A Few Things...

1.  John wore his first belt yesterday.  I am, of course, biased.  I thought he looked so very handsome and like such a big boy.  Where did my baby go?  The shirt, however, did not stay tucked in (surprise, surprise), so no one saw the belt.  Oh well.  He's turning into such a little boy.

2.  John also ate all of the broccoli on his plate at dinner last night.  I don't know how to describe what a big deal this is.  But it's big.  That boy is a very picky eater, and he is stubborn about it.  I have put the broccoli on his plate night after night, and he refuses to eat it.  And then last night, who knows why, he ate every bite.  We cheered and cheered.

3.  I bought the Hunger Games yesterday, after finding it at Marshall's, and I promptly finished reading it today.  Just like everyone said, I couldn't put it down.  I think I went into it expecting it to be up there with Harry Potter, and it's just not in the same category of good.  But I definitely couldn't put it down, and I definitely want to read the next one, and I definitely want to see the movie.  I also did not go into it realizing there would be so many social implications/commentary, am I even using the correct words?  I some how missed that part of the Hunger Games discussions.

4.  I wrote about this on facebook, but, on Saturday I found the first book in the Boxcar Children series at a kid's consignment shop, and I got it to read out loud to Ada.  I loved that book when I was little, as did lots of children, I assume, so I was very excited to introduce Ada to the story.  She also loves it, and she stayed up way too late on Saturday night, as she convinced me to read four chapters before I told her it was time for bed.  We are quickly making our way through the book.  I have to say, I am thrilled to finally be at the chapter book stage.  I am almost as excited as Ada is to read the Boxcar Children everyday, and I just don't get that same feeling when reading Corduroy or the Bernstein Bears for the ten millionth time, you know?  Another series Ada is loving is a book I bought while I was at the Homeschool Conference, called B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood.  My mom actually first told me about them because she read them when she was little.  It is a very easy first chapter book and perfect for Ada's age, because Betsy is just in kindergarten in the first book.  Ada really loves Betsy, so I need to get on amazon and ebay to try and find the others in the series.  So, for you moms with pre-schoolers/ kindergartners, those are two suggestions for read-aloud chapter books that seem to hold Ada's attention well.

And, I want to come back later to give a housecleaning update as well as discuss a few other things I have thinking through lately...until then