4/52

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." — Emilie Buchwal, children's author

4 Years, 9 Months, 18 Days

This sweet boy is getting so big. Trying to savor every day - it's such a fun time.

• He's reading like crazy. Books, signs, you name it. One of my favorite things is when we're driving and he reads the name of the songs playing on the Sirius radio display.
• I've been having a blast reading some "big" books to him. Winnie the Pooh, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, etc. We're currently reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is making me so excited to watch the Willy Wonka movie with him. I am always amazed by his attention span. And it's the best feeling to see him practically hanging onto every word as I read aloud. "Just ONE MORE chapter, Mommy! Pleeeeeeeease?!?" And I love hearing him retell the stories to Dave over breakfast or dinner.
• He loves to go to Jumpoline Park and play Dodge Ball with the big boys. I haven't been there yet, but Dave says the big kids are always so nice (and careful) with him.
• He's riding his bike like a pro. We took it down to Town Lake last weekend for the first time and he rode over 3 miles (there was some complaining along the way, but he stuck with it).
• We ate salmon for dinner one night this week and when I served it he asked, "Is this salmon wild-caught?"
• He's getting so tall. Some mornings when we wake up I'm convinced he grew an inch overnight. 

These are just a few of the things I want to remember. Love that boy!

Constructions, Contraptions and Reading

It feels like Spencer is growing and developing so much right now. Sometimes I look at my tall boy and wonder how did he become such a big kid all of a sudden? See what I mean:

Today I want to jot down a few things I want to remember...

First, the way he calls instructions "constructions." As in, "Mommy, where are the constructions for my helicopter?" We never correct him because it's just too darn cute.

Second, the way he loves to build "contraptions." He's like a junior Rube Goldberg, putting together ramps and boxes and blocks to roll cars and balls down. Daddy really gets into this activity!

Finally, he is starting to read. He spends an hour every day for quiet time, mostly looking at books. Just about every day he emerges with a new word he's figured out. He'll type it on his toy computer (from memory) and proudly show us. We've been reading chapter books lately for bedtime, especially the Magic Tree House series, and he will stop me so he can try to point to a word or phrase I just said. He also loves to rhyme words. He's just really interested in words and language in general right now and it's fun to witness.