Rory's having a big week.

She had her Parents as Teachers 4 year old assessment yesterday. They rate on a 0 to 60 scale in increments of 5. She got a 60 in everything: communication, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social, with one exception: a 40 in gross motor because she will not hop on one foot. And when she does, because she's performing, she does it as silly as possible. Needless to say, I'm not very concerned about it.

The first question of the assessment was, "Rory, what do you do when you're hungry?" She said, "I eat food." The woman asked, "What kind of food?" And Rory answered, "Carrot.....cake. Cheesecake. And macaroni and cheese." This kid has been living on cucumbers, tomatoes, and turkey sandwiches lately (because she's obsessed). Threw me right under the bus.

The other big news is that her birthday is in a week, her party is coming up and she gets a DOC MCSTUFFINS CAKE! We talk about it every day.

When kids are in school and start having their own social life, information can be disjointed. Since starting at Alpha, Rory has talked about Lila pretty regularly. Lila has recently been promoted to Rory's best friend. But it's hard to tell when you hear one side and the kid is learning social norms if this best friendness is mutual, or if Rory just really likes her.

So it was a treat to get an RSVP from Lila's mom for Rory's birthday party. "Thanks for inviting her. She absolutely loves Rory!!" Rory likes to keep her social life a little private from us, she talks when asked, but is not a gusher, and her attention tends to be wherever she is (a trait I'm a little jealous of). It was really nice to know it's a mutual love fest. And now that I have Lila's mom's info, I'm hoping to get them together over the summer.

Rory has also been watching more birth videos with me. She loves them, to her it's still biology, nothing gross or weird. She yells "Here comes the baby!" when they crown. She knows moms make funny noises, and sometimes yell, when they have babies.

She knows Bekah will be here to take care of her, because Mom and Dad will be busy. That mom does not want her in the tub (some videos had kids in the tub, one was a girl who kept sucking on her wet bath hair and I was so freaking grossed out). She definitely wants to be in the room when the baby comes out, and she knows she'll have to try to be quiet.

We've also gone over the order of events. After I have the baby, I'll go take a shower, and she and Daddy will take care of him. She can introduce herself and let him stare at her. We talked about how the baby will have to checked out, and she can watch, but there might not be much for her to do then. She seems to be pretty mentally prepared, and we've moved on to emotions. She fully expects Daddy to cry, and might be disappointed if he doesn't. She knows she might cry, too, because it's a lot of big emotions, and she's okay with it. I am preparing for the other end - for her to be so excited she can't keep her body still.

She says she is most excited to teach him things, especially how to ride her scooter, but I told her she'd have to wait a while for that. I hope by the time he's old enough, she's still interested.

It's amazing how your first kid is all about your first kid, and your second kid is still all about your first kid.

As for the second kid - His heart rate has slowed considerably. He's been as high as 190, but the last two or three appointments have been down in the 120-130 range. I think my lowered stress is helping. He's head down, booty up and out, with his leg wrapped to the right, just like his sister was. I think he is a lot longer than she was, when he stretches I have to arch my back to be comfortable and make room for him.

This year's recital costume. I'm not impressed, but she'll look cute in it.

Fun at the aquarium.