Bragging Mother

You don't mind two posts in one day, do you? I just have to brag a little bit about my children! A couple of weeks ago, Jessica was at Wal-Mart with me, and we were in the freezer section. I was looking at some stuff, and all of a sudden Jessica says, "That says hot!" I looked up to see a trivet (I think that's what they're called, that you put on the table to set hot food on) with the big letters HOT on it. I said, "Yes, it does!" And I was just so amazed and excited that my daughter could read a random word on her own! :-) Well, yesterday, one of her homework assignments was a list of words that she is supposed to practice reading and spelling; 9 of them are words that are phonetic and follow rules they've been learning (one of them was the word "hot," so now I know why she knew that word), and 1 was a sight word "the" which she's supposed to have learned. I thought I'd have to really work with her on them, but when I showed her the list, she was able to read every one with barely any help at all. Then I went through each word without her seeing them and had her spell them to me. She didn't need much help, mostly just me enunciating so that she could tell which word I was saying. I was so pleased to see that she really is learning at school. I talked to her teacher one day last week on the phone, and she told me that Jessica really is a good worker and concentrates on what she is working on; her only problem getting into trouble is during down time when she's not busy working. I was glad to hear that she is good at paying attention at school because she's not always at home. She has a good teacher, and I am pleased to see progress with her. She's getting more and more interested in reading and writing, and she is constantly doing things at home that we know she has learned at school. (Just so long as she is learning good things at school, I'm good with that!) One big thing is singing. She has music everyday, and she comes home singing really cute songs all the time, like colors songs, where she is learning to spell the colors through songs. It's very fun! I am enjoying watching her grow up. She's not a baby anymore, that's for sure!

As for babies, though, my sweet Matthew had a first yesterday, which I was excited to share. I was actually talking over the computer with my parents when it happened, which made it even more fun because I could share it with them and they could see it. (My mom said I should use it in a blog!) Matthew has been scooting all over the place lately, not quite crawling on his hands and knees but getting closer everyday and sure getting around fast anyway. We have sat him up against things before, but he would just fall over if nothing was holding him up. While I was talking to my parents, without thinking I lowered him to the floor in a sitting position as if he should just naturally be able to do that; I wasn't thinking about the fact that he hadn't been doing that; I was just putting him on the floor to play, not thinking about the position I was putting him in. Well, anyway, he sat there for quite a long time. It took a sec. for it to register to me that what he was doing was not normal for him and was a first. Then I quickly grabbed the iSight camera and showed my parents what he was doing. It still took awhile before I thought, duh, I should grab the other camera and take a picture.






See our sweet boy sitting all by himself. So big! Well, I videoed some too, all the while trying to hold two cameras at once, the isight and the digital camera. He lasted for several minutes before he sat up straighter and then toppled over to the side and thankfully caught himself so he didn't bonk his head or anything. He even stayed happy! Well, I was just excited to share this first with y'all!

I'd better share something about Jacob, too, so you know I'm pleased with him as well. I've been pleased at his growing interest in going potty on the toilet (maybe just for the treats, but whatever works)! This morning, he woke up with a dry diaper, so Daddy got him to go potty on the toilet! Yea! We're getting somewhere, I suppose.

Now, I don't want my other cutie to feel left out, so I'll just tell you how much I appreciate my husband. He really is a wonderful help. It is so nice to have him around more, not like his last job where I was lucky if I saw him one day out of the month. As I write this, he is fixing the seal around the front door. He is able to do so many things that I wouldn't have the first clue how to do, nor the desire or often ability or strength to do. I am so grateful for such a handy man and such a loving father to our children, so willing to help in so many ways. Thank you, Jeremy.

OK, now that I have bragged about everyone in my immediate family and probably bored half of you, if you even got this far into reading this and didn't give up in the first paragraph, I'll have to brag about you and just say how much we love and appreciate each of you family and friends. Thanks for your love and support. Please keep in touch! This blog is an easy way to do so. We love comments! Signing off for now, until I have another thought come to me to share...