbling is really cute. I wish he would stand still long enough for me to do some video-recording of his babbling because I know his grandparents can’t get enough of listening to their grandson "talk".

Jacob may not have any spoken words but he is finally starting to understand us. When we say, "Bedtime," he will cry, grab his blanket and walk to the stairs.

This weekend we went to Port St. Lucie to celebrate (Sam & Sonya’s daughter) Jasmine’s first birthday party. It was a good weekend to be out and about. The weather was perfect for outdoor water play, not a cloud in sight! Alisha was concerned that only babies would be at the party. Fortunately she had nothing to worry about; Alisha made friends with another 7 year old girl and they had lots of fun together. Jacob, the social butterfly, ran around, ate plenty, and slept well. What more could you ask from a 15 month old?

I was totally thrown for a loop today. Sometimes we take our life and our blessings for granted. We just have to keep the faith and remember that God is in control.

I’ve registered Jacob for a couple of programs to get him used to socializing with kids his own age. We go to Music Together class on Thursdays, and Playtime Pals (aka Mommy & Me) on Fridays. The classes are held at the Learning Tree, a preschool located in the local Jewish Temple.  The best part is the location, just 5 minutes from my house! 

The Music Together class has a lot of singing and dancing.  I figured it would be perfect for Jacob, who loves shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.   Unfortunately, he hasn't enjoyed it as much as i thought he would (or maybe he's just not showing it). I think it’ll just take time; he needs to get used to transitioning from one activity to another (and he hates to put his instruments away).

Alisha had no school today so she went with me and Jacob to his playtime class. Boy, did she love it! I’m pretty sure she was just happy to be included in snack-time, during which they had graham crackers.


Jacob really enjoys his playtime class!


It’s nice to have a space where Jacob is free to explore pretty much everything.

So far his favorite activities are going down the slide and "cooking" in the play kitchen. It makes me hopeful that (soon) one day I can enroll him in the Learning Tree.  The school offers a program for children beginning at 18 months.  It's only 2 days a week for 3 hours a day but something is better than nothing, and I could really use a break from him! 

I really wish Gymboree Play & Music hadn’t closed last year. I remember how much Alisha enjoyed it when she was around 2 and I’m positive I would have gotten my money’s worth with Jacob. Now the closest location is in Naples, and it’s not worth traveling a half-hour out of my way just for that.

This weekend Veg came to visit us for the first time since she moved to Florida (which was last year). It was nice to have a girls’ weekend out! We got our nails done and went to the outlet mall where Veg bought 2 Coach bags. They had their usual sale (50% off clearance) which is pretty good, but nothing tempted me enough to shell out the $. I’ve been on the lookout for a new bag, but I haven’t found one yet. The bags are either too small, too big, not my style or the wrong color. And let’s not forget, it’s gotta be in my price range! No rush, the outlet’s only 10 minutes away so I can go there anytime :) Maybe I’ll luck out during one of the after Thankgiving/after Christmas holiday sales??

Jamilla & her family came over last night. They flew into Fort Myers and got to our house by 9pm. It was great to see them but I felt bad that Alisha couldn’t stay up late to play with the kids since she had to go to school this morning. If only Florida schools started after Labor Day! I just don’t get the reason for the August start date, but whatever it is, I don’t like it!


The Three Stooges: Arya, Alisha & Noah

By the time I woke up this morning, they had already left. Sanjay woke up early (around 5am) to see them off. When they said they wanted to get an early start on their drive to Orlando they weren’t kidding! I can’t imagine how the crowds will be, considering it’s Labor Day weekend.

Even though I’ve lived in Florida for 10 years now, I’ve only been to the Orlando tourist attractions a handful of times. Disney: 2x; Sea World: 1x and Universal/Islands of Adventure: 1x. The theme parks are SO expensive; I think a one-day Disney ticket costs more than 70 bucks per person. Sea World is the least expensive, but it’s by no means cheap. I’m just glad that the parks offer Florida resident discounts. Alisha has been talking about going to Disney, even though she just went there with her grandparents in June 2008. They just drove from Tampa (which is 1 1/2 hours away) for the day. In my opinion, the best way to visit Disney with a family is to stay at an on-site hotel. This way you can get an early start on your day and go back to your hotel room to eat lunch, relax and take a nap. Then, after you’ve showed/napped/rested, you return to the park around 5 and stay there until closing, which could be anywhere from midnight to 3am if you’re a resort guest. I wouldn't mind going back to Disney, but I don't see it happening until Jacob gets a little older. He's the kind of kid who would get lost in Disney without a leash!

On day 6 of school Alisha (finally) got her first homework packet. And it was pretty lame. Like, alphabetize 3 words and they all start with different letters...gimme a break! Last year Alisha was alphabetizing 10 words with half of them starting with the same first 3 letters!

Here are the spelling words for the general education 2nd grade class: has, way, bad, six, will, sat, had, fix, him, if, can, hit, blue, even, study, because.

Here are the spelling words for the gifted 2nd grade class: safe, smoke, escape, flames, tell, wildfire, forest, heat, firefighter, brave, danger, prevent, neighborhood.

What a difference, right?

Because Alisha is such a strong reader, she will be going to the gifted class every day for reading and language arts. Right now she’s reading at a mid-5th grade level. It’s kind of amazing how quickly her reading skills developed. I mean, she wasn’t an early reader; she started reading in Kindergarten, just like her classmates. But somewhere between Kindergarten and first grade, her skills took off! In first grade, she had already read the entire Ramona Quimby series (which I did not read until 3rd grade). Being a strong reader doesn’t mean she is a "shoe-in" for the full-time gifted program, but having good verbal skills certainly helps!

Week # 1 of public school has come and gone with no homework in sight. However, we DID get a fundraising packet. Good to know they have their priorities straight :\ *sigh*

Alisha’s adjusting pretty well to her new environment. It’s certainly a change but I think it’s opened her eyes to what school is really like, at least here in Fort Myers. She went from a private K-8 school with <150 students to a K-5 school with 800-900 students. So far she likes the unimportant stuff, like “Fun Fridays” (aka free afternoons with movies/popcorn/no schoolwork), no uniforms, no strict nutrition policy (at Noonan they do not permit junk food), and a variety of “junkier” lunches, like corn dogs, grilled cheese, etc (compared to Noonan’s chicken and wild rice, or shepherd’s pie).

Anyway, I’ve already been in contact with the school guidance counselor to request that Alisha be tested for gifted. The main reason I chose this school is because it has a full -time gifted program for 2nd-5th grade students. We figured if we could get Alisha into a challenging public school program then why not go for it? It wouldn’t cost us anything (more than the $$ we pay in property taxes). Now, if Alisha doesn’t qualify…well, most likely she will return to Noonan.

 

My baby girl is now in 2nd grade. And in public school. I miss uniforms already (but we'll see how this works).

The Kurian family drove Alisha to school for her first day of second grade. Of course, I took pictures...to the point where Alisha was like, "You can go now!!!" (but I know she will appreciate my efforts...one day). Tomorrow she will ride on a bus to school for the first time EVER! 

This weekend, Alisha lost both of her upper lateral incisors! Kinda crazy but that’s just how it worked out.  And since Alisha said the tooth fairy pays double on weekends (have to thank Sanjay for that one), I had to cough up 2 bucks per tooth!!!

One tooth came out after it started bleeding from the way she bit into a cookie.  
Here is Alisha minus tooth # 7. 


The other one was just annoying her (and she didn't even cry). 

Good thing Sanjay’s in charge of tooth extraction because I can’t bear to watch it, although I do take video when I can (for blackmail purposes)  ;)

 
8 teeth down...12 more to go! 

Here's an easy-to-read printable check-list if you're wondering what in what order teeth grow/fall out. Jacob's teeth are coming in at the rate that Alisha is losing them. So, she's lost 8 teeth and he's waiting for his 8th tooth (lower lateral incisor) to come in. 

Today we went to Open House at Alisha’s new elementary school. We went to her 2nd grade classroom where we met her teacher (a man, for the first time) and helped her get familiar with her new surroundings. Alisha is going from a private school with 150 students to a public school with 900 students, so you can imagine that it is quite a change for her. Alisha is very excited about going to a new school but she’s even more nervous about riding on a school bus (in the mornings only). The bus is scheduled to arrive at 8:20. Estimated arrival at school is at 8:45. We figured spending 25 minutes on the bus wouldn’t be too bad. It's hard to believe her first day of school is in 2 days!

JTK has taken one more step towards independence.  He is holding his own bottle, no help required.

Now, if only he could change his own diapers...

So, I did something a little daring...I cut Jacob’s hair, all by myself! I went to Sally’s beauty supply, bought a ConairPro clipper set ($18) and buzzed Jacob’s entire head with a #4 attachment comb (which was the longest one I had). Jacob’s hair looks REALLY SHORT now. I think I should have gone with a #5 attachment but since it wasn’t included with my set I will probably have to exchange it for another one.

Yes, I know it looks sorta military.

We are BACK from our weekend in New York! Didn’t know we were going? That’s kind of the point. We flew up to celebrate my dad’s 60th birthday with a SURPRISE party at the Cotillion.

Was he surprised?

Well, he knew he was having a party on Saturday, he just thought it was going to be Saturday evening. Hey, I’ll take what I can get. Jim & Tami flew up on Wednesday night and we flew up on Friday night. Sanjay’s parents even flew up from Tampa, on Saturday morning, just for the party! Everything went well but I am glad it’s over. I am done with "surprise" parties! Fortunately we have 2 years to prepare for my mom’s big day, but thankfully she wants to go on a cruise, easy enough!

As part of this surprise, we had to rent a car from JFK and stay at a hotel on Friday night. We stayed at the Melville Marriott which was barely a Marriott by my standards. The WORST part was that the hotel was laid out in such a way that if you had a room at the end of the hallway (which we did, our dumb luck) you had to walk like, a half-mile to get there. I would even opt for a hotel with exterior corridors over that, at least you can get in and out of your room in one shot.

Guess what Jacob mastered while we were in New York? He learned how to crawl down the staircase. So now he’s sporting his newly acquired skills on our stairs at home!

Jacob had his well-baby check-up today! Jacob got the usual shots, but he's such a trooper that he only cries for (literally) 10 seconds.

His stats are as follows (click here for the CDC growth charts):

Height/Length: 28 ¾ inches (4th percentile)
Weight: 19 ½ lbs (around 9th percentile)
Head circumference: 18” (25th percentile)

He’s still not officially ready to turn forward-facing in his car seat (at least not in my car, although we already turned him around in Sanjay’s car). According to the growth chart, Jacob is the size of the average 9 month old boy (which is hard for me to believe). But I guess it makes sense since he's stil wearing some 6-9 month clothes in addition to his 9-12 month wardrobe. 12-18 months is WAY too baggy for him. At least we're getting our money's worth from his clothes. 

Even though Jacob is on the small side, his weight for his height/length is almost at the 50th percentile, which means he’s perfectly proportioned! :) 

Alisha starts 2nd grade in 3 weeks at Orangewood Elementary. Yes, we decided to give public school a try. Alisha is really nervous and excited about starting a new school, making new friends and no more uniforms! Nothing is set in stone, so we’ll see how it goes.

Jacob update – The kid is so active!!! He’s also babbling up a storm, something he started doing during our trip to New York. He’s also clapping his hands more than ever. He’s quite the energetic toddler. He keeps going and going until he conks out, whether he’s in his high chair or on the floor. The good thing about Jacob is, like his big sister, he is very independent. He doesn’t need me around for entertainment; Jacob actively seeks out things to do (even if it gets him into trouble). His favorite hobbies are crumpling paper, pulling on the toilet paper roll until there’s nothing left and shredding paper!!! I know boys are supposed to mellow out when they get older but those days seem light years away...

Today we attempted to see if he could hold his own bottle, and he did, with a little help from his big sis.

He’s still not ready to do it on his own, but I see it happening sooner rather than later.

So, I’m realizing that the pictures and videos from my new camera are taking up a LOT more space than they used to. I have a 62 second HD clip that is 84MB! Yikes! For the past 5 years or so I’ve been backing up my hard drive on a monthly basis. However, at the rate I’m going, my laptop’s 250GB hard drive is going to run out of space sooner rather than later. With that in mind, I bought a 1TB Western Digital external hard drive from Target. At 99 bucks, plus a 10 dollar gift card, I thought it was a decent deal. Should I continue saving my pictures/videos to my laptop’s hard drive or save to an external hard drive or move my old media to an external hard drive??? What to do...

Earlier this week we went to Orlando and stayed at the Florida Mall Hotel, a very average-ish hotel connected to the Florida Mall. The Kurian family could have stayed somewhere better (since we were tagging along with Sanjay for work) but the hotels in Orlando are not really walking distance to any attractions. In other words, I would have been bored staying anywhere else (outside of Disney).

While we were in Orlando I remembered why I never wanted to live there – the traffic!!

Highlight of the otherwise pretty uneventful Orlando trip – we had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Maggianos. It was my first time dining there and the food was really good!