End of Year School Report

Isabella got her end of year report when Malcolm went in for a parent teacher meeting. It is very cute.

Here are a few extracts:

"I am very happy and very busy. I am happy to be at Fed Kids with my friends and very busy learning as much as I can (this makes me very smart). I am a quick learner and I am interested in exploring the World. I talk a lot, sometimes in my own way but most of the time I sounds the first letter or two and point at things I am talking about. For example; "Wo" for water and "Bo" for bottle. I can also point at the birds and say the word."

"I love exploring the kitchen area. I like opening the cabinet doors to see what is inside. I like the teapot a lot. I also like climbing the stairs in the gross-motor area and sliding back down the slide."

"I am very cheerful and always on the move. I am also very observant wherever I am. If I'm in the classroom I am very aware of what is going on around me. I know when my teacher leaves the room and sometimes I get a little upset."

"When I am sad I cry. When I am angry I talk like I am arguing with you and I also use my hands to show you I am upset. I like being comforted by being held and being read to."

"I love my friends. I love playing with them and greet them with a big smile. I talk to them, I say "hi" when I see them. I point at things and talk about them. I love playing peek-a-boo with them."

"My naps are good most of the time, but sometimes I have a hard time going to sleep. I am growing up and soon I will be ready for one long nap. I can lay down when my teacher asks me to go to sleep and I like to soothe myself by sucking my thumb."

"I love books. I like it when my teacher reads to me especially if it is a book about animals. One of my favorites is the "Moo, Baa, LA la la" book. I can read to myself. I can go and pick a book from a shelf and flip through the pages and look at the pictures."

"I love music. I can dance and clap to music. When the music teacher comes every other Wednesday, I join in the fun. I shake the scarves that she gives us when she tells us to, and play pee-a-boo with it. I also like it when my teacher takes out the guitar and plays for us. I start to dance and clap my hands."

"Overall I am a very smart girl and very lovable"

12 month check-up

We went to the 12 month check-up last week. This is a biggie 'cos they take some blood to do various checks, in addition to two jabs. In fact Isabella is looking black and blue as she has taken a few tumbles this week, alongside her jabs.

Anyway on the percentile front she appears to have slowed down and slimmed down. She is now:

height 30.3 inches, 76.8 cm 83%ile
weight 21lb 6oz 9.7kg 56%

All still good.

Playing with Water

View of our Building

Here's a view of the Brooklyn Bridge looking back to Manhattan, with our apartment building

a New York Kinda Thing

Spent the weekend doing calssic New York stuff. On Saturday we went up town. Had lunch in Bryant Park, then hung out in Toys R Us in Times Square for a while. (I never thought I'd see the day...) Then went to Central Park and spent some time in the big play area. Sunday we met Chris & Una and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge for brunch at the River Cafe, where there is a great view of the Manhattan skyline (and our apartment building).

Happy Birthday Isabella

Isabella had her first birthday party today. We had a few small friends round, lots of balloons and a singer with bubbles. Lots of fun was had. We're now suffering the after effects as Izzy is screaming in her cot for balloons, and doesn't want to go to sleep, an hour after she normally goes to sleep. Oooops, is this the start of the Terrible Twos?.

News flash - we're going to live in Paris

Well it's now official. The apartment is on the market, and we're moving to France. The original plan was to go back to London on the back of a move with my company. However when Malc. started looking in Pfizer, they came up with a great option in Paris. So we decided that we'd take the opportunity to live in Paris. I'm still pursuing options with Cadburys in Paris, but I will certainly take a few months off, starting in October, to manage the move. Last time we moved continents it was very stressful, and that was without Isabella. Isabella will hopefully get to speak some French, which is pretty cool. She can learn with Malc.

Off to Barbados

Immediately after camping we went to Barbados, where we were meeting up with Aled and Claire for a week of R&R. Despite being rainy season the weather was lovely. Isabella got to play on the beach, and she found her water legs and spent lots of time in the pool.

Camping again

We went camping again, in the Catskills for the weekend. This time Isabella could walk so spent less time eating dirt. However she did in herself get very dirty, as she chose to sit down in any puddle she could find.