Erica's latest interest is astronomy. She knows more about it than I do (which of course isn't really all that hard to do). She is constantly telling me about things she is learning about astronomy from the (1977) Charlie Brown Encyclopedia of Earth and Space we checked out from the library. She reads the encyclopedia like a novel, and absorbs basically everything she reads. I'm constantly amazed by the things she tells me, and especially by the fact that she recites it verbatim at the dinner table. Isaac is starting to learn the sounds of the letters. There are a few he knows, while most he is still working on. We have a lot of letter magnets that are on the fridge, and while I'm in the kitchen cooking he will ask me what the letters say. His favorite is the letter T, and any time he sees a T, in a book, on a sign, or anywhere else, he will announce "That's a T and he says t-t". In addition to the letter magnets we also have numbers and a few symbols (multiplication, division, addition, subtraction signs) and today I spent a long time trying to convince him that numbers and symbols don't have a sound. I'm still not sure he believes me, but we'll keep at it. Cambria's latest accomplishment is going up and down the stairs by herself. She has mastered going up, and is good at going down as long as we help her get started. But if she tries to start herself going down, she will approach the top of the stairs, lay down on her stomach (still facing the stairs, or facing to the side of the stairs) and then begin scooting backwards. And then she starts fussing because she is getting farther away from the stairs instead of going down them. But for the most part, she is doing very well. I try not to watch too closely as she ascends the stairs, though, because she has recently decided she is big enough to stop on a stair and look around. When I watch, that is just too much stress for me to handle, and I call out to her and then she tries to turn around and it turns into a big disaster. So instead I try to look away and praise her as she is learning. She does just fine without me, as do all the kids.
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Erica is nearly done with her first year at Elementary school! The last day of kindergarten is on Friday, and while I think she's excited to be moving on to first grade in the fall, she is sad to be leaving her kindergarten teacher and to be out of school for several weeks. Her class practiced eating in the lunchroom a few weeks ago to help them feel ready for first grade when they will eat lunch at school. It's amazing to me how fast she is growing up and how quickly she's turning into a big kid instead of my little girl! She spends a lot of time playing with her friend down the street and reading (as usual). She also spends a fair amount of time playing with her younger siblings. Erica is a great older sister and the younger kids are lucky to have her!
Isaac finished his first year of preschool. He loved it! He's very excited to go again in the fall when he will go to school 3 days a week instead of only 2. He is also excited about swimming lessons which will be starting in a few weeks. Isaac loves to tease and sometimes (often) takes his teasing too far. He's trying to learn how to play without bringing anyone to tears or blows. He invites friends to play and was invited to a friend's house to play as well, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Isaac has his first "friend" birthday party this year when he turned 4 and really enjoyed that. His friends came over and they played outside and with his new toys, ate cupcakes and ice cream cones, whacked a pinata, and generally enjoyed being boys together. He's a fun boy and loves to be helpful, whether it's in the kitchen with his mom or out in the yard or the shop with his dad. Isaac is growing up to be a wonderful boy and will someday be a wonderful young man!
Cambria has graduated from the crib to her "big girl bed" (toddler bed) and is quite proud of herself for it. She loves to follow her siblings around and do what they do. She especially adores Isaac and will do anything he tells her to (which can be quite a problem as he hasn't mastered self-discipline yet). She is getting excited about being potty trained, and is expecting to do that in the next month or so - as soon as the current box of diapers is gone. She loves her potty seat and is very eager to use the big girl underwear like the older kids. She always wants to help, and has assigned herself the job of carrying the drinks to the table at mealtimes. It is especially funny to see a 2 1/2-year-old trying to carry, "By MYSELF", a full gallon jug of milk from the fridge to the kitchen table. She wants to be big just as fast as she can! But, as with my other children, I hope she doesn't grow up too fast!