this happened on the bus

Mr. Steve says in a hushed voice: "I need to talk to you."
My eyes get bigger and I lean into the bus stairwell: "Okay?"
Mr. Steve: "Lola and her boyfriend cannot sit together anymore [my stomach knots at this description of her friend Tucker, but i know its a convenience term], I've been told by other kids on the bus that they both had their pants down and were showing off their behinds at each other."
Me: [completely mortified that she might really have done this and that he is telling me about it] "Oh wonderful, another talk we need to have!" I really didn't know what to say, but felt I had to say something.

So the bus motors off, Lola and I start walking and I asker her about it: "So Lola, did you really pull your pants down in the bus?"
Lola: [not looking at me] "No."
Me: I repeat what Mr. Steve said. "So what happened?"
She then proceeded to mutter something about Tucker and Shayla, so I stopped her and asked again. She denied it.

In better news, she also got a 71 on her math test. She has a spelling test to prepare for on Friday, and now, an apology note to write to Mr. Steve.

Blankets

The typical weekend morning for Lola, wearing a new Hello Kitty robe our neighbor Robin gave her. Under her "comfort" with her well worn blanket and the chosen doll of the day at her side. She has a serious love affair going with her blankets; they are still often stuffed in her mouth with her chewing away on them. We have accepted the inevitable orthodontic intervention coming down the pike, but we aren't replacing the increasingly tattered remnants. So, due to sheer disintegration, she'll be forced to stop chewing them in another 10 years or so.

Recently we were on a trip to Petco and Lola asked me what her blankets say when she's away all day at school. I told her they say "Where is our big girl? We really miss her!"  Lola looked down at the blanket in her arms and said, "I love you blanket." and gave it a kiss.

New carriage

Christmas 2016 brought Lola a new, more maneuverable baby carriage and we took a walk around the block to break in the new wheels with Paddington under a comfy-cozy "comfort" (blanket).
My favorite part was conversing with Lola during the trip. We covered a bunch of important topics, for example, when Lola is a mommy she is going to have two children, a boy named Strawberry and a girl named Sally. We are always vigilant in watching out for oncoming traffic so I asked her what kind of car she wants when she grows up. Without hesitation she said a purple truck with white flames that we would all take turns driving around.  Here is a bit of video from the start of our walk.

Happy 7th big girl. First day of first grade AND a birthday. I hope she is having a good day there and look forward to meeting her bus and our little celebration here. 

It was pretty cool to see Mr. Steve at the wheel of the big bus again and she is now able to sit toward the back with the other "big kids". New monster themed backpack and lunchpack, new skills learned over the summer. 

Six

She is six!
Today, just us. A visit to TRU and an ice cream cake before bed. The party comes later this month.

Another summer winding down, another birthday coming!

6! We are going to host a party for friends at Benner's Farm in East Setauket... Still pricey, but at least outdoors!

To catch up on events of late - after the passing of the greatest dog EVER, Sunny Bun; then her daughter, Willow; then the wee one, Clementine - we are with two rescues: Indiana Bones, a feisty elder Boston Terrier and Cadbury, the big, young, goofball Chocolate Lab. Papi has come to terms with the newest family members and all is very very well.

Loli has spent most of her summer at day camp - Camp Harbor located at the Harbor Country Day School. Talk about a lovely place of learning. If money were no object we would send her here for sure - such nuturing and community. She has thoroughly enjoyed every day there.

I'll b e back in a few weeks to review the birthday bash - with pictures!

Over a year!?!

SCANDALOUS!!

it's May 24, 2014 and Miss Lola is now 4 years, 8 months old. she's still a tiny little thing, but has not recognized that as any kind of impediment and is as rough and tumble as any of the other bigger [but mostly, younger] kids in her preschool.

we [Scott and I] did, however, make the decision to have Lola undergo some testing to determine whether or not she was making all of the proper amounts of grow juice - for her. the tests were not pleasant and mostly scary, and, in the end, we learned that she is healthy, but not making nearly enough growth hormone on her own. 

it boiled down to making the choice of either committing to a lengthy program of nightly synthetic hormone injections to make up the deficit. or not.

we chose:

armed with her beloved blanket, a variety of band aids, and after much delay [blame the weak parents here] we took the plunge together. 

time will tell how effective the program will be - in the meantime, she is sleeping more soundly and eating [and pooping] more than ever.