November 2008 Archives

Our little family had the pleasure of visiting our nation's best national park almost two months ago. My wonderful aunt and uncle were kind enough to host us and take us on a beautiful drive to and through the park. I've finally posted some pictures from that day for your viewing pleasure. If you ever have the chance, I'd highly recommend taking the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway which officially begins a short distance from Cody and goes towards the north eastern entrance of Yellowstone Park. If you don't you'll miss out on one of the best views I've ever beheld. I could have spent a lot more time just enjoying various scenic locations, as well as the company. Although we didn't get to see all the wildlife we hoped for, for my second visit to the park in as many years did not disappoint.

This evening after dinner, I was legitimately thrown off guard by Cecilia… when she read to me. I said to myself, “Self, she's three. She probably didn't read the words. Afterall, she has a freaky memory – maybe she's seen these words before on a show, or a book, and she just recognizes them. She's done that before. It's no big deal. Fine, let's test her on some other stuff, just to be sure.”

So, after she read the words “fun” and “songs” off of a cassette that's been in a box for months (if not years), I had her read me some words off of our classy placemats (the stuff around the borders that doesn't have a picture she can cheat off of). “Okay, that's a fluke. Anybody can read ‘six’ and ‘ten’ and ‘for’. Let's bust out a secret weapon – books she's never seen. Then we'll see who can actually read.” Enter Bob Books – a set of books I purchased at Costco a few months ago, figuring they would be helpful that one distant day she wanted to start reading. So, I get out Collection 1, Book 1, and she reads:

Mat.
Mat sat.
Sam.
Sam sat.
Mat sat. Sam sat.
Mat sat on Sam.
Sam sat on mat.
Mat sat. Sam sat.

One word at a time, sounding out words as she went along. As if one book wasn't enough, I made her read through a second one. In both books I made her repeat words or sentences to make sure she caught on to what she was reading, but… she still read each word*. Three. Years. Old. I think it's okay to be spooked.

Sure, she turns four soon. Sure, they're fairly simple books and words. Sure, she's always loved books and reading. Sure, lately she's really enjoyed the show Super Why on PBS (and is a long-time fan of Sesame Street). Sure, she has a freaky memory. Sure, she threw me off guard when she counted to 100 late last week, so I should have seen something else coming. Sure, I'm really proud of her for having a desire to learn and read. Sure, I have a wonderful wife who stays home to be with our children and spend time with them and give them the attention they need. Sure, I want my kids to be smart (yet certainly not in the realm of all those social retards who are too book smart for their own good). I guess I'm just not ready for her to surprise me in this way. Spooky… three days late.

(*Full Disclosure: she needed help with the word “sad” in the second book.)