Aimee, the house looks beautiful. I love Em's room!

Yay, Kara and Aidan! I'm glad they're doing well. At least Aidan is polite about not wanting to do his homework.

She worries about wearing the right things so people don't laugh at her, and she never seems to feel like she quite fits in, but she has a best friend.

I'm sorry to hear this, but having a best friend in this situation is so important.

Aimee - love the hairdo and the dress. Cute! cute.ded()

Deena, it's good to see you!

there were good times at the beach - I can prove it. (flocked - wave if you want in and you're not)

[link] - celebrating talk like a pirate day

[link] - pretending to be airplanes at the Wright Brothers' monument at Kitty Hawk

Em and her best friend: [link]

When I saw the head-tilt pic, I thought the only thing that could improve the pictures, would be for those white dots on her dress to be skulls. Then I saw this photo, and ... TCK. Total Cute Knockout.

I'm sorry to hear this, but having a best friend in this situation is so important.

This is a huge thing.

Also, Aidan rehearsing things he has heard in school is highly amusing, at least from where I'm sitting.

Aims, thank you. The pictures of Em are adorable, as is she. Such a cutie pie. Now I have to go look at the house pictures (and plot ways to get Aimee to come make my house pretty).

I'm sorry to hear this

She's way too much like her parents in the social awkwardness thing. She's exuberant and often says the wrong thing because she didn't think before opening her mouth, and of course her vocabulary is huge so she confuses all the children (and possibly some adults). She tattles, though that's improving a bit, when she should just shrug things off. She's got a mad crush on her assistant principal and has to hug him every day when she leaves the school, which I think he finds as cute as I do. She's super sensitive to teasing. For a while, she was wearing her pants like Nick does and wouldn't listen to me that it was inappropriate for a little girl (and for Nick in my opinion, but hey, he's a grown up), until some boys teased her because they could see her butt crack when she sat down, so she's finally pulling up her pants. It's frustrating to me that fashion matters in 2nd grade, and that her sense of style is weird to the other kids. She still has a decidedly morbid bent, and asked if the pine nuts in her dinner last night were poisonous. Her logic went something like: Some mushrooms are poisonous. People eat mushrooms. People are being poisoned by their food. What exactly is a pine nut and are you sure it's not poisonous?

Aidan rehearsing things he has heard in school is highly amusing,

It is... although last year I had to explain to the teacher where he learned to whisper "Fuckity fuckity fuckity fuckity fuck!" I did, however, turn "Oh, Jesus!" into "Macaroni and CHEESES!"

Poor Kara, that sounds painfully familiar. I hope she doesn't let peer pressure influence her darkish fashion style. She's such an amazing girl.

Trying to figure out if Pirate!Iris is cuter or Airplane!Iris is making my head desplodey.

It's frustrating to me that fashion matters in 2nd grade, and that her sense of style is weird to the other kids.

That is tough. Poor kid.

While decidedly not great, 2nd grade seems to be the time for kids to start picking out the sartorial differences amonst each other. I think it was around that age that the other girls on the playground started teasing me because I wore dresses every day.

But Kara's a strong minded girl. I predict she'll eventually tell anyone who might tease her to go sit on it, or whatever these kids say these days.

although last year I had to explain to the teacher where he learned to whisper "Fuckity fuckity fuckity fuckity fuck!"

this will be us in a few years, I expect.

She's exuberant and often says the wrong thing because she didn't think before opening her mouth, and of course her vocabulary is huge so she confuses all the children (and possibly some adults).

and she is me.

In first grade four girls in our class let us all know that if you weren't from the "right" neighborhood, they would have nothing to do with us. T and I were not from the right neighborhood and quickly became best friends.