First Quarter Returns Show Positive Trends

It's amazing to see how a toddler moves from one developmental milestone to another. Sometimes, it's as immediate and obvious like taking first steps. Others are almost imperceptable until you realize they've happened. Last night, when I was snuggling with Brigid before her bedtime, she and I were having a conversation. An actual conversation, one that required to her recall events and information. She wasn't just parroting me or repeating what she had already said. She had to think a minute and recall events of the day or something that goes on in day care in order to answer. At first, I asked about her day. She said we went to church and the mall (which we did). We talked about school because she would be going the next morning. She said Jodi and Jena (her teachers) call her "Brig," not Brigid. (I'll have to have a talk with them about THAT).

Then this morning in bed with me she asked for a drink (or a dink) of water. I told her I didn't have her cup right there. She said, "It's in my room." She had to envision her cup, sitting on her little bedside table, and know it was there from the night before. I know that doesn't seem like a huge accomplishment, but you have to keep in mind that a toddler's frame of reference and timeline is much different from an older child's or an adult's. Toddlers think in the here and now. Brigid is now showing she can project into the future, into the past and into another room to visualize what she's talking about. It's exciting, but it also means that babyness I love so much is fleeting.

We're gearing up for our Buffalo visit. Although Grandma won't be there, we'll spend some quality time with Uncle Dave and Aunt Connie, Tim and Stephanie, and we'll see how Aunt Sandy is doing for a visit. I'm hoping we can take Cassandra for a while at the pool to give her some swim time and give Sandy a break. We'll see how that goes. There is also a chance that Margaret's best friend, Maggie, can spend some time with us if we work out the details to get her up from Ohio. I know that will make Margaret's year.

Speaking of making a year, so far, both Patricia and Margaret are making a great year -- school-wise. We had parent/teacher conferences last week and picked up report cards. As Margaret's (and Patricia's) Spanish teacher said, "How can you improve on 100?" Both girls are doing A+ work in most subjects. Patricia got an A- in math, which is advanced math, so her teacher said it's like getting an A+ in regular math. Margaret was worried about her math grade and her teacher, a not-so-warm-and-fuzzy nun of a woman who takes no prisoners but gets her students to succeed in 8th-grade math. She didn't do well on one exam last quarter and that dropped her grade to 89, but the rest of her grades were A's, so the teacher isn't concerned and told us we shouldn't be, either. All of the teachers raved about the "Downs Girls" as they called them collectively and asked when the next one was coming up. When I said she's 2 and a half, every one of them either sighed or said something like, "I can't wait to have her." Patricia's English teacher, who had Margaret as well, went so far as to call them clones as far as their behavior, their grades, their love of reading and their temperment -- all of which was complimentary.

We had Brigid's parent/teacher conference at day care a few weeks ago and she's doing just what she's supposed to be doing. We asked if she's bossy, if she screams in people's faces, or displays any of the demanding personality we've come to know and, well, know. They looked at us like we were spouting fire from our heads. No, we've never seen any of that, they said. She probably just saves that for you. Yup, you betch'ya she does. But...

We couldn't be prouder -- of all our girls. It's one thing to think you're doing a good job raising them. It's another to hear other people tell you you're doing a good job and be able to cite examples. We have a long way to go -- Margaret has only just entered her teens; Patricia is on the threshold. Brigid? Well, let's just say we're waiting to see what the other two do first before projecting onto Brigid what the future might hold. For now, for this quarter, all is right with the world.