Robert's first (unofficial) steps

It's all happening so quickly!

Last week Robert wouldn't even hold my fingers and move his feet, but this week he grabs hold and charges forward giggling and jabbering across the whole length of the house. This kid loves to move. He's thrilled with the idea of walking, but his balance leaves a lot to be desired and sometimes as he walks one or the other of his feet points straight out, as in perpendicular to his stance, rather than pointing the way to go.

He has stood alone for 2-3 seconds at a time twice before, but promptly plopped back to the floor. Tonight after pjs I sat on the floor and plopped him out in front of me and let go. I thought we could practice standing still and balancing. Instead the kid ran at me! At first it was one step at a time, each resulting in a fall to the floor. Then a couple of times he took 2 steps before falling down. Now, I can't say that he ever balanced himself before the steps and after the steps he had fallen. So, while the judge's ruling is still out as to whether these count as his first steps, he was not holding on and both of his feet did progress forward during his dive toward me.

I've always heard of children bypassing walking to just start running, which I thought was a little "freakish," to put it bluntly. If any child was ever a candidate for that, it would be Robert. He's so eager to go he can't even stand upright. He forges forward regardless of the laws of gravity. Both Mary and William walked at 15 months, but both were balancing timidly getting the courage to move their feet for a couple of months before they actually took their first steps and eventually walked. Robert only has 2 weeks by their standards (and what do they know!), but I imagine he'll come at it like he did crawling - suddenly and at full speed.

As the weeks progress, expect to hear more about these mysterious "steps." I may decide afterall that they were indeed the first steps of our little sprinter.

The sweetest sound in the world...

...ok, maybe not THE sweetest because baby coos and giggles rank right up there.  

I've been in tears several times the last few weeks as Mary sounded out words and read her first books.  It's just such a sweet sound to me.  "mmm-aaaa-t, MAT!"  

Here's your chance to listen to the sweet rhythm and intonation of an early reader.  (click on the image to load the video)

"ran anD ran anD ran anD ran."  :-)

Kindergarten

All is well on the Kindergarten home front.  We've completed 2 weeks (4 sessions) and have progressed well during that time.  Our schedule is still in flux and will continue to be adjusted as we learn what's best for all of our kids.  William has joined in the group as a Pre-K-er.  He absolutely will NOT let himself be left out.  He's sprouting little buds of enthusiasm for reading.  He's still a little young yet for the school scene, but he retains the content very well when he can sit still long enough to listen.  As he matures, I know he'll make a great student.  

Overall, I'm glad we're homeschooling.  It's going well so far, even after just 2 weeks.  We'll have the system down soon enough and then there will be no stopping us!

Living with God.

Since the passing of Doug's grandmother in December, we've had a lot of discussions with the children about her "having a lot of birthdays" (amazing how a concept like 'old' is lost on a 3  year old) and now living with God.  

William is always quick to say that when he has a lot of birthdays, he wants to live with God too.  Thursday we had the discussion all over again, with the usual exuberance.  When the subject changed, I told William and Mary how Robert and I had met some firemen and had seen their truck and what a big adventure that was.  From the back seat, William proudly exclaimed that when he grows up, he wants to be a fireman.  This was the first time he's ever voiced his future profession.  The back seat fell silent after that and several minutes passed before he spoke up again.  

This time he said, "I don't want to go with God."  

"Why not, William?"

"Because I want to be a fireman when I have a lot of birthdays.  I don't want to live with God.  I want to be a fireman."  

He was really excited to hear that he could probably have a lot of birthdays, be a fireman, have a few more birthdays and then go live with God.  

It just makes me smile.

It's Kindergarten time.

I've been waiting for and dreading the arrival of this time for a few years now.  To tell the truth, I'm still not quite ready for it.  But, Mary has made it quite clear that she is ready to begin Kindergarten.  Yesterday, she read a good portion of Hop on Pop to me.  Today, she brought me a paper that had been in a box of clothes that said "Winter."  She said, "Mom, I spelled winter!  See!  It's winter time and this says winter!"

Since we're homeschooling (which is part of my anxiety about this) we can begin any time we wish, regardless of her age or the season.  So, next week, we embark upon the Kindergarten frontier.  Mary and me, me and Mary.  We're so blessed to have terrific friends who also happen to be our neighbors.  They have a precious little girl, Eleanor who is ready to start Kindergarten too.  The 4 of us, Eleanor and Mary with Melanie and I, will get together this journey.  Our focus is on reading.  Our main goal for kindergarten is to get the girls reading well for the foundation of everything else they'll do.  

We've planned a little math, a little Bible study, and a little reading two days per week, while they are still enrolled in preschool elsewhere.  As the summer arrives and the temperatures rise, we'll increase to 4 or 5 study days a week.  Then in the fall, when the weather is pleasant again, our kids can be outside enjoying the season.  

I'm so proud of Mary.  This is a big step for her...and for me.