Overheard from the next room:

As the girls are playing trains ("cloo cloo clayens")...
Elly: "Kes, you live in Sacramento, and I live in California, right?"

Readers and spellers...

First, the funny: Kes is trying to read. She points to words and says, "I know dat word. Mommy, what's dat word?" Then in books where there are labeled pictures, she'll point to the word, knowing that it says what the picture is, and say... "t' - t' - t' -
tiger!" And she'd have you fooled for a moment. You'd say, "Yes Kes, good job! T says t' for tiger!" But moments later, all illusions would be shattered.

"t' t' t' parrot!!!"
"t' t' t' penguin!!!"
"t' t' t' fox!!!"
"t' t' t' seal!!!"

She is SO proud of herself.

So today in the car, Kes said, "Mommy, I sthitting neck to Eliana!" And Eliana said, "t' t' t' Eliana!" And laughed hysterically. Then Kes said, "t' t' t' Eliana!" and "t' t' t' Kessa!" And they were both giggling and giggling - Elly because she knew it was silly and Kes because she thought she was so cool.

Eliana is really starting to grasp reading and spelling. Her sight words have increased exponentially. Now she can read

zoo
too
moo
in
on
at
he
he's
he'll
no
yes
I
me
snow
not
dog
go
up
Mom
Dad

and she has decoded
cat
hat
stop
Kes

She walked up to me the other day with a magnadoodle with cAT written on it and said, "Look Mommy, I wrote cat!" She has spelled out loud "stop" and "Kes" for me. She also looked at the word "of" and said "oaf" which is pretty good decoding.

I am not pushing at all. When she wants to help me read, I let her help. I ask her "do you want to learn a new word today?" when I know there is a sight word repeated in a book, and if she says yes, great, if not, no worries (this is how she learned most of her sight words). I sometimes get her to tell me things by being silly - saying the wrong word. We've been practicing some of the letters in her name. She can write ELLY all by herself now, but she is interested in writing ELIANA so we are practicing I's, A's, and N's. I think she's got I's and A's down (especially if she wrote cAT - we've never even tried a T, but as we write I's I always say "a line down, then a line across at the top like a T" so apparently she picked it up. After she's good at N's we'll work on spelling it. I'm sure she'll pick it up fast.

She's doing so great. And Kes is picking it up along the way, listening in on us. She can already read "KES" and tell me without looking that Kessa starts with K.

This is fun. The best part of parenting is watching the miracle of these small things changing in small ways, daily, and watching those small changes add up into growing up. I can't believe how big and capable they both are, having started nearly helpless and completely dependent. Truly amazing.

Rosh Hashana

Eliana was very excited to go to children's services today, and she did very well. (Last year, she just wanted to run up and down the aisles, and we spent the whole time trying to keep her contained in her seat (or Daddy's seat), and Kes just wanted to nurse.) This year, Kes enjoyed the songs and chanting and cuddled Mommy and her hair. Elly sat quietly, and tried to sing what she could pick up. She said, "Hey, that's the rabbi from Shabbat!" She asked Scott for a book of songs so she could sing along, and then sat quietly looking at it, whenever the rabbi was speaking, or prayers were being chanted. Some teenagers do a skit every year under the tutelage of Sharon C. (not our close friend, but another one), and all children are invited up close to the bimah to watch. Eliana took Kessa by the hand and led her up to where the other children were. They sat quietly together and watched the skit with rapt attention! After the skit is the shofar service and when Elly saw the shofars come out, she got up, took Kes by the hand, and with a worried look, started leading her back toward us, looking around for us. Scott picked her up, and I held Kes, but they ended up loving it. Elly had a look of wonder on her face with a slight smile.

When we got out of services, I asked whether she wanted to stay and play with the other children or go home to see Grandma, and she voted for Grandma. As we got into the car, she said, "But Mommy, I want a shofar." I told her that we could get out and she could try blowing one, but she said, "No Mommy, I mean I want to have a shofar that I can take to our home." I told her she could have a shofar when she was 13. She said, "Hmmm, how about when I'm five." I said I'd think about it. On the way home, I asked if she liked the services and she said "Yes. My favorite was the shofar."

When we got home, she reported the whole series of events to my mom: "And then I told Mommy I wanted a shofar and Mommy said when I'm thirteen but I said when I'm five but Mommy said maybe." Later, Scott's parents called and she got on the phone and said (but separately): "Shanah Tovah, Bubbe! Happy new year! I heard the shofar."

She was just so big this year. It's amazing how much they change and you don't notice, til something marked in time such as this points it out. This year's holiday was such a different experience than only a year ago.

Sister

Upon waking this morning and finding that Elly was up and helping Daddy get ready for work, Kes said, "Titter! Goo morning titter! Titter! I mith you!"

Kesenia's 2 year checkup

Height: 33.75" (50th percentile)
Weight: 26.5 lbs (50th percentile)

Kes checked out great. I asked Dr. Kerr about the heartbeat, and she said it's normal to be able to see her heartbeat through her chest every once in a while. She asked Kes how old she is, and Kes smiled at her coyly and said, quietly, "Teeuuuwwww." Kes was a little nervous, but when Dr. Kerr got out the stethescope she relaxed and smiled as Dr. Kerr listened to her chest and back (all that playing doctor with sister paid off).

Then when the nurse (different nurse) came in with the shots, Kes got really worried. She tried to stand up on me and play with my hair... she resisted turning around and sitting on my lap. Then the nurse wiped her legs with alcohol and that helped her relax (maybe she thought - wrongly - gee, this isn't so bad after all). She didn't cry with the shots (Hep A and Prevnar - yeah! for being DONE with Prevnar with only 2 doses) but she clearly did not like them. She seemed to be restraining herself - less from crying, more from pitching a tantrum at the nurse. Then the bandaids for the jabs went on her legs and she was pacified. She said, "Oh! Thank you." The nurse laughed and said, "You're welcome! Wow, I don't get thanked very often after giving shots. I'll have to keep you in my mind, Kes. What a sweetie."

Eliana's 4 year old checkup

Weight: 35 lbs (50th percentile)
Height: 40.75" (50th percentile)
Hearing check: passed
Vision check: passed, with great gusto.

Eliana enjoyed the vision check. She thought the "E's that point different ways" were "bery cool" and had fun telling the nurse whether they pointed to the "bird, rabbit, girl, or batter." (The batter was a little boy with a baseball bat. I think most kids probably just call him "the boy" but Elly had to be more exact.)

When we saw the doctor, Eliana proudly followed directions exactly and promptly. (She was showing off for the doctor how big she was.) Dr. Kerr and I discussed shots and decided to have her get DTaP and IPV this year so that she would only get two shots next year.

After Dr. Kerr left, while we were waiting for the nurse to come do the vax'ing, I explained to Elly that she was going to have two shots and that they were going to hurt, but that the pain would go away. I asked her if she wanted to sit on my lap. She said, "No, Mommy. I'm big now, so I can handle it. I can handle sitting next to you instead." I explained that the shots would go in her arm or her bottom or her leg. She said, "Well, I want them in my arm."

The nurse came in and asked Elly to come up and sit on the examining table. She did, and held out her arm, but then withdrew it and said, "But wait! I want to sit next to my Mommy." So I joined her on the examining table. She held out her arm again. The nurse wiped it with alcohol and then said, "I think we'd better do her leg, there isn't much muscle here." The nurse wiped her thigh with alcohol and Elly said, "Whatcha doin' with that?" The nurse explained that it would clean it so no germs went in her leg with the shot, then told her to look away. I told Elly "OK, it's coming now" and after the jab, Elly took a deep breath in through her nose, held it for a second, and then breathed out fast. I told her when the second shot was coming, too, and she didn't react at all to it. The nurse and I complimented her on a great job and she beamed and said, "yeah, that's because I'm big now."

Kes sat in a corner and read the whole time, stopping only to ask if I could read to her, and going back to the book herself when I said I had to talk to the doctor.

Hairbrushing

This morning as I was brushing Elly's hair, she suddenly exclaimed, "Ow!!! Mommy, you're brushing my brain!"