The Girl has finally found her groove.
We were optimistic about this school year, and so far it has exceeded our expectations.
We decided to separate from Girl Scouts, which was a small bump, but has blessed us more than we imagined. The Girl is in a blended 2nd and 3rd grade class, but her Girl Scout troop was 2nd grade. That didn’t seem like a big deal at first, because she has been with those girls since Kindie. However, she doesn’t have lunch with them (her mixed class eats with the 3rd graders), her voyage was with the 3rd graders, and she’s sort of broken away from most of the kids not in her class … Which was all of the Girl Scouts from her troop. She still likes many of them, but just doesn’t get a lot of time with them.
I’ve heard a lot that sometimes there’s hesitation when having an isolated GT class because it really doesn’t represent the world we live in, but so far we are feeling great about it. Brooklyn finally has friends who ‘get’ her and as a result, her confidence has grown by leaps and bounds.
I’ve watched this confidence transfer into all areas of her life. She is a more confident and committed swimmer, and she even went for a solo singing part in her class play! She didn’t get it, and was very disappointed, but honestly I was proud of her for even trying!
She’s the more mature version of the Kindie she used to be, and nothing like the 1st grader that she was.
Sadly, I didn’t realize how different she’d become, until she came back to herself. She’s just so incredibly comfortable in her own skin now.
Hard to explain, but I love it.
Since we’ve all been feeling a little more relaxed, we decided to adopt this baby:
All 90lbs of her. She’s underweight right now, so we are hoping she balances out around 120-130lbs.
She’s a year old, and the only complaint so far is she is not potty trained. The adoption agency didn’t have any info to pass along on her, so when Daddy adopted her (oh, that’s right – he surprised me with her!!), she didn’t even know her name. She quickly learned her name, so once the pooping on my carpet stops, all should be good. She’s the sweetest, gentlest dog I’ve ever seen. She picked Monkey as her person almost immediately, and Molly lights up when she can hear or see The Girl. It’s pretty awesome.
With that, I’m off to shower – I love you all more than my luggage.
A
Good news about Monkey!!
Is that a great dane you adopted? You may want to read a litle about them – it may make the training easier. They are extremely emotionally sensitive dogs – which in my opinion makes them lovely companions – but they do not respond well to punishment. They are a praise dog. So take her out within 20 minutes of eating and praise her heavily when she potties outside. Then if she has an accident inside, even a stern look directly at her will send the message. We’ve had many great danes, and loved them so dearly. They will talk to you in thier dog language, and play with you as though they are puppies well into their old dog days. They are excellent dogs! It’s not abnormal for a dane to try to sit in your lap. no matter how big they are. I have had them even come and sit in my lap, their hind feet on the floor, butt in my lap, as a child would, thinking they are people too. So cute. Good luck!
Hi Marlo! Molly is a dane. We’ve wanted one for about 5 years, so we finally took the plunge. Everything about them fits our family, and we only hesitated due to their shorter lifespan.
Honestly, there’s nothing she does that warrants punishment! Even the pooping on the floor – who can get upset? She’s still a baby, and is having to learn a whole new environment.
Interesting what you said about the praising – we have been trying to figure out her currency to work on some training with her. Treats mean nothing to her, yet excitement from us means everything.
I’ve yet to get her to potty outside. We spend lots of time out there, and she’ll go for everyone else in the family … but she just stands there and leans on me. (which I completely love how they lean!) Doesn’t even sniff around, little turkey! I have noticed that after eating, she usually doesn’t potty for around an hour! She’s a year old, so maybe her slow metabolism has already kicked in??
She’s still inconsistent outside for anyone, but she’s SO smart. Thank you for the suggestions – I know we’ll get there!!
HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA! I’m on the phone so I couldn’t laugh out loud but I was having to really hold back.
And soooo happy for Monkey!