Summer's end

Okay, yes, I know I have done a horrible job of updating this thing over the summer. Here are the bullet points.

Boy Child

• He is no longer afraid of escalators! He and DH spent a day at the mall several weeks ago and just very calmly practiced the whole escalator thing. He now goes up and down them with no problem at all.
• Still not riding the bike, but he is SO close.
• He has grown so much this summer, both physically and in terms of maturity. I am so amazed by him. My baby!
  
• He is REALLY looking forward to school starting. He says he has missed his friends and he's really looking forward to all the fun stuff fifth graders get to do at our school (like the campus TV station, the science fair, helping the kids in the car rider line get in and out of their cars, etc.).
• We met his teacher yesterday and while I know nothing about her, she seems very nice. We were assured by both the vice principal and his fourth grade teacher that a lot of thought would go into his placement this year, so we are cautiously optimistic.

Girl Child

• Does not need glasses!
• Does need braces, but that's all kind of up in the air right now because the orthodontist appointment this week went HORRIBLY. I'll write more details later.
• Says she's excited about school starting, but I think she's a wee bit anxious too because she's been requiring quite a bit of extra attention lately.
• She will have the same teacher this year that the boy child had in third grade, which is WONDERFUL. Seriously, about 50% of my anxiety over school starting up again evaporated when I found out. She's an excellent match for the girl, will definitely be on top of the emotional issues and whatnot, and I am THRILLED.
• Is REALLY pissed that I've switched her and the boy to the car rider line for dismissal this year. I didn't have a choice, really -- the school decided that beginning this year, only the kindergarten and first grade parents can pick their kids up in the main hallway (which is what I've always done). I told her we'd give it a month and if she still hated the car rider line at the end of September, I'd try to get "special permission" to go back to the old way of doing things. I don't think it will be an issue once she gets the hang of it and sees how many of her friends are in the car rider line, but I'll follow through on that if I have to.
  

Okay! So hopefully I'll be able to flesh this out a little more in the near future. Tonight we go up to the school to pick up our pre-ordered school supplies and tour the classrooms, and then school starts on Monday! Yikes!