She's Going to Kindergarten!!

Kayley turns five in just a few weeks.  I cannot believe how quickly time goes!  I love watching her grow up, but I want time to slow down just a little!  We have been spending the last few months trying to decide whether to send Kayley to Kindergarten in the fall.  The age cutoff here is September 1.  She clearly meets the age requirements.  Problem is, she only meets the age requirements because she was born so early.  If she had been full term, she would not turn five until after September 1 and wouldn't be able to go to Kindergarten until 2014.  Thus, our dilemma.  And to be perfectly honest, I wanted to hold her back.  Andy and I were both one of the oldest kids in our class and I thought she would do better being one of the oldest in her class rather than the youngest in her class.  I told Andy that if I find one person who recommends she do another year in preschool, I want to hold her back and he agreed. 

In preschool, she has always been placed with her age group so all of those kids will be starting Kindergarten in the fall.  I have talked to her preschool teachers on numerous occasions, talked to my friends who also work at the preschool, talked to other mom friends and I talked to the principal at our elementary school.  And the response was uniform - send her.  Her preschool teachers said she is definitely ready and would be very bored if we made her do preschool again.  My friends all recommended sending her. 

My last "hope" was the principal.  :-)  He doesn't know Kayley, but I gave him background information on her and told him a little about what her preschool teachers said.  We talked about her chances of a learning disability due to her prematurity and the effect of repeating the same curriculum again in preschool.  To make a long story a little shorter, we won't know until at least first grade if she has a learning disability and holding her back another year in preschool will not help her if she has a learning disability.  Also, repeating the same program in preschool will not help her and she would be better off in Kindergarten where the teacher can work with her if she falls behind, etc. 

Andy and I talked about it again and we decided to send her.  I searched everywhere for someone to tell me what I wanted to do was what would be best for her and I didn't find it so I am trusting all of the professionals and sending her!  And she is SO EXCITED!

She had to get her eye exam for Kindergarten and was happy to go.  The doctor said her eyesight is fine...for now.  He thinks she will be near-sighted in the future.  This is exactly in line with what our eye doctor in Phoenix said about her and Drew.  So, we will watch them and probably have to get them glasses in a few years.  They can thank their dad for that!  :-)

Lovely glasses for dilated eyes!

We picked up Drew and got some Dairy Queen
because she did so well at the eye doctor.

And I have to throw in some videos and a picture of Ryan who is 11 months old now.  The time goes way too fast!!

One is a little too big to ride in the cart and
one is very excited to be at Sam's Club!

Ryan laughs when you call him by his full name.  Something his teachers at daycare do and he thinks it is pretty funny.  :-)

Playing at the door: