Elise's school progress report. Elise rocks!! We are now one month into school and you are doing great! You have had two spelling tests so far and you have gotten 102% on both, which means you got your six spelling words correct plus the two bonus words. Way to go! You have been bringing home books from school since the beginning, and so far they have all been way below what you are capable of reading. We joke about how "hard" they are. You have homework 2-3 days a week, and that is beginning to look a little more challenging. Our biggest challenge is taking our time and making sure our work is neat and our letters are going in the right direction. You hate to be corrected, but we need to work on your handwriting, and a b is a d if you don't write it the right way.

We now have another family vacation under our belts! We spent the end of our summer up in Mackinaw City. We rented a cabin at a big campground right on the shores of Lake Erie with a beautiful view of the bridge. You loved the cabin, and slept on the top bunk in your own room. Unfortunately, as was true for this whole summer, the weather was not very nice. We went swimming the first day for a very short time. Brrrrrr.... the water was cold! Lake Erie is also pretty rocky I came to find out. We spent the first two days hanging out around Mackinaw City. We bought some fudge, and checked out the shops. We found a hideous rabbit's foot in one store,

and you couldn't stop talking about how gross it was. We made Smore's and rode the campground fire truck. You helped Mom make a puzzle. We explored the campground, and tried out all the playgrounds. We ate at the Pancake Chef, and man was it good!

On the third day, we had some fairly nice weather. We took the ferry over to the Island. The boat was very cold, and I was glad we bought you a cool Mackinaw Island hooded sweatshirt. The island was very busy and crowded. You had to dodge horses, people on bikes, and horse poop everywhere. We walked up to the butterfly house and a butterfly landed right on you and you didn't even know it. We rented some bikes, and took a ride around the whole island. Mom on one bike and you and Daddy on a mountain bike with a tagalong. At first, you were very afraid of falling over, because the tagalong would lean from side to side when Daddy turned, but after a while you got used to it and like it a lot.
We rode to Arch Rock and climbed the steps all the way to the top. I was impressed that you didn't complain about the workout at all, and it was a lot of steps! After our bike ride, we walked up to the Grand Hotel to take a look. I was appalled, they charge you $10 a piece just to go on the property. I tried to take some pictures, but one of the employees stuck her hand out and told me we had stay back farther. I'm never staying there!

The last night we stayed at the Holiday Inn, because Daddy had a class there in the morning. You and I hung out and swam in the pool while Daddy and Hairy arranged their classroom. I wouldn't say this was our most exciting trip, but you seem to just love going new places and getting so much attention from Mom and Dad. I hope that lasts for many more years to come. Now I'm trying to decide where we should go next. I can't help dreaming of European tours, or other exciting trips when you get older. I hope you will always be my travel companion, since it's not really Daddy's thing. Maybe when you get older, we can go on adventures just you and I.

I wanted to quickly post this because I wanted to be sure that you knew how proud I am. Today, was a very trying day for you. Your first tooth finally came out with a little help from GiGi, and so enacted our agreement to end the figure sucking. A few months ago, after a visit to the dentist, we made an agreement. The dentist has been mentioning that your teeth are getting pushed out of place because you suck your finger, so we agreed that when your first baby tooth fell out then you would have to stop sucking your finger. It's something we had talked about for a while and this seemed like a good opportunity to have an end point. Well, the tooth finally fell out and you were very upset because your are very attached to it. You have been crying on and off all day, but you haven't not been sucking it. During bathtime, you had another burst of crying because you were sure you would not be able to fall asleep without the finger. We talked about habits and how hard they are to break. We also talked about that once you do break this habit, that you wouldn't miss your finger anymore. You seemed relieved that you weren't going to be this upset all the time about it. So before bed we painted on the nasty tasty polish and Mama laid down with you. I read you a book, then spent another 30-40 minutes reading to you out of my book. I had to put a sock on your hand because you kept accidentally putting your finger in the hole where your tooth used to be to feel it and then getting the bad taste from the polish. At one point, you said the sock was making your hand hot, but then decided to put it back on, so you would remember not to suck your finger. You were very calm and I just told you that I was sure you would be able to fall asleep and miraculously I think you believed me. And you did, you fell asleep without much fuss. You still have the sock on your hand, and I'm hoping that stays on the rest of the night.

Tomorrow I think will be a brighter day. You have your first day of day camp at Camp Manitou-lin, and I think that you will feel much better having your first night without out the sucking finger under your belt. It will help to know that you can sleep without it. I'm very excited to see your face. I am a little sad that this has completely overshadowed the excitement of loosing your first tooth. That wasn't good planning on my part. I put your tooth in your tooth pillow and put it under your pillow, but really I think you could have cared less. You had way bigger things on your mind that the Tooth Fairy, and I don't think you'll even remember to look under your pillow in the morning.

We found a really cool place to visit this summer. It's called the Critter Barn. I signed you up for a class there after I heard one of my friends talking about it. It's a children's farm where they let you molest all variety of animals. You got to bottle feed a baby goat, wash pigs and a goat, ride a donkey, hand feed Mr. Chops, the pot bellied pig, take goats for a walk, brush sheep, and play with cats, bunnies, and baby chicks and ducklings. You were in heaven. Unfortunately, the first day you were there, you started itching your eyes. The teacher mentioned it to me, and I didn't think much of it until we got the car and your right eye swoll up so much you almost couldn't open it.
Luckily, we happened to have an appointment with your doctor that day. When I brought you into the office, everyone kept saying, "Oh Sweetie!" You just looked at me and said, "Is it that bad?" I told you that we might not be able to go back to the Critter Barn because you were obviously allergic to something and you were very upset. But Dr. VanZee said that I could just load you up with Benadryl and see how it went. So we got some antihistamine eye drops for you eye, and the swelling came right down. We went back the next day, and you were fine. At the end of the class they gave us a free pass to come back and bring two friends. You want to bring Maddie and Nathen, so I gave it to Karrie to use sometime this summer. You just love to mother those animals. Just ask Rossi, the other day you had her strapped to the baby stroller with a bonnet on!

This week you went to the Cherry Jam for the Cherry Valley Girl Scouts. It was a two day/day camp that was held at Lakeside Park in Caledonia. You had a good time hanging out with some of your friends from school, and made a couple new friends too. I guess that's what struck me about the experience, how easily you seem to make friends. These little girls in the picture above all wanted to have their picture taken with you, especially the one with her arm around your shoulder. You went on scavenger hunts, learned new songs, and ate things you would NEVER eat for me (walking tacos?).

All in all, you seemed to have a good time and it was a good way to eliminate the constant "I'm bored" that I've already been hearing. Here are couple more cute pics, including one of you with your favorite troop leader called "William?" I guess she was making up silly names for herself both days and you guys thought she was hilarious. I could tell all the girls wanted her attention.

Great Grandma Worman, otherwise known as the Pocket Grandma, was here for a visit for the first time in 5 years. She was immensely happy to see you and is amazed by everything you do. She's a very sharp lady considering she's 94. While we were visiting Grandpa showed you how to strum his ukelele, and you fell in love with it. After you finished your dinner, you ran in the other room to get it and then serenaded us with the songs you learned at Girl Scout camp while you strummed. It was so cute because you were so serious about it. Now a ukelele is the only thing you want for your birthday. Daddy took some video of you playing it, I will try to upload it.

Today was your last day of Kindergarten. You are officially a first grader, can you believe it! I can't. Daddy had to get a picture of you getting off the short bus, because he thinks it's so funny. Plus today was the last day you will ever ride the short bus. You brought home all of these neat things from your teacher; report card, lots of pictures that were taken over the year, art projects, a draft book were you practiced writing and spelling, a memory book, and (my favorite) your "Look at Me" book where you drew a self portrait at the beginning of the year and at the end. Here's is what they looked like.

You got straight ones on your report card, with the exception of "recognizes and states the value of a penny, nickey, dime, and quarter". We can work on that over the summer. ;-) Along with your report card, your teacher wrote a little note telling about you and all you know.

"Elise is such a sweet little girl and has been a joy to have in class this year. She is quiet and shy but seems to have blossomed the past few months. She is kind, respectful, and cooperative. She has made new friends and gets along well with her peers. Elise knows rhyming, all 26 capital and lowercase letter names and letter sounds. She knows all 31 of the reading sight words. She uses the letter sound association to read leveled reading books and sound out words when writing in her Draft book. She identifies, arranges, and writes numbers 1-30. She counts to 111 by 1's and to 100 by 10's. She can practice couting to 100 by 5's this summer and to 20 by 2's. I encourage her to review letters, sounds, read and write this summer to maintain her skills. Elise always does her personal best in her work. She is ready for the challenge of first grade. I will miss her next year. Have a Great Summer!

Mrs. Bowman

Today was Field Day at school. Grandpa came and we had a blast! We had a sack race, relay, tug of war, long jump, and various other games. Your favorite was the tug of war. The first game we played was girls against boys, and the girls won! That was very cool. We also played adults against kids, and I was quite surprised by how strong you guys were. At the end, you guys were all hot and tired. We went to the gym for one more game, but noone played. Everyone got a participation ribbon. I hope when you get older they do actually let you compete. That was the most exciting part of Field day for me when I was growing up. The chance that I might ribbon in something. I realize Kindergarten is too young for that. Anyway we got lots of great pictures, so I'll post a few.

I'm so proud of you today. Daddy and I have been struggling to get you to ride your bike. You act like it's a chore any time we suggest a bike ride. We've been trying to get you to at least ride to the end of the cul-de-sac and back once or twice a week. Well today, you didn't want to ride that way, so we went the other way down Snow. The road is much nicer and smoother, so it was easier for you to ride even though it's hillier. You had a blast! We stopped and picked flowers every so often, but when you were riding Daddy and I had a hard time keeping up with you. Now you say that you want to ride every day, and I told you next time Daddy and I will have to ride our bikes too so that we can keep up. You were very proud of yourself.

School is almost out, and soon it will be summer. You are taking swimming classes at the YMCA still and you really enjoy them. I can't wait until Bob and Ann's pool is clean, so we can go swimming. You definitely have picked up swimming faster that biking. I'm a little worried about what to do with you for the whole summer. We've already had some "I'm bored." So we have you signed up for a week at Camp Manitou-lin for day camp. We went there last week for the open house, and you seemed very excited about it. I'm also signing you up for the two day Animal Adventures class at the Critter Barn in Zeeleand, and we have a vacation planned in Mackinaw City in August. It's going to be an exciting summer!

I just wanted to throw in a note about you and Patsy and Mini. As I'm sure you'll remember, they are your blankets and apparently friends too. Today as you left for school you gave each one a hug and kiss goodbye. Then for most of the evening you sort of forgot about them. You usually snuggle with them while we watch TV before bed, but tonight you didn't have them. I was going to say something, but I wanted to see if you would notice. You didn't. Then we read stories in bed, and you still didn't notice, so I finally said something as I was turning out the lights. "Ummm, are you forgetting something?" No, you said. "Are you sure?" Yes, you said. "Well, okay." Then you remembered as I started to walk out of the room, so I went and fetched them for you. When I brought them in you started to cry. I asked what was the matter, and you said you felt bad. I told you that Patsy and Mini don't care, and you said, "Yes they do!" It took quite a lot of snuggling before you had decided they weren't mad at you anymore. I don't think they hold a grudge.

It's been a busy weekend so far. Yesterday was the annual Kettle Lake Carnival, and it was the first time you attended as an actual student. I couldn't help looking around at the older kids who were grouped with their friends and thinking someday you're not going to want us to come with you. You didn't win any big prizes, but if it bothered you, you didn't show it. I think your favorite prize was the pink jet shaped kazoo you won at the duck pond.

Today was your last day as a Pike. Next week you begin a new session of swim lessons at the Y as an Eel. Your teacher said you were the most advanced kid in the Pike group. You wanted to know what advanced meant.

It was also kind of a dreary boring day. It rained on and off all day, with a few episodes of lightning and thunder thrown in for good measure. Thunderstorms didn't used to bother you really. I've always loved thunderstorms and tried to pass that on to you, but I guess I'm failing. The thunder got the song "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC stuck in my head, so I put it on the radio and you and I rocked out complete with Rock Band microphone and guitar. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we continued to rock out through "You shook me all night long" and part of "Hells Bells". I'm such a good role model.

Tomorrow to counteract your dosage of AC/DC, I'm taking you to church. Just kidding, that's not why. I've been looking for a church that we could attend. You've been to church exactly twice in you life, and I want to do more than that. This is something that I struggle with, because there are so many things that I dislike about church, but many things I like too. I want you to make up your own mind about it, but how can you make a decision unless you've seen both options. I can tell you, I will never force you to go to church, because I think that's the best way to get you to not like it. I want you to be there because you want to be, not because someone told you that's what you should do. That's how it happened for me.

Tonight was your Spring Concert. Grandpa came to watch and we had a blast. These things are so much more entertaining when you know kids from almost every grade. You did great! And you looked beautiful too. Your favorite song that you sang for the concert was Tingalayo. You've been practicing it at home for a month complete with all the dance moves. Your class also sang I'm So Glad to Be Here, The Tall, Tall Tree and I Can Do It. You were right in the front, and when you first came out on stage, you had your arms crossed over the front of you like you were trying to protect yourself. But once you got singing, it seemed like a lot of the shyness went away. You knew those songs!

My how smart you are! You have started reading. For you Kindergarten class, you have sight words to learn, so you know about 22 of the 31 sights words. But you are also starting to sound out words really well. We have some simple books that you are able to read with only small help from Mom and Dad. You get frustrated when I tell you to sound things out instead of just telling you the word you get stuck on. I get a little frustrated when you sound out a word perfectly and then look at the picture and make a random guess. We are working on it, and I'm scared to push you too much because I soooo want you to love reading like I did as a kid and still do.

Merry Christmas Sweetie! As you can see from the picture Daddy got us matching Christmas sock monkey PJ's. Don't we look cuddly? You are not nearly as afraid of Santa this year, however you still requested someone sleep with you. Christmas morning you were very excited to dive right into present opening. It makes me a teeny bit sad. I miss the way you wanted to stop and play with every new thing you opened. This year, you're chomping at the bit to move on to the next one.

You said you got everything you wanted, so I guess Santa and your parents did pretty good. Sunday we went to Nana and Papa's house and had Christmas there, and today Grandpa and Grandma Denise came over late morning. He read you the "poop story" that Aunt Allison sent you for Christmas. It's about a little mole who has someone poop on his head, and he's trying to solve the mystery of whodunit. Both you and Grandpa were in stitches. I added the video of him reading it, I hope it works.

Once again you have been a very good girl this year. Daddy and I are so proud of you. I hope you weren' t dissappointed that Mama had to work on Christmas day. I was just happy I could be there in the morning to see you when you first took in everything. That's the best moment.

First I have to give a little background. Last year in Preschool, I heard about Max all the time. Max did this, Max had to go in timeout. Everyday, there was a story about all the bad stuff Max did. So when I found out he was going to be in your Kindy class I was a little annoyed and apprehensive. He was such a distraction last year, and I didn't really want to have that again. Well, I don't know what they did with him over the summer, but he is a different kid this year. He still doesn't listen real well, but it's more because he's too busy and not because he's trying to be obnoxious. He even gave me a hug at the Christmas party.

Anyway, your teacher, Mrs. Bowman, pulled me aside and said, "Did Elise tell you about what happened today?" I said "No". Well, apparently you and another student didn't hear the bell at recess and got left outside. When it was discovered that you were missing, the Aide went out and found the two of you still on the playground. You were a little upset because you realized that you missed the bell. But the funny part is, the other student was Max! When I asked you what happened you told me that you were having so much fun, you didn't hear the bell, and would I stop asking about it because I was making you feel embarrassed. Okay, so maybe it's just funny to me, but I felt like signing, "Elise and Max sitting in a tree..." You know the rest.

I had to quickly record this for posterity and to have this on record for future use. And because it was just too dang cute. Tonight when I tucked you in, we had this conversation.

E: I love you, Mama.
M: I love you too. Promise, you'll love me forever.
E: I promise.
M: Pinky swear.
E: Pinky swear. **pinkies entwined**
M: I hope so. Someday, you'll be a teenager, and you'll probably think I'm a big dummy.
E: Why?
M: Because when you're a teenager you'll want to do all these things, and sometimes I'll tell you you can't. And I'll make you do things you won't want to do.
E: What things do teenagers do?
M: Well, they have a lot of homework. And they play sports, and have jobs, and drive cars. They like boys.
E: I don't wanna like boys. **nose wrinkle**
M: But when you're a teenager you will. When you're a teenager, you'll probably even want to kiss boys.
E: **tears starting** I DON"T WANNA BE A TEENAGER!! I DON"T WANT TO KISS BOYS!! I ONLY WANT TO KISS MY DADDY!! **really crying now**

At this point, you are sobbing, and I'm trying to comfort you while I'm laughing. I called Daddy up there and related the conversation to him, and we both snuggled you and reassured you that you wouldn't be a teenager for a long time.

Woohoo! I am so proud of you. We had parent-teacher conferences last night and you got all ones on your report card! Mrs. Bowman said you are a very sweet girl, and kind of quiet. I am amazed at how many of the lower case letters you recognized. We haven't been working on those at home. Mrs. Bowman even commented on how you well you try to sound out words. I know you are going to be reading soon. Keep up the good work sweetie!

Happy Halloween! Look at what a beautiful Tinkerbell you made! I love this costume. Mom helped out at school for your Halloween party. You were very sad that we weren't in the same group for the craft, and I could tell you were feeling a little possesive of your Mama. You wanted to be on me whenever possible. Marking your territory I guess. You and I made a game to bring. We made a Spider with velcro feet and then we cut bugs out of felt. The spider hung from a fishing pole and you had to "fish" for the bugs with the Spider. However many bugs you caught was how many pieces of candy you could pick out of the bowl. I think it was a hit.

Halloween night we had the most beautiful weather I think I ever remember. It was warm enough you didn't even have to cover your costume with a coat. Unfortunately, communications got crossed and we weren't able to find Maddie, Karrie, and Nathen. So it was just the three of us for trick or treating. You made it 30 minutes. I think that was a record so far.

It has been a busy week. Saturday, we headed over to the pumpkin patch. We picked out some pumpkins, went on a hayride, petted some animals, toured the corn maze, and visited an Indian camp. The corn maze was your favorite, because they had pots with coins hidden through out the maze. For every coin you collected, you got to trade it in at the end for candy.

Thursday, we carved pumpkins. You helped take out the guts, and Mommy carved them. We made a giant SpongeBob pumpkin to enter in the Great Pumpkin Contest at your school. We spray painted it yellow and everything.

Friday, I felt like the world's crappiest Mom. I forgot I had promised to let you paint on Sponge Bob's eyelashes, so you were upset when you woke and found that it was all done. I really should have let you help with it more. I just got in my perfectionist mode, and it should have been a group effort. Then I forgot to pack Mini for you to take for show and tell. I could just picture you at school, going to open your backpack, and seeing that Mini wasn't there. I felt bad the whole day.

Friday night, we went to Octoberfest at school with Grandpa. SpongeBob Pumpkinpants won the Best Painted Pumpkin award. You were very excited about that. We went around to all the games. You won at Bingo, but came out of the leaf pile candy hunt crying. I think the other kids overwhelmed you with their fervor for candy. Overall, it was a good time though. We didn't get to see Grandpa much because all his old buddies from school kept grabbing him to talk. Just like old times for Mama.

We just got back from another vacation. Aren't you a lucky girl, two vacations in one year. This time there were no princesses or characters. We took a relaxing vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains with Grandpa Worman. We had a beautiful cabin up in the mountains that was named Little Rocky Top. It had a gorgeous view.

The first full day there it was rainy, so we went to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, which was actually really cool. You got to pet a horseshoe crab and travel on a conveyor through a tunnel surrounded by fish and huge sharks. In the children's education section, they had sensory boxes. You were to put your hand in the box and try to guess what you felt. After 10 seconds, a light would come on and reveal what was in the box. Daddy had a shell, I had a piece of coral, and yours was a fake eel. Only you didn't realize it was fake and you ripped your hands out of the box screaming then started to cry. You were fine when we told you it was fake, and I don't blame you for being scared. Now you think that it's a funny story and asked me to write it in here for you.


That night Aunt Allison came, which was one of the highlights of the trip for you. Wednesday, we went on a hike to Laurel Falls. You hiked 2.5 miles of the 3 mile trek. I was very proud. The next day we took a chairlift ride up the side of a mountain and got to look out over Gatlinburg. You loved the chairlift. That night we went to Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede dinner show. At first you were not impressed, because they had us sit in a hall and listen to a band. Then we were herded into a large arena and took our seats. The lights went down and out came a herd of horses. You looked like McAuley Culkin in Home Alone. It was a pretty cool show and you were in heaven. You especially liked the chicken chase and the Native American portion of the show. We had to eat our whole meal with our hands, because they didn't let you have silverware. I think it was one of your favorite parts of the trip.

The next day, Dada, Mama, and you took the convertible on a drive around Cade's Cove. It was a valley in the mountains with all kinds of historical buildings. We stopped at a farm that was built in 1800's. You said it was spooky and made ghost faces for the pictures. Later on we headed up to Ober Gatlinburg. We took a Gondola ride up to a small amusement park with a fun house, bumper cars, and an alpine slide. We rode another chairlift to one of the best views I'd ever seen.

Later that night, when we went to put you to bed, we discovered that Mini was missing. This is a major thing, Mini is your sidekick. We looked everywhere. I had my suspicions that Mini took a ride out the back of the convertible. I sat you down and said, "Elise, I need you to think real hard. Where was the last place you remember seeing Mini?" You thought real hard and then you got a look in your eyes, like you had remembered and ran out on the porch to the chair we had sat in earlier. I knew Mini wasn't there, because I had already looked, but I could tell you really thought she'd be there. The look on your face when you saw she wasn't there broke my heart. We told you we'd look more in the morning when it was light, but I really didn't have any hope.

On the last day, Aunt Allison, Mom, and Elise took a horseback ride on a trail in the Smoky Mountain National Park. You were very worried about not getting a "pretty" horse. The man at the stable asked you which horse you would like to ride, and you said, "I like the spotted one." and pointed to the hugest horse they had. He suggested Toby, a small brown horse, and you said he was okay too. The guide that lead your horse was great and he knew all about SpongeBob, so you guys had lots to talk about. He told you he had a pet squirrel named Sandy Cheeks. I don't know if that was true or not, I think it was true. It was fun, and you looked so funny bouncing around on your horse. My horse, for some reason, thought it was fun to rear-end your hourse.

When we got back to the cabin, Daddy and Grandpa were packing up. We were just getting things in the car when Daddy ran screaming down the stairs. He found Mini!! She was inside the sleeve on my jacket that you had put on in the restaurant. Happy Day! Now we could leave little Rocky Top feeling like all was right with the world.