Hug and Moon

So I started this post a LONG time ago (try September), but due to being on my feet all day with LIFE, I just did not get a chance to finish it!

I had meant to announce it when it happened, it being something we were kind of not expecting, at that moment, anyway. And so, it was exciting.  So without further adieu....

Riley is a reader and a speller!!  

Sometime back in August of last year, this awesome little girl read her first book ever by herself - "Pout-Pout Fish" by  Deborah Diesen.  Actually read it, not just memorized it, like pretty much the rest of her book collection.  It had many of her known sight words, but also some words that she was finally confident enough to sound out and even a few that used blends, like "sm" for smile.  She read it, then read it to her brother, then read it again.  What an amazing thing to see the joy on her face as she realized her accomplishment.  It was just as exciting as a first step, or a first word!  

A few days later, she sounded out the word "H-u-g" at bedtime, and just a few days after that, she sounded out "M-o-o-n" using her knowledge of two o's making the "ooooh" sound.  From there, she took off, wanting to try to spell something new every day, writing out words, writing (and sometimes mailing) letters to family and friends.  Of her own accord, because, in opposition of what some may think, we do not push her to do any of this.  We have learned, over time, that when our kids do things that are "ahead" of the norm, that they can't be discussed openly in public, or at the playground, or to the other preschool Moms last year, or certainly not to any other parents who have same-aged kids, because of course, we're bragging, and we MUST be pushing our children, and never letting them play, and probably strapping them to torture chairs and injecting knowledge into them.  

It has seriously been her heart's desire to learn to read for as long as we can remember, she has said so herself so many times.  I've mentioned before how her favorite "toy" has always been a book.  As an infant, she was happiest on someone's lap with book after book after book.  It didn't matter if you repeated the same book 80 times, or read her 80 different books, just as long as you were reading.  Still as a statue she'd sit and listen attentively.  

Baby Riley would even steal mail to "read!" 

Content as can be. 

Daddy reading to 1 yr old Riley

By 6 months, we'd ask her where things were in her favorite books, and she'd point to them.  By 8 months, she was saying the names of the things we pointed to.  She never seemed to lose interest (although I did.... lol!)  Around that time, I started babysitting for 2 other babes, who were 3 months older and 2 months younger than Riley, respectively, so I got a little busier and couldn't read as many books to her as I previously could, so she learned to sit and "read" herself.  She'd page through each book, never skipping a page, and shortly after her 1st birthday she would "read" out loud, as she had memorized parts of her faves.  Any time we needed to keep her busy, just add books.  Restaurant?  No problem.  She'd happily read the same 4 books over and over.  Mom needs a shower?  No problem.  Sit Riley on the floor surrounded by books.  She never wandered off, not once.  Garden needs weeding?  No problem!  Sit Riley in grass with books.  At the hospital for unknown respiratory issues?  Just bring books and she is the best behaved kid there.  It worked every time.  Old books, new books, it did not matter. 

 Roger and I loved to listen to her on the monitor at bedtime, after we'd read her books and left the room she would read to herself, 10 or so books in a row, fully memorized and correct every time, until she fell asleep.  Her memorization was also so good that if it was bedtime and say, Mom or Dad didn't feel well and tried to skip a word, a line, or a page in the book they were reading, she'd catch us and correct us.  

Age 2 was frustrating for her.  She was learning sight words after expressing her desire to learn some of Indigo's kindergarten words.  She'd ask for more and more, saying she just wanted to learn how to read!  By now, she had an awareness that bigger kids could read new books on their own, and that she was stuck with the books that someone had already read to her.  RJ was born and it got a little hectic in here, and I'll be the first to admit that this exhausted Mommy probably read to her even less.  But books were still her favorite, can still keep her occupied everywhere we went...

From age 3 to 4 we backed off of sight words for a little bit.  The wee Man-child began to crawl just 6 short months into his life, and then to walk at 9 months, and proved to be explicitly different from his siblings in all kinds of ways that required extra parental attention.  Riley had learned about 50 sight words prior to turning 3, and practiced finding those words in the books she had.  As many people know, sight words are not reading, although they're an important part of learning to read.  Sight Words are rote memorization of words that tend to not follow the "rules" of the letter sounds.  RJ, somewhere in the middle of age 1, was eventually not as needy as when he was smaller, and he was beginning to be able to sit still for a book or two himself, so we as a family increased our reading together.  Chase and Indy also read to Riley a lot.

As her 4th birthday approached, she asked for sight words again and so we started where we'd left off - the last set of Primer words.  We use the Dolch Word Lists from here, they offer Pre-Primer, Primer, 1st and 2nd Grade lists.  She also started asking A LOT of questions about letter sounds within words, how to spell things, etc.  This was often while we're driving.  It's totally fine with me when we turn the music down and have great conversation.  One day, she went through the whole alphabet, saying the proper letter sounds for each.  She needed correction for a few, mostly those tricky vowel sounds.  While this was sometimes boring for me, and maybe not what I wanted to be doing, I certainly didn't think it fair to deny her.  

In July, she turned 4.  For a while before, we had had a little routine where she would be sad because I was done reading at bedtime.  So I would ask for a "kiss and a bug" or some other word that rhymed with "hug."  This would always make her giggle.  I'd guess many wrong rhyming words, but she would eventually have to give me the answer.  "That's 'cuz I'm smarter than you, Mom," she'd say.  Redirection successful, we'd kiss, hug, and off I'd go.  She continued to read every night with her reading light on (ikea janso clamp light) until she fell asleep, with books piled on top of her.

Somewhere in late August, I grew tired of the rhyming game.  She could rhyme any word you gave her, and we'd been working on blends, since she had asked me why Chase's name didn't start with the "C" sound like it should, she said.  So one night I told her I wanted "a kiss and a ...."  "Wait!!  Can you SPELL that word... hmmmm....", I said.  And that's how it happened.  

I used to tease Roger about how "easy" of a baby and toddler Riley was, I wanted to make sure he really appreciated that not all kids were like her.  (And boy did he get a dose of something different with his son....).  We read to her every day, from the day she was born, and I took her to infant storytime for the first time when she was just 4 days old.  But we mostly did that with the other kids, too, and for the record, it doesn't always mean you're going to get a kid who loves to sit and read.  It's still a wonderful way to connect with your child and build the brain skills that go along with listening to words and hearing stories.

A day or so after her first spell, we went out to look at the Moon.  On a whim, I asked her how to spell it.  She totally got it right.  "Two O's like in Zoo, Mom."  And after that, it's history.  She starting getting pieces of paper, and writing words down every day.  She gets out Bananagrams to play with the pieces and turn "cat" into "sat."  She cracks herself up by saying, "Hey, Mom, I'm going to spell a color....  G - R - E - E - E - E - E - E - E....." and then she just loses it with laughter as she says, "Greeeeeeeeeeee" over and over until we're both dying with laughter and can't breathe anymore.  She impresses me every day.  And it's not even like I'm doing a whole lot of teaching, at least, not in the sit-down-and-let's-go-over-this way.  I teach, yes, but it's in the moment.  When it comes up.  As it's happening.  Or when she asks me.

Reading to RJ

A friend asked me, "How do you teach a kid to read?"  And there's no short answer.  For Riley, it has a lot to do with what I mentioned above about who she is and what her first years were like.  It's our availability as parents to read to her daily, it's her desire combined with the language and vocabulary we use with our kids, it's our stance that books are unconditional, that reading time with Mom & Dad can never be taken away as punishment, no matter how bad of a day they've had, it's the sheer number of books in our house (and on the couch, and the floor, and the kitchen table....) plus the love they get on a daily basis and minus the excessive TV and video game time that we see in homes with young children all around us.

This is just what's next to her bed.  We are overflowing with books. 

But if I had to give a short answer, say, to a new Mom who was embarking on her new journey as being in charge of a small, stinky, helpless human being with a giant sponge of a brain - I'd say, "Read out aloud.  Every Day."  That's the short answer.

And perhaps, if all lines up, in a few short years, you'll get your own "Hug and Moon." 

December Wrap-Up

Before we get waayyy ahead of ourselves here... on this 8th day of January, let's review that whirlwind called "December."

Well, wait a minute.  We missed November.

Ok, let's do it all:

 We went to a Homeschooler's Day Out at a YMCA Camp center.  We did "Protect the Egg" contests, made soft pretzels, dipped candles, and played all kinds of outdoor games.  Terribly good fun!

This kid slept in shopping carts all over town, as usual. This makes old ladies REALLY NERVOUS.  Just so you know.  They have to touch him to make sure he's alive. 

Our violinist practiced. 

Riley gave thanks, for all kinds of things.

On Thanksgiving, we made and dropped off food for our local police department, to give back instead of just going and stuffing ourselves and then sitting around saying, "Why did I eat ALL THAT??"  We made a Thanksgiving sandwich with all the parts, so that the officers could make a quick grab-n-go if they needed to.  The kids also wrote thank you letters to them.

We stopped by a friend's house to help her carry furniture, after our trip to the police department.  When she found out we didn't have dinner plans, she invited us back.  Here's the Rogers eating.  Or maybe that's Princess Roger?  We don't know, but he loved that crown.  It was pleasant to attend someone else's Thanksgiving for once and experience how a different family does it. 

The "Store" made it's way out from the dust and rubble of the basement (where it lived during construction) and into the girls' new room.  Children near and far (ok, fine, just mine, the neighbor's and some cousins) had store fun for hours. They primarily sell food, and guns.  Of course. 

We wrote letters to Santa, and Santa wrote back!

The day after Thanksgiving is for the tree.  But we don't dare take the train table down!

Obligatory finished tree pic.

The Elf also returns on Thanksgiving night.  Tricker made sure to thrill the children and annoy the parents, as he is skilled at doing. 

One day, we thought we had lost RJ somewhere in the house.  Usually, if you can't see him, you just yell and ask him if he's alright.  He answers back, "Yeah!" right away.  Well, this day, he didn't answer at all, so we all started running through the house, to the bathtubs and exit doors and any other potentially-problematic places.  Instead, he had found the iPad next to Dad's side of the bed, and figured out how to watch videos on PBS kids, and was lying under a blanket in bed doing so.  He knew better than to identify his position!  

RJ lines up his two favorite books right before he falls asleep.  Books are super important at this house!

We continue to use this "level" system-based chart for behaviors.  It also determines what one is eligible for - for instance, if you're on Orange or Red, and something fun is going on, like playing outside with friends, or having ice cream for dessert, you miss out. 

Sister Love. 

My hair is growing fast.  Some days I like it, some days I don't.  What is growing is pretty darn healthy, so I'll take it!

RJ plays tea time. 

Indy has a Strings Concert.  She did awesome!

A very festive homeschool day!

One of these days, I'll get around to posting about how Riley is READING!  It's a super-exciting thing.

"Doing Disney", or as we called it, the 2012 Mickey Mouse Spectacular

Our neighbors hopped in the car last week and took off, heading straight south to sunny Orlando to "Do Disney." Watching them pack and plan all week, it of course caused us to remember in fondness our family Disney trip from 2 1/2 years ago.  Except RJ of course.  He was stuck inside a uterus.

Let's rehash in pictures ('cuz that's way more fun!)

If you don't care about our trip, and just want to see our planning and tips, skip to the bottom, where I have our bullet-point list of our family-friendly tips that worked wonderfully for us.

Sleepy Riley.  Strapped in to a nice, second-hand van seat that we picked up from the junk yard... just...for...this...ride! 

Let me explain... we cleaned out Roger's entire work truck, shelves and all, and CONVERTED it into the coolest, hippest, phattest cross-country (or down-country?) ride EVER!!

Big kids riding in style.  And yes, they are still in seat belts.  More fancy junk yard van seats so everyone has room to stretch.  Roger makes a make-shift table with Mom-requested cup holders.  The utility bucket is multi-functional - trash can, potential barf-catcher, etc. 

So, as awesome as converting your work truck into your RRV is (that's Roger-Recreational-Vehicle), once you get on good 'ole I-95 South, you run into a problem.  Truck weighing stations.  Do we go?? Do we not go??  They don't know we have our family in the back!  Are we a truck?  Are we a - aww, heck, we have no idea!!  We don't wish to get chased and pulled over and searched and the whole nine yards, so we dutifully enter each open weigh station ALL THE WAY DOWN.  Mostly we immediately get the green light, as we are pretty much on the smaller side anyway.  Some have a guy in a booth that asks us what we are carrying.  "Ummm... kids?"  Roger responds.  I shrink down in my seat, as I am now convinced we are going to get raided for smuggling children.  The guy shrugs.  No raid.  Phew.  On we go! 

21 hours later, we stop in Jacksonville, FL to see some friends.  Riley feels the ocean on her toes.  The CLEAN, blue, pretty ocean in Florida.  Not the gray, dolphin-killing, stinky New Jersey kind we have near us.

  Stay still, look directly INTO the sun, and keep the wind out of your hair.  Yeah, right!

We maximize our time with our Jacksonville peeps for a day, and roll down to Orlando... in the middle of the night.  We shout to the kids, but no one moves.  Oh, well - Hi Mickey, we're here!

 When we pulled up to the gate, at 12:30AM mind you, the guard asks, which building are you working on?  It takes us a minute before we recall that we are driving a huge box truck with our company name on the side... we sheepishly explain that we're loaded with kids and that we're guests at the resort.  

This is us parked next to the cool triple-door Stretch Truck.  We're not sure how they park at the grocery store, or anywhere else for that matter.  We looked it up, (http://www.customautosbytim.com/) you have to own an Excursion and a F250, which we do, and then send it down to (where else?) Texas, and they will put them together for you for a cool $30K.  Umm , yeah, I think we'll stick with two trucks... 

We're staying at a Wyndham Resort, because the points are already paid for.  We have a 2 bedroom unit with full kitchen, laundry, dining area, living room, and balcony that overlooks the 6... yes, 6... giant pools that are in the courtyard of their 6 buildings.  It is not "inside" Disney, like so many packages sell, but Wyndham is smart enough to offer their own shuttles and match most of the other services that tourists look for in the packages.  We don't feel like we missed out at all, in fact, when waiting in our small Wyndham shuttle line and looking at the throngs of people waiting in the regular Disney resort shuttle lines, we were happy to be staying a bit removed from it all.

Mom makes obligatory Mickey pancakes in the morning.  

By staying at an outside resort, with a full kitchen, we also saved a lot of time and money by making breakfast every morning (except one obligatory character breakfast, right?), packing our lunches to eat inside the parks most days, and cooking dinners every night. We didn't have to reserve all of our meals ahead of time, or stand in line, or worry about getting somewhere on time, and we also didn't end up eating processed restaurant food all week.  Non-perishables we bought at Costco and took down with us, like pancake mix, bread, and some side dishes.  Unfortunately, Roger had to brave the local Wal-Mart around 8pm on our first night after the parks to get the rest of our shopping list.  He said it was ridiculous, and sent me pictures of children literally sleeping on the bottom rack of the shopping cart as they were so whooped from Mouse Fun.

From my hours and hours of pregnant-bellied computer research regarding Disney, we learned that it's never best to try to get on the first shuttle of the day.  We also felt no burning desire to be first at the gate, run in and be first at....well, anything.  Heck, it was May.  It really wasn't that crowded.  That's why we picked May, after Spring Break and before June.  So, we got up, ate pancakes and bacon every day, and then went on our merry way. 

Day #1 - ready to roll! Since we had a 1-yr-old, we brought a stroller.  We were sure the 6- and 8-yr-old's could walk.  And they did.  But, oh, the number of giant children we saw in strollers...!  

Good sneakers and hats were mandatory to bring, but we didn't go heavy on the sunscreen.  We'd put on some, but also let our bodies naturally adjust to the sun gradually as the days went by.  We borrowed a fanny pack to keep cash and essentials strapped to me, we had an insulated, zippered cooler bag to carry snacks, water and lunch, plus a backpack with ponchos, baby gear, etc.  Having the stroller made it easy, as everything stayed in the basket.  If we went again with older kids, I'm sure everything would fit into just one backpack.  No need to overdo it.  

Disney is not a place to be concerned with your appearance.  Comfort is the key, hence why I am clearly leaning on the stroller handles for support.  I was 29 weeks preggo with RJ at the time and fighting extreme low blood pressure (translate to fatigue!) daily.

Animal Kingdom was our first stop.  Again, someone (ahem...me...) insanely researched things like best and worst days, and cross-contaminated that with statistical averages per time of year.  I had a whole binder full of charts and print-outs to tell us which place to go when.  Add that to the Disney Wait Time App, which gives you user-input real-time wait times for each ride or event in each park, and we never waited more than 20 minutes for any one thing.  The Park Hopper ticket option allowed us some freedom in coming and going, definitely worth the extra bucks.  With young kids, we'd put in half a day at that day's park, wait until after the naptime shuttle-rush (which is12 noon to 1pm when everyone else decides to go back), eat our packed lunches in the park, then head back around 2 or 3pm.  We'd all lay down and nap.  It was glorious.  Then we'd make a simple dinner (we opted for such simplicity that I even allowed Hamburger Helper to touch my table... .blech!!, and it came with a warning that it was only happening this once and never again...) and then we'd head back to the park, at about 6:30ish, when yet another round of folks were calling it quits and leaving.  The timing really did give us a lot of freedom to enjoy everything without throngs of people.

At times when the shuttle was mostly empty, we just rolled Riley right in in her stroller.  This stroller, which is still in use today to contain RJ when necessary, is affectionately called "the Disney Stroller."  We bought it specifically for the Disney trip.  Our criteria were: lightweight (to carry on shuttles), inexpensive (in case it got stolen), hardy (to weather all that walking around), big basket (to carry our cooler bag and backpack), and easy, one-handed fold (for quickness when loading the shuttle - which it does marvelously!).  I got this at Babies R' Us, the Graco Lite Rider Odyssey, for $70.  This thing is not the prettiest, or fanciest, or most modern thing out there, but it did exactly what we needed it to. 

And there it is, Magic Kingdom!  Day Two, our Jacksonville friends made the trip down to see Mickey's World with us this day.  Sorry for my half of a shirt, but it was flippin' HOT for my pregnant self down there. 

We deliberately did not take a whole lot of pictures while in the parks, as it's more of an experience to remember and feel and talk about than to spend your time reaching for your camera (or phone) and take shots of every little thing you see or do. But here's the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland... we got our picture with him, because no one else was waiting.  We weren't going to do lines for character pics, and who cares about the White Rabbit?  I mean, really....

Riley gets a lift from Dad to watch something interesting happen to the castle. 

Shuttle ride, Day 3, maybe?

Obligatory Epcot Ball picture. 

Virtually no line in Epcot for character shots, staged as they are, we didn't wait long at all, and wanted to see Riley's reaction to Mickey.  

Ummm, where is the shuttle?  Moms reads schedule wrong.  There is a first time for everything, I guess...  :)

Riley looks a little nervous riding the boat in It's a Small World.  If you're curious, my shirt says "I'm FAT because I'm pregnant, what's your excuse?"  A LOT of people and Disney staff told me they loved my shirt, and looking around while down there, I couldn't imagine why... yeah, sarcasm, lots of it.

I don't know where we were, but I just wanted to say, Baby Wraps are awesome!  This is a custom-made Mei Tai from Etsy.

Did I mention our resort also had its own Lazy River?  How flippin' fantasmic, right?  There's Chase in the center.  He just rode and rode and rode.  We did make sure to enjoy the amenities at the resort at least one day.  

Kids' Splash pad also, right outside our door practically.  

Don't like pregnant chicks in bikinis?  You are in the wrong place! 

Hollywood Studios and the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.  Ahhh, my childhood memories - this was one of my fave things, then and now!

One morning while everyone else was cooking, or doing laundry, or whatever, I turned around to find... this... Riley had gotten herself up onto the high stool, in the swim tube, and was checking out the resort map. 

Ry in the pack-n-play.  We just brought our own, since we had the room in the RRV and didn't want to get stuck in case the resort was all out (it's happened to us before!).  We brought Mickey stuff from home so we weren't tempted to pay the ridiculous touristy prices for stuff down there.  Toys R' Us and even the Dollar Tree had plenty to choose from, as well as Wal-Mart.  Mom wrapped up things like Disney drinking cups, small stuffed animals, keychains, and other trinkets, and the kids got to find one small present every day after the parks.  Sure was cheaper than shopping down there!  We see no reason to spend more than you have to, EVER, no matter what your budget.

Our last day in the parks, we went back to Animal Kingdom for our one character breakfast.  Mom had researched the crap out of this, too (I know you're surprised...).  Safari Breakfast at the Tusker house was tops for quality of food for the price.  Price-wise, it was about medium range for character meals. We chose breakfast so we wouldn't have to stop our day and wait for entrance, pictures, etc, plus we would all be good and fresh in the AM.  Tusker House also offered a great variety of foods, including African food (delicious!) and we liked that, too.  Many, many sites claim the Princesses can't cook, plus they're the most expensive, and we're not that into them, anyway, so all those deer-in-headlights parents can keep their costly dates at Cinderella's Castle, dragging their over-dressed toddler in her itchy dress and tripping shoes away from the rides and into a crappy meal.

Mid to late May is an excellent time to visit Disney, as it is not only low crowds, but there are baby animals everywhere!  Riley especially loves watching the ducklings that lingered around picnic tables throughout all the parks.

On the last day, after a half day at Animal Kingdom, we went back to Magic Kingdom after naps to ride our faves.  We stayed for the Electrical Parade, and as it was wrapping up and the Castle was doing cool color things, we left.  We walked right past everyone, got out just as it ended, and got on the ferry.  The fireworks began, and as everyone lined up around the park strained their necks to see, we watched it free and clear from the boat as it left the dock.  It was awesome! And we totally didn't get stuck in the exit crowd, which was just as awesome.

So to rehash the details, here's a bullet point version:

• Go in January, after all the Christmas ridiculousness, or go in May, the week after Spring Break.  Check online for special events, like Star Wars weekend, or other similar things that will make it crowded. You will be able to actually experience the Parks with your family, and not have to wait in crazy lines. 
• Personally, I'd recommend to everyone to skip staying within Disney.  A lot of it is overdone, over-priced, and you can have an equally or even more enjoyable time a bit removed from the hubbub.  Do find a place that is not more than 15 minutes away, and has a shuttle that runs all day.  Make sure to have a suite, with a place to cook and do laundry.
• Skip the meal plan. It's just a hassle, and would you ever voluntarily feed your family processed crap for an entire week at home?  So why do it just 'cuz you're on vacation?  Does that make sense?  Hey, we're here to have fun, let's fill our bodies with stuff that's going to make us feel terrible.  Plus, you lose a lot of freedom by having to stop and eat at certain times.  Save yourself the stress of having to be somewhere on time. 
• Do your research.  www.undercovertourist.com and www.mousesavers.com were the two places I found to be the most helpful.  
• Skip Downtown Disney, unless you are actually there to shop.  I would say it's partially kid-friendly.  The LEGO statues are cool to see, but it's mostly shopping and restaurants.  We were bored, and will skip it next time. 
• Bring your packed lunches and snacks with you.  It is not difficult to pack some cut up fruit, sliced cheese (not packaged), some nuts or granola, yogurt, and other healthy things with you.  It is such a time and money saver.  Trust me, the parks are getting enough money from you just to get in the door!
• Shop locally at home prior to your trip for small Disney-themed items to give your kids while there, so you can avoid the overpriced tourist traps. 
• Relax!  And enjoy.  We really wanted to do both of these things, which is why we put so much time into planning when to go, and what to do on which days.  Our effort paid off, with a low-crowd time of year, great deals on tickets, eating healthy, and most of all, having fun!