Note to self

Yes, yes, Hello. It's been a while, I know. I've been enjoying my "babymoon." I didn't fully appreciate the newborn stage with #1 or #2, but I am truly enjoying it now, lack of sleep and all. I can't believe that it has really been 12 weeks (tomorrow!) since baby Aaron was born. He is really a joy. He is sweet and cuddly and smiley and adores his siblings. His biggest, full face grins and almost giggles really are reserved for them.
So, back to my note to self. Trust my Mommy Instincts. Really.
I was so upset after both Amira and Yaakov's parent teacher conferences back in November because none of the teachers seemed to really get my kids and they all seemed to choose to focus on the negatives rather than the positives, which really worried me. Yaakov's teacher was very focused on his slowness, and the fact that he wasn't writing as well as the rest of his class. Nevermind the fact that he is a) in Pre-K, b) very young for the class and c) had only learned to recognize all his letters in the fall. She was concerned that maybe he had some issues that might requite occupational therapy (bad scissor cutting, letter writing, and the fact that he doesn't really sit still) but she said that since none of the issues were really effecting him in the classroom, and he was clearly a very bright child who was learning a lot, we would wait another couple of months and see. I was very worried that having a new baby in the house would just exacerbate the issues, but thankfully that does not seem to have been the case. In fact, when I spoke to his teacher right after January vacation, she was thrilled with his progress in all areas. He not only knows all his letters (English and Hebrew!) but writes them beautifully and really is starting to sound out words. He loves coloring now, and loves to sit with Amira and color and write! He is still fidgety, but she said that he might be sitting backwards and fiddling with his shoes, but he can repeat back to her every single thing that they learned that day! So, big relief. I know that I just need to remember for future teachers and future conferences that this is his personality, and he is very much like Yehuda, and that if he grows up to be just like Yehuda I will consider myself extremely blessed and very successful, really.
So, Amira. Every single year the conference in November is the exact same thing: "she is so shy and quiet and nervous, we didn't even realize how smart she was until just recently." This year, though, her English teacher didn't even mention anything about her academics, she was so focused on the fact that Amira was nervous and wouldn't raise her hand ever, though if the teacher would call on her she would always know the right answer, and that she has this little quiet voice and just seemed worried all the time. And she didn't have anything positive to say about her academics, and while I know that I am certainly biased, I also know that she is very bright. She breezes through her homework, reads 700 page books in 2 days and can repeat back the tiniest details of a story, and remembers everything. So, I was really worried that this teacher was just not a good match for her. And her Hebrew teacher, while not quite as negative, was also concerned with the same thing- that Amira never participated, was so quiet and shy and worried. We told the teachers that it just takes time for her to warm up, and that every year it is the same thing, but since both teachers were really focused on the same thing, I ended up calling the school psychologist to observe Amira in the classroom to see if she could give any suggestions for helping Amira warm up. Well, I wish Yehuda would have come to conferences with me last night, because it was completely different story. The Hebrew teacher said that Amira has really blossomed. She is now the first girl to raise her hand, participates in everything with confidence, is friends with all the girls in the class and is happy to eat with and play with all of them. She said that she is doing beautifully in every way and is truly a pleasure to teach. I then went to the conference with her English teacher, somewhat buoyed by the positive conference, but still worried since I know that her English teacher is tough and expects a lot. Well, I walked out in tears, again, but this time happy tears. She, too, couldn't believe the difference in Amira. She teachers her for reading as well (reading in tracked and Amira is in the highest group) and she said "This child is going to breeze through school for the rest of her life and is a teacher's dream." She said that Amira has warmed up completely, happily participates, is able to explain things to the class in such a clear way that the teacher never needs to add anything, writes beautifully, never has any trouble with any of the work and yet, is never bored. She told me that she could praise her for hours and that she foresaw a lot of Nachas for us from Amira. Well, thank G-d and please G-d. I was just hoping for a little something positive, and instead she told me that there was not one thing negative that she could think of at all. So, come next November, conference time, I need to remember all of this and just trust that I know my children.

And, speaking of trusting my intuition, I noticed a couple of weeks ago that when I put Aaron down for his tummy time, (which is now known in our house as torture time, since he hates it so much) he couldn't lift his head up, and I was pretty sure that he was supposed to be able to do that by this stage. Thankfully, I have many very awesome friends, one of which is a super talented PT, and I called her in a panic, and she came right over to see. And she agreed with me, but told me that he wouldn't qualify for early intervention at this point. So she told me exactly what exercises to do with him to help. I think it's helping a little, and it is beyond adorable watching Yaakov lay on his tummy on the gymnini with Aaron trying to get him to lift his head, and beyond adorable to watch Amira lay on her back with Aaron on her tummy- in fact, that is the only way to guarantee that he does lift his head!

In other news, we still have yet to make a decision on our housing situation (move or add on) and I really wish Mommy Intuition would help here, but that doesn't seem to be the case.