Photo Journal

More swimming lessons.  At the end, Evie was able to swim about 5 feet (with her head underwater) and float on her back by herself (but only if someone put her there)

 

Evie's brother had his birthday, and this is what EVIE came home with that day.  I said, "But it was J's birthday."  Evie responded, "But my mom gave me stuff, too.  She gave him stuff when it was MY birthday."  Then when I asked her what he got for his birthday, she said he got some water squirters (I knew these were a gift from the dollar store, and also knew he got other gifts that were much more significant, based on what Evie brought home on her birthday as well as that day).  So I asked her what else he got.  She said, "I don't know.  I didn't see because I was opening my presents."  Mom could be doing this because she is trying to buy the kids' love because they are in foster care.  But I would hazard a guess that this kind of thing happened even before they came into care.  The mentality in that household seemed to be "cater to the kids."  I think Evie's attitude that the entire world truly revolves around her, without any attention to what is going on with others around her, started LONG before I met her, owing to that mentality.  

 

 

 This is Evie's first independent sentence she wrote.  One of our neighbors came over while we were in the front yard, saying that she had left her pool key inside the pool gates so she couldn't get it.  I told her we would drive up there when we finished what we were doing, and asked what unit she lived in so I could bring it to her.  Before we left, completely on her own and without asking ANY questions (surprising!), Evie wrote this reminder for us so that we would know what to do.  I asked what the 100 was, and she responded, "That's the number of her house."  (I'm not sure what the "I" at the beginning is.)

Evie's brother stayed with us one weekend, and we went to the Children's Museum and to Twin's first birthday party.

 

 The last day of school.  This was prior to the actual program, and the song here was "counting to 100 by 1's" - with 10 reps of each exercise for each set of 10. 

 

I took Evie to Chuck E. Cheese that weekend to celebrate getting all good behavior marks all year.  I told her that it was a special day so she could eat and drink whatever she wanted that day - of course she chose soda (I very rarely let her have it).  And now she has asked me every time we have been out to eat since then - three weeks - if she could have soda.  Give an inch, they take a mile!  The answer has always been no, though!

 Re-potting a lima bean plant she brought home from school

 

 

Evie's loose tooth kept getting looser, until one day when I picked her up at daycare and she showed me that there was a space between the tooth and the gum.  When we got home and I was fixing dinner, she declared she was going to pull her tooth out.  In my head, I said there is no way she is going to pull it out because it's still hanging on by much more than just a thread, and she is so dramatic about the pain of any little scratch or bump that she won't go through with it.  Well, about five minutes later, she walked out with her tooth in hand!

We went bowling with some friends, and Evie often sat on the floor at the end of the lane watching to see if her ball knocked down the pins.  I never was quick enough to get a picture of that, though.  

 

 Evie went roller skating with her best bud from her elementary school and daycare (who no longer goes to the daycare).  This is them all huddled together. 

And then we went to the aquarium with TT, Twin, and my sister and nephew.  (Okay, it's time for them to get blog names, too.... My sister is Red - she has red hair like me.  My nephew is Bop - he is always on the go.)

We were supposed to go to the upstate to see some friends of mine and to visit the camp where I volunteered for 17 years, but Evie ended up with a stomach virus so we are just hanging here in town this week before court on Friday.