Dear

Dear Baby,
(let me start off by saying anytime I call you "baby" I am almost always saying it with a little bit of venom in my voice.) I don't know why you felt the need to be up until 3:30 last night.  Maybe you wanted to catch some Late Night with Jimmy or something.  But, just an FYI, his show is over at like midnight or something.  Next time, let me know in advance and we'll just watch it on Hulu the next day.
Love,
almost-invested-in-that-go-the-f-to-sleep-book mommy

Darling E,
Thank you, thank you, for getting up with the other 3 people AND making coffee for me.  You will be showered with kisses when you arrive home.
Muah,
Coffee Breath

Dear A,
Dude!  Your teacher conference totally rocked!  I was so surprised and so happy to hear that you've been doing so well.
High five,
maybe your tonsillectomy worked!

Dear dance studio where my daughter takes dance,
While I'm all for dressing little girls in frilly dresses once or twice a year, I am not sure that all of your costumes are completely age appropriate (or, lets be honest, appropriate at all.)  I'm thinking that its a little unwise to put black fish net tights, along with an outfit that looks like a corset, on a bunch of 14 year old girls wearing too much make up who are going to shake their boo-tay in front of a crowd of people.  But, who am I to be making an accusation that every.single.one. of those parents should have made? 
Sincerely,
last year of dance for daughter

Dear weather,
I love you.
Forever and ever,
a warm weather friend

Dear Grass,
I hate you and your brownness.  Call me racist, but I'd rather you be green.
Every spring,
sweeping daily

Dear Isaac,
I'd love to stop taking you to the dr.  Seriously.  Stop getting sick. please.  now.
Hugs and love,
"is that ear draining again" mommy

Dear Eliza,
I hear you on the monitor.  Up there, cooing.  Probably looking all cute and cuddly stuff.  You don't fool me.  I know the "real" 3 am you.
Love,
mommy

another month, another picture

The reason I ask

Thank you for your responses to my post on giftedness.  I wanted to get a feel for the general "feel" of what people think giftedness really is.

O is reading at a high level.  Very high, in fact.  She was reading at a level in October that surprised us then.  Her teacher sent home a progress report last week and told us the grade level along with the percentile.  Its well above what she was reading in October.  E and I teased that she may be reading at a level above my brother, who is 23. (Sorry, Dan.  We are just teasing. ;) )  My mom even joked that O may read above the level she read at when she graduated. 

She is also very good at spelling.  Her teacher asked us if she could give O harder words each week because she was getting them all right on Monday's pre-test.  There were a few other kids doing this too, so they do the words together.  Some of those words, though, give me pause.  (Of course, I've never been the world's best speller, either.  Thank goodness for spell check!) 

She's a few grade levels above for math and science as well (not nearly as high as her reading and spelling, though.)  But, like I stated before, does this make her gifted?  I think it just makes her "smart" or "above average". 

I casually mentioned the above to a few friends and they suggested she get into the gifted program. 
Sometimes, it seems that I am the only one with a very "conservative" definition of what gifted is. I tend to think of gifted as someone with the extreme ability to learn quickly, or already know things that haven't been taught to them. Thinking more along the lines of almost in MENSA or something.

First of all, I have no idea what grade that starts at. Second of all, I don't really feel like she's gifted (I know, I know. A mother is supposed to think the opposite. But, I'm a realist. She's an amazing student, and she's really smart. I just don't know if she's "gifted" and not just "well above average.") Third, I don't know that she would want to do something like that.  (She wasn't especially fond of the harder spelling words at first because it was different from what the other kids were doing.  Now that there are a few more kids doing it with her, she doesn't mind as much.)

Its not something I have to worry about, or even dwell apon for longer than a few days.  I guess I just wanted validation in the fact that I don't really consider her to be gifted or even want her to be labeled gifted.  Maybe in the future we'll have to revisit that, especially considering who her father is (we didn't have a "gifted program" at our school, but he got lots of "extra projects". Also purposefully got a B in one class one semester so he wouldn't have to be valedictorian. But, that's an entirely different post all together)  But, at her age, I prefer she's just "doing well for a first grader".

A definition of "gifted"

I'm curious what other people think of this.  What would you consider gifted?

For instance, what grade levels of math, reading, etc. would you expect a "gifted" 1st grader to be doing?

I am finding that my definition and the definition of others aren't matching up.  I'll explain more after I read your responses.

My baby model

I just have to share a picture from Eliza's modeling session yesterday.  My friend, Jen, is a photographer/crafter extraordinaire.  She makes all kinds of cute crochet beauties and amazing headbands.  (She's the one I got Eliza's Christmas hat from, among other things.)

So, here is Miss Cuteness:

I could just munch on those cheeks (well, if they didn't smell like rancid spit up.  its a good thing you can't smell through pictures.)

I have a confession(s)

CONFESSION 1: 
I peed on a stick today.  (I know, I know.  But, I had my first post baby cycle when Eliza was only 12 weeks old, and haven't had another.)  It was strange.  I actually wanted it to be negative.  I don't think I've ever felt quite like this while looking at a pee stick.

Maybe I'm coming to grips with this being our last baby.  Of course, there's the logistics of Eliza only being 3 months old.  That could have a lot to do with it. So, maybe its not grips I'm coming to, but the sanity that I'm trying to grip onto. 


CONFESSION 2:
It took me 4 weeks to lose 3 lbs.  Yet, only 2 days of dairy free brownies to gain it back.  I secretly am jealous of my husband who can lose that over night.   Or he "cuts out extra snacks" as in, eating one less cooking then he normally would, and loses that weight.  Sheesh.

CONFESSION 3:
I've actually worked up the courage to participate in some heated debates on facebook/in person.  I was typing my view with fervency and spouting off facts to my adversaries.  Wait.  Nope.  That WASN'T me.  But, I did read some and get pretty angry and shake my fist into the air, yelling "Arg!" whilst telling E what I'd LIKE to say that I clearly did not.

CONFESSION 4:
I want Eliza to suck her fingers. Or thumb. She is still not a lover of her pacifier.  Screw not stopping until she's 6 and needs braces when she's 12.  All kids need braces these days.  Plus, I think she's a doll when she does this.

Eliza's VCUG

Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes.  It went so well!  Not only did she do great (she was the life of the radiology department that day) she didn't show any signs of kidney reflux!

Here she is in her hospital gown.

She didn't even cry when they inserted the catheter!  Amazing little girl!  (It was sort of funny because she DID cry during her renal u/s at the urologist's office.  Which, clearly, didn't hurt.  She was just plain mad.)

We still have to watch out for unexplained high fevers, but we're sort of professionals at fever watch. :)