Quoteworthy

Second day of school, 5:30 a.m., laying in bed, Beatrice says:

 "My body feels like it wants to rest more, but my hands are saying they want to work, work, work!"

First Grader

Finally!

Reading

Recently we had a big night at our house.  Beatrice filled in her 49th bubble, completing the summer reading log organized by our local library.  Seven rows of seven bubbles, each standing for  15 minutes of reading.  For ages 7 and under, those minutes could represent minutes read independently OR being read to, but I decided there was no glory (and far less likelihood in improvement of her decoding skills) in the latter. She read almost every single day for AT LEAST 15 minutes and many days much more. 49 bubbles of remembering what "sh" and "ch" say, remembering the "ay" words say A, remembering to stick her tongue between her teeth when she sees the th blend, and that "ou" and "ow" are band-aid words because they say "ow!" 49 bubbles of deciding to figure out whether the w or the h is quiet  for "wh" words,  learning that there are quiet l's in should/could/would, and 49 days of wondering why "come" and "some" have magic e's at the end but don't have long o sounds. Day after day after day.  And it's only beginning.  And I wasn't always as patient as I should have been.  But somewhere along the way, I realized how insanely hard she was working and trying, and I focused a bit less on the rules of reading and focused more on her amazing effort, and my patience blossomed. She has made so much improvement and worked so very hard it brings tears to my eyes.  She wants to read independently so very badly, and she is very close.  Most days.

I honestly can't think of one day since we met her that we haven't read at least one book to her, and most days it's more like two, or three, or ten.  I once said there would be no books at bedtime, years ago when she was being very naughty, and to this day I've not seen her as inconsolable. I broke my parenting rule and didn't follow through on the punishment and did read to her that night.

She has often said she prefers books over toys.  The library and bookstores are her very favorite places.  Since she was about two years old, I've  hoped so hard that reading would come easily to her because she loves it so very much.  That she be one of those kids who basically teachers herself how to crack that code of symbols, letters, and sounds, from the thousands of books she's had read to her.

She's not one of those kids.  But her love of books hasn't wavered despite the challenge she's faced. She has persisted and now that she's feeling more confidence and knowing there are so many words that she sees, she wants to read more and more.  She's asking to read on her own, and there's nothing as gratifying as seeing her face and hearing the strength in her voice when she sounds out a new word or reads a sentence fluently.

School starts next week.  She is starting to say she's "scared" and "nervous."  I know it has nothing to do with her teacher or the school or her classmates.  She knows she's going to have to work very hard and that it isn't always easy for her.  

I've come to learn that the "smart" kids aren't necessarily the ones for whom things come easily or who get the highest scores, especially in elementary school.  The "smart" ones, or at least those who are successful in the long run, are those who show grit, persistence, work hard.  I've decided my daughter just might be brilliant.

Squeezing more fun in before the end of vacation

What a busy past few days!  Beatrice headed to the Springfield Museum with J.J. last week to see a Dr. Seuss exhibit as well as a puppet show of Sleeping Beauty.  Here are some photos from outside in the sculpture garden:

Beatrice has a shark tooth!  A beautiful new adult tooth is in on the bottom center, but the baby tooth hasn't left yet.  She's taking her job of wiggling it often very seriously!

Last night we went camping at Wolf Den with the Schultzes.  Bea was "large and in charge" when it came to tent setup:"

Then her friends showed up and the fun started:

Our meal was more "smoked" than "cooked."  Who knew fire starting was so dang difficult?

Here are the rascals early the next morning,

and the men upon returning from washing dishes:

What a great time. We are exhausted but it was worth all the effort and sleeplessness!

Meanwhile, I'm bound and determined to get that tooth out before I start school!

Summer weekend

Saturday I noticed the rose of Sharon in the yard was opening right up, and Bea was in purple coincidentally, so I got the camera out and got some okay pics:

(where she got these coy poses I have no idea, by the way, but it's her new thing)

That evening, we went to the wedding of Beatrice's dance teacher.  It was a beautiful event and I pulled out the dress that Bea wore two years ago in Tuscany at David's rehearsal dinner and

last summer at my Dad's funeral.  It still fits, just a couple inches shorter!

Int his photo, you can see that Bea actually wore real jewelry for the first time in years (other than a hairband elastic anklet/bracelet), that the hose is never put away neatly, that the grass needs mowing again, and that our garage is in desperate need of a paint job or vinyl siding.  What you canNOT see however is that Beatrice has a very wiggly bottom front tooth AND a very pronounced adult tooth sticking out behind it!  Maybe two, it depends who you ask! She is proud to have "shark teeth!" We are working very hard to wiggle that thing out of there and hope to announce the first visit of the tooth fairy very soon!

Sunday we headed to the Flotildes' home and had a great time in their new pool! 

~Here's proof that I am a mermaid~

How I will miss these sunny, lazy summer days so very soon.... 

Connecticut Science Museum

There are a few things on my to-do-with-Bea list before I return to school in a couple weeks.  I crossed one off today by visiting the fairly new science center in Hartford.  We invited Lucy along and it was an awesome day.  These two girls played hard, very, very hard!

First up?  Get wet in the water area!

Next, wait for a movie:  ANIMALOPOLIS

The city girls enjoyed the view from the rooftop:

They didn't enjoy the hurricane force winds in the weather area, however:

They had fun doing a TV weather forecast (see video below) though they couldn't agree on their prediction:

Love these photos.  The girl spent at least 15 minutes carefully selecting Legos to build their race cars:

When it got crowded they moved to the bottom of the track to complete their vehicles, quietly singing "Let it Go" together.  I think at one point they named their cars "Anna" and "Elsa."  They were colorful and really creative and they were in this area over 1/2 hour altogether before even putting them on the race course:

This group of boys came over, were running up and down the race track, crashing their cars into each other and demolishing them, while Bea and Lucy quietly continued their Frozen agenda.  The gender gap couldn't have been wider!

There was a Mr. Potato head section that was both girls' favorite.  They drove this safari car all over Africa:

and made their own potato heads:

The day ended with building their own houses out of these cushion blocks.  So much fun!

Rock stars outside the UConn Dairy Bar where we stopped for ice cream on the way home:

What a fun day!

August is off to a great start!

Yesterday was my Uncle Charlie and Aunt Alice's 60th (yikes!) wedding anniversary, so their three children were all in town for a party, along with all but one of their grandchildren.  After a long warmup period, Bea was so happy to see everyone, especially almost-6 year old Maryam:

My godson Erik, in town from VA, just loved playing with the little kids:

A pickup soccer game ensued after lunch:

and tons of photographs were taken.  I love this one of Bea with some of her big cousins:

Here I am with my cousin Marianne's beautiful children.  Beatrice adores Kristin, aka THE CAT. I can't believe these two "babies" are entering 10th and 12th grade in a few week!  Makes me feel as old as I look here:

We headed to NH straight from the party for an overnight visit with Rachel:

 

The  6-year olds picked up right where they left off when we last saw them in May:

 

They were up until the week hours of the morning by my estimate, and awoke far too early today, but they couldn't wait to get up and play and head outside on this beautiful day.

I think they were captains of a ship protecting treasure, but the handholding was the sweetest part of this adventure:

Debating what to do next.  I think hide-and-seek won out:

Martha got the pool and sand table ready and they had fun mixing the two!

and fishing....

There was a (very quick) run under the sprinkler.  Despite the hot summer air, the water was really chilly!

and then Beatrice introduced Toca Boca to Rachel before lunch and heading home.

Can't  believe these two are entering first grade.  Their friendship is such a treasure for their families. As we drove up yesterday, just before opening the car door to greet them, Beatrice asked "Rachel's just like my sister, right?"  She sure is, just like a sister.