Another National StoryCorps Broadcast!

This morning (Friday), NPR aired a clip from an interview I facilitated back in October, between a 63-year old man, Joe Buford, and his literacy tutor, Michelle Miller. Joe lived his whole life not knowing how to read, and 3 years ago, he sought help at the Nashville Adult Literacy Council. In the clip, Joe tells Michelle about the lifelong shame he felt over his illiteracy, and the joy he felt when he discovered he was finally "getting it." To hear the story and see a picture (that I took) of Joe and Michelle, visit the StoryCorps website and look for Joe's name. Happy listening!

Cora's lost her first baby tooth!

Well, the big day finally came -- Cora lost her first baby tooth this evening! It's been wiggling for weeks, and all her messing with it finally paid off. This picture says it all -- she was ecstatic. She was a bit concerned at bedtime because she really wants to keep her tooth, but she also wants the big payoff. I told her I was sure the tooth fairy could work with her on this one. Also, Cora tells me the going rate for a "first tooth" is a whopping FIVE dollars, according to a friend at school who is in the know. That seems pretty steep to me. We'll just have to wait and see what the tooth fairy decides...

Happenings

-We all had the flu last week. It sucked. Kate and Oliver had it bad.

-Cora has her first real loose tooth. She has had several phantom loose teeth in the past, born of wishful thinking as her classmates lost their own teeth. But this one is for real--the permanent tooth is already pushing up through the gum behind it. Exciting!

-Gma Carol and Cora went out his week and got Cora a new generation of hermit crabs. She got two this time--Hermie Jr. and Shermie. We went to the pet store this afternoon and outfitted them with a larger terrarium and a nice hiding space. These crabs are biiger than Hermie the First, and we've already noticed more crab poo. We don't know if Hermie the First ever pooed at all. That might have been his cause of death.

-Oliver is starting to read. Short words of three letters basically, but he knows all the letters of the alphabet and is learning how to put them together. It has been fun to watch because it is arising from his pure joy in letters and how they sound. We're not coaching him at all. Maybe a little :)

-A few days ago I was playing with Oliver, making shapes of letters with my fingers. I tried to spell his name with my fingers, making the shape of each letter. I got all the way to "r" and couldn't get it to look right. I was trying to make a literal shape of an "r". Oliver asked, "What's that letter?" I told him what I was trying to do. He said, "This is an R", and held up the sign language symbol for "r". The rascal. Our kids are already smarter than we are. Smarter than me at least.

How did that happen?

Cora was telling me about her day at school tonight during dinner. She was proud that she just finished worksheet #8 in grammar at school. She sat for a second and sighed wearily.
"(Sigh)....Adverbs. Long pause....They describe verbs."

What?

It just didn't register in my brain for a minute that my daughter had just used the word adverb, and that she knew what it meant. Not to mention verbs. Weird. She's growing up fast.

Oops?

I gave Oliver a bath tonight. When he got out I slicked his hair back and put him in a little blue bathrobe with a duckie on it. It is just his size and adorably cute. I told him to go into the kitchen and say to Kate, "I'm Hugh Hefner."

He pranced right in and proclaimed, "I'm Hugh Hef-a-ner!" Kate laughed, Oliver cackled, and then he proceeded to say it again and again.

That's when I realized my little Daddy joke might have been a bad idea. Oliver's preschool is being reviewed by the State Board of something or other tomorrow for their licensure or accreditation. They sent home a flier with all the things that Oliver must have at school tomorrow: fruits and vegetables in his lunch, hats and mittens for the cold, etc. Obviously it's a big deal.

I can just see Oliver tomorrow, trying to win a laugh from the new strangers visiting his classroom:

"What's your name, little boy?"

"I'm Hugh Hef-a-ner!"

Back to school and stuff

Things are returning to normal after the holidays. The kids are back in school and we're both back to work.

Oliver will be three in a few weeks. It seems like he has been two forever. He is enjoying preschool. His teachers think he is a little genius because he knows the alphabet and can count to twenty. He has been playing Starfall, an online reading website, and has just soaked up his letters like a sponge. He enjoys playing with letters and making words. He can't actually spell yet; he just strings letters together and gets us to pronounce the result.

His hair is also growing into a small bush on top of his head. He has refused to have his hair cut at all over the last five months or so, only getting Gma Sally to trim his bangs (by request) one time.

Cora is back at school after nineteen days off for the holidays. She is working a lot with reading at school and some with math. She is also taking gymnastics at the YMCA and is learning new skills at a rapid pace.

We're looking at summer camps already--hard to believe. The good ones fill up fast.

Smart Aleck

Oliver said to me this morning, "Mommy, I wish our table could talk."
I said, "Why? What do you think it would say?"
Him: "Clean me."

Christmas Photos!

2007_1125_141050AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Click the pic to travel to Flickr...