Erica is learning to play a few songs on the piano. And when I say "learning" what I really mean is "teaching herself". She has taught herself most of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb, We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet, and The First Noel. We're talking melody only here, and on the last two it's not the whole melody but rather the first few lines, but still - pretty good for a 5-year-old who hasn't had lessons. She'll be getting a 30 minute group piano lesson once a week when Kindergarten starts, so we'll see how she does with that and Mommy's teaching/prompting. Perhaps it is soon going to be time for lessons. Isaac is about to turn 3. We were driving in the car to the store the other day to buy a birthday present for a little boy in the neighborhood who invited Isaac to a birthday party. We were talking about how it was almost Isaac's birthday, and I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. His answer? "Hmmm... maybe a skirt!" But it was shortly followed by "No, maybe a dump truck." And so now he tells me, rather often, how he is going to go to the store to buy himself a dump truck for his present for his birthday. He's pretty excited to be getting big, and he knows that 3 is big enough for (pre)school so he's extra thrilled for that. Cambria has begun practicing jumping off the bottom step of the stairs. The older kids jump from higher up - Erica from step number 4 and Isaac from step number 3. Cambria watches them and then practices jumping off the bottom step. She's getting pretty good at it! One day I was in the kitchen washing dishes when I noticed that I hadn't heard her playing in a while. I looked into the other room and there she was, jumping off the bottom step, falling on her hind end, laughing, getting back up, climbing back up, and doing it all over again. She has also found that she is tall enough to turn on and off the light over the stairs if she stands on the second step so we get to see that light switch on and off rather frequently these days.
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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!