A sense of humor in November was needed! (But I didn't have one)

It has been such a ROUGH month of November. Getting Stella healthy again after a round of various illnesses has been a long process. She and I got colds at the same time, but she didn't seem to recover from hers. On Friday the 17th, I took her to the pediatrician and they found an ear and sinus infection. She went on an antibiotic and I hoped she would be ready for school by Monday.

But by Sunday, she had a fever of 104° and had to go back to the doctor the following Monday and Tuesday for antibiotic shots (Rocephrin), which seemed to help immediately. But by Wednesday, she still didn't seem herself so I kept her out of school that day too. So she missed all last week.

Thanksgiving Day we were planning on going to Washington, but she still was not better! We were so bummed. I was going crazy watching the Food Network and thinking about not having any stuffing.

I was planning on bringing my sweet potato pie. Actually it's Paula Deen's recipe, but I figure if I can make it successfully, it's MINE! And this time, I got the meringue perfect! It was the only Thanksgiving food John and I had .... well, we went to Cracker Barell that night, but it was no good.

Beautiful, huh?

So Friday, we decided to stop waiting for Stella to get better and go to Joe and Kathy's. She seemed okay, but on the way there, she got a horrible cough. So she tried to sleep it off at Papa and Grandma's house:



She eventually started feeling a little better and had a lot of fun with Joe and Kathy.



Jill had a party for Lauren's birthday on Sunday and we enjoyed that, too. The whole family was there. Great Grandma Puzzuoli made homemade gnocchi and that was a hit. Jill had chicken and artichokes and a whole bunch of other great food. Lauren looked so pretty in her black velvet outfit. Jill and Bill have such a beautiful home.



This was also the first weekend we got to meet Miss Veda Jane, who is so adorable and round! Chris and Corinn bought a new house and are moving this coming week. Anyway, Olivia and Veda are so cute together. And Aunt Jill is the Ultimate Aunt.



Oh, and Stella played great with Olivia. It was so nice to see two little girl cousins running around together like that!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We love you!!

Teacher's Note:

Here is today's note from Stella's teacher. Some of the things I was worried about seem to be getting better.

Karmel,

Wow! What a day! We had our new student start today, which now makes 4 girls! Stella did great; she was in the routine like a pro, lined up great for transitions, played in the gym really well and is starting to really talk a lot more. Today we heard: up, cracker (which she was spontaneously requesting a lot!), come here, down, drink (drinka), book, puzzle, all of the animal names and sounds, and many more! She sat in my lap while I read a book to her, which was a first and she painted on a vertical surface, which we hadn’t tried before, but is a good developmental skill.

Her clothes got wet today b/c Stella tried to get in the water table, we stopped her, but she had already gotten water down the front of her. Also, she did get a little bit of paint on her even though we had a paint smock on her, it should wash out, though, it is crayola washable paint.

Other than some slight chaos, it was a good day.

-- Nicole

I was actually worried about sending Stella to school with a bit of a cold. She has been eating and sleeping okay, and her temperature has been close to normal. But I'm always leery to keep her home because she gets so bored and restless at home. Anyway, looks like it was the right choice.

Getting into the water table sounds just like something she'd do, Miss Sensory Seeker!

Parent teacher conference

Today, we had Stella's first parent-teacher conference. Boy howdy, I thought it'd be awhile before we'd have to experience that. Stella's teacher, who is very dedicated and thorough, went through Stella's list of "ables" (what she is able to do), and she's not doing nearly as much at school as she is doing at home.

In fact, while we were there, she heard Stella say far more words in that one hour conference than she had heard the whole month that Stella has been going to school. It's because John and I were there!

She believes that Stella will do better in time, and that Stella will learn to generalize words between the school and home environment, and between her parents and others. And then she thinks her language will really explode. I hope so. But then, I feel like I've been waiting for a language explosion for a long time.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that she's still 2, and some 2-year-olds might find it hard to talk to people at school.

I am impressed by what they do in the class. They have such a complex data collecting system where they chart her progress in the smallest increments, like labeling pictures, asking for things, following directions, etc. It has to benefit her at some point!

Also, if we can get insurance to cover it, she'll start occupational therapy next week, which will help with her sensory integration issues. So she'll get out of school early on Thursdays.