phew!

the first full week of school is done. Phew! We're all still getting into a new routine, and getting over the school year's first cold. It was pretty mild - we've had the kids on vitamins and early bedtimes, so no-one had it bad enough to miss school or work. They all passed it on to others instead. Mike especially - he had it the worst, and spent the week breathing and coughing on people's phones, keyboards and remotes. Nice. Joan just got a little bit of it, and her school has the same good hygeine policy Renfrew did - she takes off her coat, then makes a beeline for the bathroom to wash her hands, before she's allowed to do anything else. She's settled into school really well, and she's even picking up french! I took Dave to the library one day while they were in school, and we got a bunch of books, including counting books. She's been able to count to 10 for a while now, and and can read most of her numbers. As we were looking through, I would say the number, and she corrected me, with the number's french name! Pretty impressive with just two classes under her belt. I think now we're going to give her a shot in french immersion. Her teacher said that most studies show that kids with language delays actually benefit from learning a couple simultaneously. Not sure if that's true, but so far, so good. And she'll have John to help her out. He thinks it'd be cool for all the kids to do french immersion, then they could all talk together in french and we wouldn't understand them.

Dave is having a rough time with all this school. He comes with us to drop Joan off, of course, and runs off to the carpet to play with the other kids. Then, i have to drag him kicking nad screaming back to the car to go home for a boring old nap. He hates it. The teacher said he reminds her of another sibling from last year - while her sister was getting settled in each morning, she'd make a beeline for the painting station, whip off something as fast as she could with the few precious moments she had, and then mope out the door. But she got her turn - she's in the 3-year-old program this year, and I think we'll make sure we get Dave a spot in there for next year. Poor guy - he needs a little more fun in his life!

We had another epic shot day with the kids yesterday. I don't know if public health nurses get a per-head bonus, but there's a nurse here who actually requests my kids. We do them all at the same time, one after another. Mike structured his day so he could go with me. I got to do play-room duty, while he took each kid in turn for the shots, which I really appreciated. He'd drop one off in tears, and the others would bristle while Dad chose his next victim to enter the dreaded chamber of sharp pointy things. John and Joan are FINALLY caught up - fully immunized as far as Health Canada allows for free. Dave has his 18 month tetanus or something to go, then he's done until kindergarten. Thomas is on schedule, so he's back in another 2 months, like a normal kid. He got his specs done, too. He's still a little on the small side. He's only 14 pounds, and 24.5 inches long. He's the 10th percentile for both height and weight, and 50th for his head circumfrence. So he's little, but he's growing steadily, is within the normal range, is properly proportioned and is meeting all his milestones, so he still has a stamp of approval from the healthcare system. So far, anyway. he's doing quite a bit now, which is why they weren't concerned. On his tummy, he rests right up on his elbows most of the time, so he can look around, and can lift up on his hands for short periods. He can roll over both ways, and is trying so hard to sit up! he hasn't figured out the tripod thing just yet, but he does lots of crunches trying to sit up, so he should be strong enough soon. He's found his feet and is social and happy. He can creep a little, but it's hard for him. He's an effective non-verbal communicator and makes lots of interesting sounds. He can pick up toys and manipulate them. He's taken a very active interest in my food. He watches me eat intently, and grabs at things. But I tried feeding him a little, and that pesky tongue reflex is still there, so he's not there physically yet. They say to wait until 6 months, but John's doc said when that reflex is gone - the one where they just push everything straight back out with their toungue - that's when to start. 

Anyway, I've got a busy day. better go!