Uh Oh - here come the books

Went on vacation, got stuck at home a bit because of tornadoes in the area. No biggie. Managed to get the kids out to the beach, the aquarium, the fossil museum, even a playdate with a nice little southern girl named Abbie. What wasn't so nice was the phone call telling me that Steve's car had been stolen. It has been recovered with no apparent damage.

Anyhow, I called a neighbor to ask her if she saw the car, or anyone suspicious around the house. She asked me how I could remain so calm during this, and I am not exactly sure. Perhaps I didn't want anything to ruin the vacation for my kids. It was fun going out to the beach and watching the kids let the waves crash into them. Thank God for technology, they reached us by cell phone at the beach to let us know the car had been recovered.

Zach was talking up a storm while we were in North Carolina. He was relatively unfazed by staying in a strange bed and slept very well. He loved exploring and running around my MIL's ranch. We were really impressed with the way he accepted the change. He said a bunch of new words while there - sail boat and bathtub come to mind. It was just terrific.

Last night we had a great moment-something I have been waiting for since he was born: I was able to sit with him and read a book! Usually he rushes through the book, doesn't go in order, and gets bored with it right away. You find yourself forcing him to read - not the pleasant cuddly moments I would like. Well last night, it was great, we cuddled, and he said so many words! Socks - he really liked saying socks which he repeated over and over again which made Sophia giggle hysterically. Cup, car, ball, cow, horse - and so many more. We read each word and pointed to the correlating picture. It was so much fun - I can't wait to do it again tonight with him. We basically are sticking with picture books for now. Once I think he has more functional language, we can move on to stories. But for now, having him understand that objects have associated words is the first step (nouns). Then we will tackle actions next (verbs) - run, walk, sit, etc. After that perhaps something more abstract such as colors (adjectives). OK OK. I am getting ahead of myself. I just can't wait to see what tricks he has in store for us next!