We have made great progress on the #2 potty training! G is so proud of himself when he, um, deposits his treasures in the correct location...we are all invited to come and take a look. Ava usually declines, but Scott and I take one for the team and cheer for G. And I always walk away thinking, "Thank God that monster thing didn't end up in his underwear!"
It's definitely not perfect, but he's to the point where he realizes that underwear is way more comfy than pull-ups, and he doesn't like it when I am constantly asking him if he needs to go potty. AND (this may seem silly, but it's been a great motivation for him)...if he uses the potty right when he gets up, he can keep his pjs on while we eat breakfast. Today was a success, until he somehow peed on the arm/shoulder of his pjs (how? I have no idea...) but I let him pick out new pjs and he's as happy as can be.
Puppy and Marshall were having fun hanging out in the cup holders...
G is also doing really well with math and sounding out words on random objects around the house. With Ava, I must have been hyper-aware of her learning, because I don't recall being as surprised with her learning math or reading, as I am with G. I am very impressed with the preschool lessons he is getting at daycare.
As for Miss Ava...I took Wednesday morning off of work to read to her 4th grade class. We debated which book I should be reading, and finally she came up with the perfect one. I'm sure it's a great book, but I really should have vetted it better before agreeing to read it to a bunch of kids. I read for about 20 minutes, so we got through 2.5 chapters...it was a book about a girl whose dad, Scrappy, was in jail for fighting all of the time, and her mom stayed in bed all day (depression? alcoholic? I don't know!) The girl was pulled out of her home and sent to live with her aunt and uncle in a "hillbilly" town in North Carolina.
About 5 minutes into reading out loud, I stopped reading and asked Ava if the book got any better, and she assured me that it did. And I do believe her, but boy, I was really uncomfortable reading a book like this to kids...and her teacher. My biggest fear was that maybe some of these kids had these issues in their lives and I didn't want anyone to feel bad. I haven't received any calls from the school with complaints from other parents, so maybe it's OK?
In any case, I will be borrowing the book from Ava and finishing it, so I can answer any questions I may get!
Ava has also decided to sign up to be a Health Hero in 5th grade (helping the nurse with certain tasks) AND...we had to make the decision on 5th grade band this weekend. I absolutely want her to participate (Scott also does but I don't think he cares about it quite as much as I do) and she had already decided she wanted to play trombone...just like her mom, and her Grandpa Doug, and her Great-Great-Uncle Paul...she'd be a 4th generation trombonist!
But...I feel very strongly about her NOT playing trombone. Don't get me wrong, it's my favorite instrument, but I also know what a hassle it is to lug around, and how careful you have to be to protect the slide. Ava's not the most coordinated person (she broke our dishwasher last weekend because she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, she walks into walls, and also trips over nothing while she's standing in one place.) I have serious and real concerns about her ability not to damage the slide.
I brought my trombone out for her yesterday and showed her how to hold it. She was able to produce notes and had a fun time moving the slide up and down, but I had to keep telling her to watch what she was doing. G also had fun, but he tried to put the entire mouthpiece IN his mouth...so, his fun was short lived, lol.
I think the trombone was heavier than she was expecting, as well, so she ended up selecting trumpet as her first choice, flute as her second, and clarinet as her third. It'll be interesting to see what she ends up playing. The district is doing something new this year where they are offering summer band lessons at a few different elementary schools, so we need to figure out the logistics for that. This is something new and exciting for Ava and I'm hoping that she loves music as much as I did!
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