Pre-K girl!

First day of Pre-K sporting her new
backpack that Brother
gave her for Christmas.

So in an effort to re-direct my thoughts I will try to update everyone on what's been going on with us. Probably the biggest news is that Miss Gabriella started Pre-K on January 5th! We were going on a lot of school tours back in December when applying for Fall 2009 and she was so in love with it all I started asking if anyone had openings for January (By Chicago Public School rules she could have started in the Fall of 2008). There were two schools that had someone move away and we were able to take one of those spots. (Chicago Public Schools are quite confusing, but I'm sure you'll hear much more about it as we delve deeper into the application process for Kindergarten next December.) To be perfectly honest she fit right in to the Kindergarten classes we visited and was taller than most of them. I can't believe she has to wait until 2010! Ultimately though, I am supportive of not pushing it too early. We just have to keep her mind engaged in the meantime.

So in four weeks time she can tell me every detail about all 20 of the kids in her class. She loves her teachers, the classroom, the toys, the activities, the learning, the daily trip to the cafeteria for snack time, playing in the snow, has already had her first assembly (Barrel of Monkeys) and can't wait to go every day. She is in the Preschool for All Pre-K program in the morning class so she attends from 8:50-11:30. It's perfect and so much better than the 2 day a week preschool she was attending previously. In fact there's really no way to compare the two. Nicholas and I have some alone time and she gets to hang out with other kids every day without fail, while learning at the same time. And the amount of time is just right. Not so long that she is exhausted--just right. Her themes this month were Snow/Winter/Ice, Community Helpers, Goldilocks and the three bears. She really enjoys the class pet Lulu the hamster and consistently plays with Brigid and Victoria the most. Today she won musical chairs and starred as Goldilocks when they acted out the story in class. The children in the class are so diverse and a true reflection of our neighborhood. I love it.

Most importantly I should point out that she had to decide whether she wanted to have "Gabriella" or "Ella" printed all her things at school (cubby, etc.) and she chose Gabriella. It's been good because now she has to write Gabriella instead of Ella on all of her papers :-) Don't worry Mom, you can still call her Ella, but Gabriella is her name of choice these days!

For real

I'm posting. Finally. Well sort of. No pictures yet or anything exciting like that (the kids are cuter and bigger though). Just letting everyone know we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Obama country! (can you believe it? At Last.....)



Overall everything is good. Most of us (minus Brother) are now healthy (finally). I have alot to report but just need sleep oh so much more than blogger. I promise it's coming soon.



For real.