This Surely Does Not Compare to Whatever Was Written on that Paper.
I am so angry with myself. I’ve stayed away from the blog because, as I recall, I had SUCH a cute story about each of the kids, and I wrote down the basics on a piece of paper. I can picture the piece of paper (which I promptly lost), but I can’t picture the words on the paper. It had something to do with the kids’ trip to Knoebel’s with Nana and Grandpa, and other little tidbits, but I can’t remember a darn thing. The only thing I can recall is that it had the makings of a very entertaining article. So I’m flying by the seat of my pants here. I feel like no stories will ever live up to the great notes I had jotted down on that paper…
Connor continues to do well in First Grade, and I am loving the new curriculum. His self-esteem also continues to grow by leaps and bounds; while doing worksheets, he says things like, “Man, I am on FIRE today!” or, as he said to Grandpa yesterday, “Well, big boy—big brain.” His favorite part of school is Fable Time. I read a Fable, and he’s supposed to re-tell the story in his own words, which I am to write down exactly as he dictates, and then draw a picture to illustrate the story. At the end of the year, it will be gathered into a Fable Book. After I read each story, he says, “Okay, well, you know this is my version, right?” He then proceeds to tell the story as he thinks it SHOULD have occurred. The Ant and the Grasshopper became a fable about childcare issues, The Bundle of Sticks became a story about how you can really break a lot of stuff if you just try, and The Stag at the Pool became a totally twisted tale of animals and their deep, emotional conflicts.
Ror has decided that he is ready to start school, so he began by doing some handwriting sheets. This quickly became boring to him, so this morning I started teaching him from Connor’s Reading/Phonics test. Now he’s running around the house pointing at various words that begin with “m” or “s”, saying, “Look! I found a ‘mmmmmm’! I found a ‘sssssss’!” So I guess we’ll keep going with it, as long as he’s interested.
Rory has also been saving his money for my birthday, to buy me a “sparkly hair clip”. I could not possibly find this any more charming. First of all, he says “sparkly hair clip” as though it is the ultimate gift that I could ever, possibly want. Secondly, his methods of acquiring the money (ransacking my purse and Chris’s pockets as well as demanding payment for any helping he does around the house) really crack me up. I really can’t wait to see my new, sparkly hair clip next week.
Riley Katie has found a movie that illustrates her heart’s deepest desire—it’s a movie about princesses (naturally) who are ballerinas (duh!), who have no brothers (paradise to Riley-Kate!). We have watched this movie, and its accompanying “bonus music video), over and over, ad nauseum. During the movie, Riley Kate dances like a dervish, spinning until she falls over. We’re thinking if she doesn’t mortally wound herself from all of the twirling and falling, it really will encourage her to take up dancing.
The Gipper has displayed, once again, her superior abilities and enchanting cuteness. Nana and Grandpa bought her a baby toy shaped like a gumball machine, which lights up and sings a song when the baby places the balls inside of the machine and then presses a lever. In my infinite cheapness (disguised as a very lofty belief in buying only wooden blocks and shape sorters for babies), my other kids never really had any baby toys (aside from the two leap frog toys bought by Uncle Bobby and Aunt Denise, who probably took pity on my technology-less children), so Chris and I haven’t had a chance to really see what babies can do with toys. Last night, we sat with Reagan as she played, and after watching her put the balls into the machine and then press the lever (followed by a charming little clap for herself and a squeal), we were absolutely convinced that she is a baby genius. Stay tuned.
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