Today is a banner day.
My child can [drumroll, please] read. Read! R-E-A-D, READ!!!
Though I love words, they are failing me now as I’m having difficulty describing how much it means to me that Livia is starting to read. Really, the whole thing blows my mind.
We’ve been reading to this kiddo since she was placed in our arms and we’ve never stopped. I signed her up for the library’s summer reading program before she even cared about it and I read competitively to her that season. (And the next year, too. Silly competitive book-lovin’ mama.) Only recently has Livia taken to flipping through books on her own; she wasn’t really the kind of baby who simply adored books. She did read her first word at 3.5 years: b-o-o-k. And we were ecstatic over that.
I ordered the Bob books from Scholastic recently and we cracked them open today. Well, guess who is ready to read? My kid. My five-almost-six year old. Sounding out words, stringing letters together, remembering the new words and reading them correctly the second time around.
Sheer awesomeness. It’s a whole new world.
One more thing. Livia and I wrote our own story—and she read it at least five times today. Here it is. And, sheerly for purposes of geographical translation, “pop” means “Coke” to all you Southerners. ; )
12 Comments
Megan Apr 27, 2010 9:11 PM
I LOVE it! Good job, Mama! And super duper job, Liv!!
Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt Apr 27, 2010 9:24 PM
Awesome!!!
I still catch myself spelling ‘g-u-m’ sometimes in front of Drew. Ha.
Erin W. Apr 28, 2010 1:36 AM
Good job Liv! It is exciting to see your own child do those milestone things. Keep up the good work!
Jen Apr 28, 2010 6:02 AM
:)
charity Apr 28, 2010 7:15 AM
woohoo!
Kerri Apr 28, 2010 8:37 AM
Way to go, Mom and Liv! :)
Melissa Marsh Apr 28, 2010 10:47 AM
LOVE it!!!
Marc jr. Apr 28, 2010 2:57 PM
This is so great. Really digging the narrative arc, especially the conflict towards the middle and the eventual resolution. Top notch!
Claudia Apr 28, 2010 5:26 PM
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, sweet Liv! Nana
Rebecca Apr 29, 2010 8:44 AM
Thanks for the encouraging words, everyone! I hesitated to post about this because goodness knows how many times I’ve read another blog post and wondered why my child wasn’t doing xyz when someone else’s child was! Yet, my blog serves as a journal of sorts—and I wanted to share my joy with you all. So, if you’re like me and inclined to compare (even though you know full well you shouldn’t!), knock it off. ; )
Marc Jr, you made Jeremy and me laugh with that comment. Thanks!
tasha Apr 30, 2010 3:15 PM
wonderful livia!! kate and ezra will love to have a story read to them soon!!
Sarah M May 2, 2010 7:27 PM
yay Livia!! That is SO great Rebecca!
Sarah M