Fall stuff

Just a general blog update. All is well. We are in the thick of fall and now winter activities. It feels like there's always something going on or something to plan for, but life isn't overwhelming by any stretch.

We had the first parent-teacher conference last week with Anya's teacher. Overall, it went well. There are no surprises. She got mostly 3's (out of 3) for grades. She just needs to slow down and think about spelling while she's writing, slow down while reading, check her work, and generally, just ~slow down~ and not think of every activity as a race. She's polite, respectful, and generally well-behaved in class. Can get distracted by others and be a bit of a tattle-tale (or "reporter" as her teacher nicely puts it :-) ), so needs to focus on herself and also keep working on social problem solving. I feel like her teacher "gets" her, and am pleased with how the year is progressing.

Last week was also Thanksgiving break. She had the whole week off from school. We had many playdates. Thinking back, I guess we didn't do anything major. Just playdates and family stuff. Of course, there was Thanksgiving day itself. We spent it in the usual way with Chris's extended family, which was pleasant. The next day was also spent the usual way - setting up the tree and decorating for Christmas.

Peter, our Elf on the Shelf, showed up while we were at Thanksgiving dinner. Anya really loves him and confides in him and was so happy to see him. Before he came, she wrote notes for him and a big welcome sign. Even made him a special throne to sit in. She believes in him more than Santa (whom, she somewhat believes in -- more that she's afraid that if she doesn't, she won't get presents -- even though it might be family who leaves the presents) and I hope she won't be too upset when she figures out Peter is not really magical. After all this time, I think of Peter as being a bit magical too and a good friend to our daughter. Kind of like her Elephant.

We got our first snow of the season Friday into Saturday. Enough to play in, but not enough to mess up the roads or cause any real issues. Anya, of course, was thrilled. It's been quite cold, so hasn't yet melted, but should sometime this week.

On Sunday, Anya wanted to go ice skating up at Highland Ice Arena. She had only gone once with a friend a year ago. I hadn't skated since I was a kid. So it was a bit of a learning curve for the both of us initially (I didn't fall, though!). Of course, Chris with his annoyingly good balance and agility had no issues. Jerk. Anyway, it was a fun outing. Anya made immediate friends with a group of girls and they skated together. Then, randomly, one of her classmates and his family showed up, so we chatted with them and the kids played. And then 20 minutes later, another classmate came. A little bit later, an old preschool friend of hers (and mom friend of mine)  showed up. So it was a very social, fun time for all. And, as we were in the parking lot leaving, another classmate happened to arrive. All random. It looks like this is the place for St. C's folk to hang out and we will definitely be returning.

And this week, she is back at school, I'm back with errands and general stuff, Chris is back at work, and the holiday season is in full swing. Life is good.