Who is Leo?

A few nights ago, Rich and I attended our first parent/teacher conferences of the year. I must admit that there was some nervousness swimming around me with respect to Anna and her progress. We are still unsure if the hydrocephalus and resulting shunt will create any bumps along the way with her ability to learn.

After meeting with the girls' teachers, I am overjoyed to be able to write that all three of my girls are thriving and learning and that there are no issues or major concerns. In fact, Anna was the only one of Ms. L's 30 students to answer a very advanced question in the reading/comprehesion portion of the testing. The only one. She said that not only did Anna answer it correctly but she didn't have any assistance at all. Most of my fears packed up and flew out the window when I heard this.

What I continue to find interesting is that the girls seem to have strengths and weaknesses in the same areas. For example, all three have always scored high in language and literacy development and oral language. But no one can accurately count to 20, which I learned is completely normal for this age.

Whenever the question is asked as to whether or not the girls have different personalities, Rich and I always respond with an enthusiastic, "Why, yes! They certainly do." They do but they don't. All three are shy but we assign them to different levels of shyness. Allie is the most outgoing. Is she really outgoing? No, but she's more outgoing than her sisters are.

Anna and Emily are still painfully shy at school. Allie is finally coming out of her shell and has friends, girls that gravitate towards her and she to them. Emily plays alongside her classmates but doesn't really play with them. She is talking more, which is a good sign. Anna is probably the most shy of the three at school. But she has a boyfriend!!! What the what? That was news to us although she has mentioned his name several times.

When Rich and I arrived home and asked Anna about her boyfriend, we were greeted with complete avoidance. She kept rolling her eyes into the back of her head, which always freaks me out, and looking away from us. When I tucked her into bed and asked her to tell me about her little friend, she stated, "His nose is full of boogies." She was acting serious but I think she was attempting to change the subject.

I don't want to go into too many details but from talking with the girls and Anna's teacher, I think Anna has found a friend to bond with, which is a good thing.

Oh, and Allie can now spell ALICENNE without any help or guidance at all. SURPRISE! She's never even tried in my presence and when I have mentioned it to her, she has told me that her name is Allie. With a lip pout, of course.