Abbie has been doing really well with school and seems to be enjoying it. Last Friday was Homecoming and she had a great time getting her face painted by the cheerleaders, and running around on the field before the game.
We had the 1st parent-teacher conference a couple of weeks ago and everything seems to be going fine. The teacher feels that Abbie needs to work on her listening skills (not news to us), but other than that she is doing well academically, is getting along well with the other kids, and is a "natural leader" (although I think this is just the teacher's nice way of saying "bossy"). This weekend is our weekend to take home Fluffy, the class guinea pig. I think that Abbie and Emily will really enjoy it, but we'll have to see how Chad and I feel about it.
We recently discovered a book titled, "Living with the Active Alert Child." It turns out that many of Abbie's traits that we thought were unique to her (active, alert, bright, controlling, intense, attention-hungry, fluctuating self-esteem, emotional, etc.) are actually characteristic of a specific personality type. This is good to know because she has always overwhelmed us and now we understand why and that we didn't somehow create these overwhelming traits. The book offers parenting advice, etc. Now, if only we can find time to read it . . .
Abbie has encountered some of the difficulties of life with a little sister. She really loves her and wants to play with her, but the age gap is so large and Abbie is confused as to why her sister doesn't react to her the way that she thinks she should. For instance, Abbie often wants to hug Emily, but Emily may not want a hug and may yell out and pull away. Abbie takes this as, "My sister doesn't love me" rather than as, "Emily is still a self-absorbed toddler and hasn't learned how to respond in a more diplomatic way." Also, the other day Emily accidentally hit Abbie in the eye with a book. Abbie was crying and upset, but Emily didn't seem to care. Abbie was hurt even further by the fact that Emily showed no remorse and "Didn't even say sorry!" Never mind the fact that Emily doesn't even know how to say sorry. Abbie has learned all these rules for appropriate social interaction and now Emily isn't conforming to any of them. This is just so frustrating for her. When Emily isn't busy breaking Abbie's Rules of the Universe, though, Abbie is very proud to show off her little sister, excited to help care for her, and is very entertained by Emily's antics.
