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Tale of the Tape — Anna, Fall 2009

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A couple of times a year, I ask for Eduflack readers to provide me a personal indulgence as I report on the progress two of the greatest joys in my life — my son and daughter.  Many of you have read multiple reports on Miggy, my three and a half year-old son, but we’ve heard less about my two-year-old daughter Anna.

My princesa turned two about a month and a half ago.  Three weeks ago was the one-year anniversary of her arriving in the United States, when she became a U.S. citizen on October 17, 2008 as we touched down in Houston after a long 13-month process to bring her home from Guatemala.  For the last year, she has quickly adjusted to life in the edufamily, hearing English for the first time (for an extended period), getting used to her big brother (who is also her full biological brother), and learning how to wrap Eduflack around her prettiest of fingers.
This week, Anna went in for her two-year checkup.  She passed with flying colors.  So now for the tale of the tape.  Anna weighed in at 24 pounds, putting her in the 23rd percentile nationally.  She is 34 1/4 inches tall, putting her in the 65th percentile.  And she has a head circumference of 18 inches, again in the 23rd percentile.  (Personally, I am still wondering why we need to care about head circumference, but it seems to be a standard benchmark for child development.)
More importantly, her doctor said her speech is fabulous (without even considering she has only heard English for less than half of her life.)  And she was a brave girl, taking all her shots with “no cries.”
The eduwife and I also got to check in on Miggy and Anna’s preschool experience this week.  This fall, both kids enrolled in Temple Rodef Shalom Preschool, the best early childhood education program I could find in our neighborhood.  Miggy is enrolled in the five-morning-a-week program, and the early reports list him as imaginative, artistic, caring, and bright. He also give the “best hugs.”  Anna is enrolled two mornings a week and was tagged with being intelligent, independent, strong willed, and a leader.  I couldn’t be more proud of either of them (though I’ll reserve my thoughts on parent-teacher conferences for two-year-olds).   
When I look at both of my kids, reviewing their artwork from the school week, watching them “work” in my office alongside me, listening to my son tell terrific stories, and watching my daughter command a room, I see nothing but opportunity for both of them.  And I am reminded of why I became an education agitator in the first place, and why I continue to push in what ways I can to improve access to a high-quality education for all students.
And what better way to end a Friday afternoon than to see the smiling faces of my kiddos.

Some Go-To Resources on that Internet Thingy

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Yes, new media and social media are some of the hottest buzzwords these days.  But more and more, Eduflack is finding individuals and organizations who are struggling to find the “best in class” or those who have come before them (and done a good job) to model behaviors.  We all want to maximize the communications tools available to us, but we also want to avoid real mistakes that could set our efforts — particularly in education improvement — back.  As a result, inaction is often easier than trying to jump on the latest and greatest.

When I am out speaking to members of the education community, I am often asked if I can point them in the right direction.  What school districts are using Facebook well?  What education blogs do I read?  Who is actually using Twitter well?  
Over at Clear View Education, they have assembled a list of the Top 100 Blogs for Teachers of the Future.  This list provides a breakdown of go-to sites for Resources for Teaching, Technology, Blogging Teachers, Teachers as Students, Special Education Emphasis, Other Educators, Professional Education Blogs, News and Politics, and Policy.  It is worth checking out — www.clearvieweducation.com/blog/2009/100-best-blogs-for-teachers-of-the-future/.  And I don’t just say that because dear ole Eduflack is on the list.
And on Twitter, @alexanderrusso points us to an ever-expanding database of school districts who are using Twitter to communicate.  It is a great resource to see who is tweeting (and how they are doing it).  And if your district is on Twitter, but not listed, you can add yourself to the list.  Check it out at: spreadsheets.google.com/lv?key=0ArEWinLIvaYEcFdxOUVRVWNkVGZJZmUxcUJwTlp6RGc&hl=en      

40 Under 40

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Several times each week, I take to this blog to opine on the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to education, ed reform, and school improvement.  In trying to look at the state of public education through a communications lens, I often try to separate the message from the messenger.  While I value the power of the individual, particularly one who is committed and a strong advocate, I recognize it is the idea that must take hold.  Long-term improvement comes from the incubation of good ideas and the demonstration that those ideas have tangible impact.  A strong communicator can help break through the white noise and amplify one’s results and impact, but a good communicator cannot and should not replace the data and the outcomes themselves.


I owe part of this philosophy to my parents, who instilled in me the notion that good work should be its own reward.  Part of its comes from my experiences on Capitol Hill.  I may have been an on-the-record spokesman for senators and congressmen, but my role was to speak for them.  Getting my name in the papers was the least of my concerns.  I needed to get my boss’ ideas, accomplishments, and agenda noticed by those audiences who could affect change or who would be effected by it.

So it is rare for me to toot my own horn.  Yes, I like to talk about the individuals, organizations, and issues with which I am involved.  I like to tout the good work of friends and colleagues in areas like STEM education, reading instruction, early childhood education, and closing the achievement gap.  And I regularly ask for your indulgence when it comes to proudly boasting of the physical and intellectual developments of my son and daughter, two toddlers that a father could not be more proud of (and two who are clearly among the most gifted and adorable of their age).

Today, uncomfortably, I write about me.  Today, it is about Patrick Riccards (or my alter ego, Eduflack, if you prefer).  Yesterday, PRWeek magazine released its annual 40 Under 40 feature, where they profile the top 40 PR and communications professionals in the nation under the age of 40.  Yours truly is on the list.  Somehow, with all of the terrific work being done in this country in PR, marketing, public affairs, communications, and advocacy, Eduflack ranks among the top PR professionals in the nation.  PRWeek’s write-up for me includes the following (along with a reasonably decent picture):

Patrick Riccards
CEO, Exemplar Strategic Communications, 36

Patrick Riccards spent the majority of the 1990s working for Congress members before holding leadership positions at two agencies and at Higher Ed Holdings.

An authority on education communications and policy at all levels, including No Child Left Behind, the Pennsylvania STEM Initiative, high school improvement, and reading instruction, he founded Exemplar Strategic Communications last year to serve the sector.

He is also founder and executive director of a Virginia nonprofit, founder and author of the Eduflack blog, and founder and chairman of online professional social network Educommunicators.

Recently, Riccards has begun a national advocacy push to ensure learning opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups.



For those who do not know, I actually do have a day job (I know, you’re shocked that writing Eduflack doesn’t pay the rent).  I am the founder and CEO of Exemplar Strategic Communications, a small PR and advocacy shop that specializes in education issues.  Each day, I have the privilege of working with a terrific group of client partners, including the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, AppleTree Institute for Education innovation, International Society for Technology in Education, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, National Governors Association, Pennsylvania Department of Education, Stanford University, Team Pennsylvania Foundation, WETA Learning Media, and many others.  I purposely work with a selec
t group of organizations so we can focus on delivering proven results.  Personally, I am not satisfied with merely hitting some subjective communications goals (like a pre-determined number of media hits).  Exemplar’s work is only successful when the organization’s overall strategic goals are achieved.  After all, isn’t that the intent of effective communications in the first place?

I am humbled and honored by the recognition from PRWeek, both for myself and for the education field.  I am the first honoree from the education sector ever selected for this award.  Typically, these lists are a who’s who of corporate PR, technology, healthcare, and consumer products.  Having the education sector on the list is a major step forward for our field.  In recent years, we have witnessed the transformation of education, as more and more people recognize the unbreakable ties between education improvement, a strong economy, and a strong nation.  Education — and the effective communication of education improvement efforts — is simply too important to our community’s future for it to be ignored.  I am incredibly proud to represent all of the education communications pros in the field who work hard so new ideas, new reforms, and new results can be heard, model, and exemplified.

I am also incredibly proud of the work we do at Exemplar, and really see this as a team honor, both for Exemplar staff and Exemplar clients.  When I meet someone new in the education sector, one of my greatest joys is when he or she finally pauses to note that I am not the typical flack (refreshing for most I work with).  I come in under the umbrella of communications, I talk like a policy pro, and I crunch (and know) the numbers like a ed researcher.  At that moment, folks finally see the nexus where all of this comes together, where policy, data, and communications meet to produce the messages and activities that will successfully reach the right audiences.  Where we move from simply informing stakeholders on an issue to driving them to specific change.  Where we use communication, advocacy, and public engagement as powerful levers in achieving lasting improvement. 

Before I yield the rostrum, I just wanted to offer up a few thank yous.  I thank Senator Robert C. Byrd, Senator Bill Bradley, and Congressman John Olver for giving me some of my first communications opportunities and allowing me to see that intersection between communications and policy and really develop my footing on that street corner.  To Widmeyer Communications and Lipman Hearne, for allowing me to pursue my passions, hone my model for effective communications and public engagement, and to help gain the knowledge and experience I needed to truly be successful.  To Kris Kurtenbach and the folks at Collaborative Communications Group, a terrific consulting shop with whom I have now had an eight-year relationship collaborating on some wonderful, impactful education issues.  To my mentors along the way, starting on Capitol Hill with Marsha Berry and continuing this past decade-plus with Phyllis Blaunstein, for empowering me, encouraging me, and teaching me how to constantly improve.  And, of course, to my family.  To my parents for planting the seeds; the eduwife for putting up with every twist, turn, and unforeseen challenge (including the client work on vacations, the many phone calls at dinner, the ongoing emails and tweets that fly 24-7, and just plethora the quirks connected to who I am), and the edukids for reminding me each and every day why I do what I do.

I would also like to thank all of the readers of Eduflack, who allow me this soapbox and encourage its frequent use.  I am constantly amazed by those who follow and appreciate what is posted here, along with what is put up on Eduflack’s Twitter page (@Eduflack).  The Twitter feed is now becoming one of those go-to sources in education, and I am thrilled I can be of some use.  And I cannot forget the hundred of education communications professionals who are helping to launch Educommunicators, an online social network designed to promote our collective work (and preparing for a Phase 2 relaunch this fall).  There is no much passion, talent, commitment, and good working happening in this field.  We need to keep acknowledging, sharing, and promoting it.  Hopefully, Educommunicators can play a role in doing that.

So to all of you who have helped me, guided me, advised me, worked with me, allowed me to work with you, inspired me (both the good and the bad), and generally given me the ability to develop my craft and find my voice, I thank you.  I thank you for this acknowledgment, for the work that led to it, and for the great work we will do together in the coming years.  
  

“Against the Grain”

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Chalk it up to a long week after a working holiday weekend.  Credit a lazy Friday that officially starts with a 7 a.m. meeting.  Or just attribute it to a general sense that we are lapsing into a general sense of status quoness, as too many seem to be looking for the shortest path to simply check the boxes, rather than engage in meaningful efforts to make long-term improvements.  Eduflack is a little punchy this AM.

Not to be confused with my ringtone (Elvis’ A Little Less Conversation), I’ve got my personal theme song running through my head.  Thanks to the great country philosopher Garth Brooks for etching these lyrics into my education advocacy soul.  So I share with everyone, in the hopes that some will be unable to get the song (Against the Grain) out of their heads (for those that even know it, as it is one of the least promoted, but best Garth songs out there).
“Against the Grain”

Folks call me a maverick 
Guess I ain’t too diplomatic 
I just never been the kind to go along 
Just avoidin’ confrontation 
For the sake of conformation 
And I’ll admit I tend to sing a different song 
But sometimes you just can’t be afraid 
To wear a different hat 
If Columbus had complied 
This old world might still be flat 
Nothin’ ventured, nothin’ gained 
Sometimes you’ve got to go against the grain 
Well, I have been accused 
Of makin’ my own rules 
There must be rebel blood 
Just a-runnin’ through my veins 
But I ain’t no hypocrite 
What you see is what you get 
And that’s the only way I know 
To play the game 
Old Noah took much ridicule 
For building his great ark 
But after forty days and forty nights 
He was lookin’ pretty smart 
Sometimes it’s best to brave the wind and rain 
By havin’ strength to go against the grain 
Well, there’s more folks than a few 
Who share my point of view 
But they’re worried 
If they’re gonna sink or swiim 
They’d like to buck the system 
But the deck is stacked against ’em 
And they’re a little scared 
To go out on a limb 
But if you’re gonna make a difference 
If you’re gonna leave your mark
You can’t follow like a bunch of sheep 
You got to listen to your heart 
Go bustin’ in like old John Wayne 
Sometimes you got to go against the grain 
Nothin’ ventured, nothin’ gained 
Sometimes you’ve got to go against the grain

Happy Friday!
 

DCPS, Interstate Tests, and Such

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Although Eduflack is spending the week with the larger family of 11 (including three children under the age of three) at an undisclosed location about 120 miles from our nation’s capital, that doesn’t keep me from thinking education thoughts.  Tops, this morning, is the data release coming from NAGB and NCES.  This morning, NAGB released its NAEP scores on music and the visual arts.  For those who say that all we, as a nation, are assessing is math and reading achievement, it is worth checking out.  The eighth grade data on the arts, including the information and school data related to student achievement in the arts is worth checking out.  The full The Nation’s Report Card: Arts 2008 can be found here.

But there are other issues rattling around the Eduflack mind:
DCPS and Michelle Rhee
A good chunk of yesterday’s Washington Post was dedicated to Michelle Rhee.  The reason — her second anniversary at the helm of District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS).  The full story can be found here.  The piece definitely depicted a softer tone and rhetoric for Rhee, refocusing on her commitment to the kids and academic achievement, and softening her stance on getting rid of “bad” teachers and principals and the infamous Time magazine cover story, with the chancellor “sweeping up” schools in our nation’s capital.
Most recognize the power of charter schools in DC.  As part of her charge, Rhee was expected to slow the exodus to charter schools and keep DC’s students in the traditional public schools.  That’s why she’s been looking to close persistently struggling schools, giving students a better chance of attending a better public school.  But since Rhee’s takeover of DCPS, the school district has lost nearly 10 percent of its total students (a 4,000 drop of 49,000 original students).  We don’t need disaggregated data charts to tell us that those students are moving into charter schools, particularly with the transformation of the city’s Catholic schools into public charters.  Education is one of those few businesses where losing 10 percent of your customers in two years doesn’t seem to cause any concern.
Anniversaries are nice, but the true measure of Rhee’s reign will be the student achievement data to be released this summer.  This would be the second achievement report for Rhee.  Last year, scores were up, and the Rhee administration took full credit.  Fact of the matter, former superintendent Cliff Janey deserves some of the credit, as his programs, put in place years before, bear some of the responsibility for improvement.  Rhee does get some credit, simply because teachers and students embraced what was new and demonstrated a new enthusiasm for learning in the first year.
Personally, I don’t have similar hopes for year two.  The closing of schools, the removal of principals, the fights between DCPS and the teachers union, and the lack of “newness” don’t bode well for 2008-09 student data.  Reformers need to be prepared for the fact that there may be a dip in DCPS student achievement.  We’ve seen it time and time again, where years two and three are the struggle, and the true measure of reform is seen in the out years — years four, five, and beyond — once the reforms have truly taken hold and can have a longitudinal impact on a wide number of students.  Here’s hoping Rhee bucks the trend, but we need to be prepared for the fact that DCPS scores may not demonstrate the steady rise so many presume is a given.
Duncan and Interstate Testing
Speaking before many of the nation’s governors last night at an education summit hosted by the Hunt Institute, EdSec Arne Duncan spoke on his plans to obligate $350 million to go toward the development of interstate reading and math assessments.  This is step two to the common standards movement announced by NGA and CCSSO at the beginning of the month, the first step toward national education standards.  Without question, these commons standards are likely becoming the fifth pillar of Duncan’s priorities.  He is throwing his rhetorical weight behind the plan, using the bully pulpit to maximum effect.  The big question that many ask is whether he will just implement the standards through his executive authority or actually codify them in Elementary and Secondary Education reauthorization.
For Eduflack, it is a very different question.  Right now, the focus is on interstate assessments in reading and math.  How are these assessments going to differ from our current NAEP assessments, other than filling in the gaps between fourth and eighth grade and eight and 12th grade?  Will these common standards align with NAEP, or will NAEP need to be realigned to meet these new interstate standards?
To his credit, Duncan is already moving the ball before the other team has set their defense.  We’ve gone from standards to immediate talk about testing and assessment.  If he quickly pivots from assessment over to accountability, we may have a real national standards ballgame.

Eduflack’s Tale of the Tape, Spring 2009

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It’s that time of the year again, and Eduflack is not talking about his high expectations and usual disappointments with the New York Mets.  It is time to set aside talks of education improvement, achievement gaps, and agitation and take a look at how the edukids are doing, developmentally.

For those just joining us, let me give you the scorecard.  Miggy (Michael William Alejando, officially) just turned three years old on Tuesday.  Anna Patricia (my Princesa) is a little more than 19 months old.  Both went in for their annual checkups yesterday (semi-annual for Anna) and both came through with flying colors.
For Miggy, he came in at 31 pounds (40th percentile) and 3 feet, three inches tall (30th percentile).  Our future corporate CEO is smart as a whip, has an incredible memory, knows how to operate an iPhone better than his mother, and recites dialogue from the Transformers movie and can sing along to the lyrics of the Pussycat Dolls.  (Should I be proud of that?)
For Anna, she came in at 22 pounds (20th percentile) and two feet, eight inches tall (50th percentile).  The soon-to-be-first Latina Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia has incredible receptive speech, both in English and Spanish, and is about to just burst when it comes to using her words (she has about a dozen words now).
For both, our family sitcom will start this fall.  These two Guatemalan-born kids, raised in an Italian-Catholic household will be enrolling in a Jewish pre-school come September.  Both will be students at Temple Rodef Shalom School in Northern Virginia, selected because Rodef Shalom just has incredible offerings for both academic and social development.  The curmudgeonly cynic in me was thrilled with what I saw in the program, and thus Miggy will start the five-morning-a-week program this fall, Anna the two-morning-a-week program.  And thus the begin the process of spending the next 15 years or so attending the same school.
As always, I couldn’t be more proud of my two little joys.  Not because they are growing (that is to be expected) but because of the zeal, happiness, and enthusiasm they show for just about every experience in their lives.  We couldn’t be a luckier family, and I couldn’t possibly have more a reason to fight as hard as I do to ensure that public education is as strong, impactful, and results-oriented as it can be.  Like me, both Miggy and Anna will be products of the public schools.  Both have the possibility and the opportunity to be leaders.  Both have access to all of the pathways of success.  We just need to redouble our efforts to ensure that is the case for all children, and not just those living in households like the Eduflack’s.

The Ol’ Eduflack Education DNA

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It may surprise you, but on more than one occasion, Eduflack has been asked where he gets off opining and advising on education policy and reform efforts.  After all, I started my career in politics, not academia.  And while I have been in education consulting for well over a decade now — helping government agencies, not-for-profits, advocacy groups, and corporations develop the strategic plans, messages, organizational positioning, and policies they need to improve public education — I’ve been trained on the proverbial ed policy streets.

I usually laugh off such questions, explaining that education improvement is not just a passion, it is embedded in my DNA.  Some folks don’t quite get that.  Over at This Week in Education, Alexander Russo unravels some of that education DNA.  I appreciate the recognition as a edu-family, so figure I’ll provide some additional details.
In my Eduflack postings, I often make reference to my educator parents.  I usually stay away from talking about the edu-wife.  But now you get the whole story.
My father, Dr. Michael Riccards, spent his entire career in higher education.  I grew up a higher education brat, following dear ol’ dad around the country as he served as dean of arts and sciences at University of Massachusetts at Boston, provost at Hunter College in NYC, president of St. John’s College in New Mexico, president of Shepherd University in West Virginia, and president of Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts.  He also helped establish the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston and built the Robert C. Byrd Presidential Library in West Virginia.  A presidential historian by trade, pappy is the author of more than a dozen books, including A Republic If You Can Keep It (a history of the foundations of the U.S. presidency) and The Ferocious Engine of Democracy, a two-volume history of the office of the presidency (which President Clinton claims to have read on Christmas break during one of his final years in the White House).
My mother, Barbara Riccards, is a career educator.  A 10th grade English teacher, ma did her student teaching at St. Catherine’s Indian School in New Mexico and taught as an NEA teacher in New Mexico, West Virginia, and Massachusetts.  While in the Mountain State, she was one of those teachers walking the picket lines in 1990, part of the statewide strike that led to boosts in teacher pay and improved instruction across the state.  She later went on to teach in Washington, DC, leading 10th grade classrooms at Marriott Hospitality Charter High School and McKinley Tech High School.  Luckily, she was never my English teacher.  She had a reputation for being the toughest teacher in school.  No excuses.
And edu-wife?  Dr. Jennifer Riccards works in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development (OPEPD), running ED’s Doing What Works website (a terrific resource of best practices for educators and technical assistance providers).  With an undergraduate and master’s degree from Stanford University and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, Jen has worked for the White House, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and local education non-profits.  We can see who has the real education brains in the family.
And where did Dr. Jennifer get her focus?  Her father is a retired superintendent in Massachusetts, having run multiple K-8 school districts simultaneously (meaning he had to answer to multiple school boards and town councils on a daily basis).  He’s also a former special education teacher.  And her grandfather was a former assistant superintendent for the Philadelphia Public Schools, helping lead the desegregation of the Philly schools.
So when I talk about education being in Eduflack’s DNA, I mean business.  My views on higher education are shaped, in part, by my father’s life experiences.  My thoughts on teachers, professional development, and incentive pay are influenced by the experiences and views of my mother.  And my opinions on most education issues are filtered through my wife’s education and life experiences (though she’ll be the first to admit I appreciate her insights, but don’t often follow them).
After college, I was planning on going to grad school, hoping to follow the academic path my father had followed.  I wanted to do for congressional history what he did for presidential history.  He counseled me against it, advising that my personality would drive me onto the higher education administration track (like dear ol’ dad).  So I set off for Capitol Hill instead.  Who would have thought I’d end up where I’ve ended up all these years later.
Does that mean the edu-kids are destined for their own careers in education?  Only if they really want to.  Personally, I hope they pursue other paths.  I hope Miggy’s current dream comes true, and my three-year-old grows up to become Batman (without the tragic loss of his parents, of course).  And for my 18-month-old princesa, Anna?  It’s too soon to tell, but I’m putting my chips on her becoming the first Latina governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  No pressure, though.  She has a few more years to figure it out.
  

What’s Got Educommunicators Thinking

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Wonder what the marketing communications professionals in the education sector are thinking about?  Their concerns?  Their hopes?  Their desires?  If so, check out the latest survey from Educommunicators, a new online community established just for those marcomm pros.

For those who don’t know, I started Educommunicators last fall because I saw a gap in the field.  The number of PR pros, marketers, public affairs agents, PIOs, freelancers, and reporters covering the education industry continues to grow.  But none of the traditional PR and communications groups (PRSA and IABC) seem to acknowledge the sector as a major player, particularly in this economy.  Some groups (NSPRA and EWA in particular) do a great job serving a segment of the educommunicator community, but few were looking at the sector as a whole.  Thus, Educommunicators.
In late fall, we officially launched this little social experiment, utilizing a Facebook Group, a LinkedIn Group, a website (www.educommunicators.com), and a blog (http://blog.educommunicators.com).  In December, we announced the organization’s first Board of Advisors (see www.educommunicators.com for the list), a great group of dedicated communicators representing multiple sectors of the field.  Today, we are announcing the results of our 2008 survey.  This data is going to be used to help shape the Educommunicators community in 2009, ensuring this nascent group brings value and holds the interest of its growing list of members.
Eduflack is most taken by one particular statistic — the hunger for best practices.  Doesn’t matter if we are a school administrator, a governor, a teacher, or an eduflack, we all want to know what works.  We all want to see what is working in environments like ours, with stakeholders like ours.  We want to learn from those like us, modeling promising practice (and avoiding that which does not work).
The full data can be found on the Educommunicators blog.  Expected action items will follow on the blog and the Educommunicator groups later this week.

Tale of the Tape: Ending 2008 With a Huge Smile

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As many of you know, Eduflack and Eduwife spent more than 13 months working to get our daughter Anna home from Guatemala.  After a great deal of red tape, frustration, bureaucratic snafus, and downright thoughtless actions by decisionmakers down south of the border, my little “Princesa” joined the family in Virginia in late October (about five months after we had hoped and planned).  Life hasn’t been the same since, and Anna couldn’t be more perfect.  The future governor and senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, Anna Patricia Riccards is one of the most inquisitive, thoughtful, intelligent little girls on the planet.  She will truly be one of the great leaders and innovators of her time.

That was confirmed late yesterday, when she had her 15-month wellness visit with the pediatrician.  The numbers are in, and she is already outperforming her big brother.  Her weight (and she is a 21st century gal not afraid to talk about such things), 21 pounds and 8 ounces, putting her in the 30th percentile nationwide.  Her height, 31 inches, in the 60th percentile (whoda thunk Eduflack would have a tall child), and her head circumference is 17 3/4 inches, 25th percentile (meaning she has a future of fitting in every one-size-fits-all baseball cap (particularly those Mets caps), unlike her large-noggin’ daddy.
Everything is great.  Fantastic receptive speech in both English and Spanish.  Starting to use her words.  Walking up a storm, with nothing that can stop her.  She’s an independent woman, one who isn’t afraid to stand up for herself (even if her big brother may be playing a little too rough).  She’s everything we could ask for in a daughter, and we are fortunate beyond fortunate that our trek to get her home is over and we are now one big happy family.  Happy New Year, my Princesa!  Happy New Year Miggy!