M - I - K - E

Sam is thisclose to being able to read. He has known his letters and their sounds for ages. He is even sounding out words. He just has one mental roadblock.

Mom: Okay, Sam. Look at this word. How is it spelled?

Sam: C. A. T.

Mom: What sounds do those letters make?

Sam: Kuh. Ah. Tuh.

Mom: Can you say the sounds faster?

Sam: Kuh-ah-tuh.

Mom (so excited): What does that say, buddy?

Sam: Mike!

Repeat the above scenario with dog, ball, pig, hat, and car...and you have a normal morning in our house.

I'm Only One Person

I have hardly had a chance to catch my breath the last week.

I have been doing a lot of preschool work with Sam. He's been more receptive than usual and I try to take advantage of his moods. In addition to early reading and writing we've been talking a lot about the United States.

Matilda never, ever stops moving. She's eating food regularly and has established her morning and afternoon naps. She has eaten every important piece of paper in the house.

I've been Susie Homemaker. I'm baking nearly everything from scratch. Nearly all of my time is spent in the kitchen. I always have a batch of something going - bread, brownies, casseroles, pies...

Combining all of that with trying to get in at least three hours of Bejeweled a day - well, I just haven't had time for the blog.

Picture Proof

If I haven't made it perfectly clear - Sam and I LOVE to read. As shown here, we literally read until we just can't read any more.

Emilie, (about) age 4

Sam, age 3

Thanks, Grandma Barb, for sending that picture!

Storyteller

One of my greatest joys of being a parent is really liking my kids. I love them, of course, but so far I've also been amazed by just how fun they are. I didn't imagine that Sam and I would have such similar interests by now. He and I are both obsessed with books.

It really is about the books - not necessarily about the reading. We both read constantly but he seems to love the simple act of holding a new book as much as I do. If I were to guess, reading and playing with his books takes up well over half of his day. There's running and yelling and building, too, but I can almost always find him sitting in front of his bookcase, reading.

I read so much and so often that it isn't unusual for me to read my dreams. Has anyone else done that? My dream is actually the image of a page, and on the page is the typed transcript of my dream. "The pink elephant walked into the room. I tried to run but was moving really slowly. Then Jackie came, but it wasn't really Jackie." I'm fairly certain Sam is not reading his dreams yet, unless his dreams are, "Sam. Sam. Cat. Mom. Mike. Sam. Go. Sam."

He can't read but he can definitely talk. I have been thrilled to hear him start to talk in book text. Word for word, I've heard the following:

"'Wow!' said Sam. 'Look at that tiger!'"

"One day, bear and tiger were on the table. 'Oh no!' said tiger. 'Bear, you fall!' Bear fall off the table. 'Tiger!' said bear. 'Help me! I fall!'"

"Mom and Sam played and did puzzles. Mom was so pleased."

In my opinion, it is the most awesome thing Sam has ever done. Keep those stories coming, little dude!


**I have to add...I just published this post and went upstairs. I found Sam sitting in his room, every book from his bookcase surrounding him, with Eight Days A Week playing on his CD player. Face it - the kid is cool.

Family Fun

We had such a great holiday weekend. Eric had to work Friday and Saturday mornings but otherwise we were all together! We went to the zoo, rented movies, went for walks, made dinners, played board games, went out for ice cream, and took naps.

Starting a normal routine after such a great weekend is always hard. We're just counting the days until Friday...

Love Me Do

Eric and I don't always agree on our music. We both have a wide variety of likes with very few overlap. This meant that all through high school, if we were together we were either listening to Sublime or Everclear. Neither of them are our favorites but at least we could both stand them.

Our struggle over the radio is no less intense now than it was 15 years ago. On top of both of our opinions we now have Sam in the back seat. Some of the things we like aren't appropriate for him to hear, so they are out. Others Eric and Sam like but I despise.

The one CD we can all agree on is 1 by The Beatles. It has been in the CD player for over a month. It's a CD that Eric and I could never get sick of and Sam just loves it. It is hilarious to us to hear his little voice singing along with such great songs. Sam knows every word to "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and "Can't Buy Me Love".

He loves them all, but Sam's favorite, favorite song of his little life is "Love Me Do". We don't even have our seatbelts on and he is begging us to turn it on. We can see him in the rear-view mirror, little head bopping along as he gazes out the window and sings his heart out. It makes me so, so happy.

Love, love me do

You know I love you

I'll always be true

So please, love me do

Destruction Is Exhausting

I took these pictures about thirty seconds ago. There had been a lot of noise upstairs followed by an eerie silence.

Sam had worked so intently at completely destroying his room he simply ran out of energy. He is totally unconscious.

Oh, Sam. Looking at that room makes me want to pass out, too.

Open Wide

Sam had his first dentist appointment today. I've been thinking of nothing but BRINGING MY CAMERA since yesterday. Sure enough, trying to get out the door with two kids made me forget it.

Luckily, that was the worst part of the appointment. Sam was awesome. We had only scheduled an exam as a 3-year-old's temperament is not consistent enough to plan for a cleaning. But Sam was great. He did everything they asked. He rode the chair, opened wide, and kept his hands on his stomach. He did kick the dentist in the head, though. Sam was kind of bent in half in the chair, leaned way back, and the dentist was leaned over Sam's mouth. They were telling him what a great job he was doing and he kicked his leg with glee - catching the dentist directly above his right ear. The dentist said that was a first for him. Whoops.

Sam was such a natural they went ahead with the cleaning. He did that perfectly, too. He was so excited when he got to choose a new toothbrush. He walked out with a whole bag full of toys. I'm not even sure what is in there.

Sam was a great patient and I couldn't have been happier with the office we chose. Proof of how great they are - THEY had a camera!

What A Difference Birth Order Makes

I have spent a lot of time thinking about the differences between Sam and Matilda. It is obvious that they are very different people. I can't help but wonder if that has to do with the way I treat them.

My mom came to stay with me after Sam was born. One afternoon I let her watch him while I attempted to take a nap. It was no use - I didn't know then that I wouldn't sleep for a year - so I wandered out to the kitchen. My mom was washing dishes and I didn't see Sam.

Instantly worried, I said, "Where is Sam?"

"Taking a nap downstairs," Mom said easily.

I was horrified. HORRIFIED. I really believed that the moment Sam slept without someone watching his every breath that he would become a victim of SIDS. Starting to the stairs, I demanded, "Where is he sleeping?"

"On the guest bed," my bewildered mom answered.

I almost fainted. She had put my newborn on a bed. He could fall right off and suffer permanent brain damage. I ran downstairs and snatched up my baby - who had been peacefully sleeping, safely in the middle of the bed.

It's so different for me this time. I am so thankful I haven't gone crazy the way I did with Sam. Matilda is still happily sleeping in her crib without anyone watching her breathe. The best part is when she is sleeping - I'm sleeping, too!

This morning Matilda woke up a bit earlier than I would have liked. I got her out of her crib and brought her into my room. I snuggled her next to me and tried to wake up. Matilda doesn't like being reined in. After a few moments of struggling with her I finally let her go. She happily wriggled and rolled around on the bed. Suddenly - I don't know how it happened - her little body slipped right out of view. She had fallen off the bed!

I calmly sat up and leaned over the side of the bed. I burst out laughing when I saw her. She was lying there, neither hurt nor scared, but looking somewhat put out by the situation. She'd fallen headfirst off my bed and ended up just slightly annoyed.

She's fine, of course. I will definitely keep a closer eye on her from now on - I don't intend to encourage either of my kids to fall on their heads if it's not necessary. Sam has grown up brave and secure in his bubble - and I see Matilda feeling brave and secure with her freedom.

Maybe they're not so different after all.

Getting Around

These pictures, taken about a week ago, were shot as close together as my camera allows. Matilda can cross a room in ten seconds and she's only getting faster. Yesterday she spent most of the day on her hands and knees, crawling backwards. I figure I have a day or two before she'll be crawling forward at top speed.

God, give me strength.