Reading Rainbows

Ladies and gentleman, I dare say we have a reader!  Ethan has been "reading" to us for awhile now, but it has been more of the "I've memorized this book and will now recite it back to you" variety, or the "Let me look at the picture to remember the words" variety, or the very painful "Let me sound out every single word very very slowly and with lots of mistakes" variety.  Oh, and that last variety comes with lots and lots of frustration on the part of my little perfectionist, making the whole experience a barrel of fun!  But last night we had a bit of a breakthrough, as Ethan read us a whole book, pretty much all by himself.  There were moments where he needed some help sounding out words, but there were also moments where he'd read a whole page with no help and with instant recognition of many of the words within.  But the biggest breakthrough of all was in our guy's confidence.  He begged to read the whole book himself, even though bedtime was getting later and later and a certain younger brother was repeatedly asking for Mom or Dad to take over.  And when he finished that last page - that smile, that glow, that pride - I wished I could have bottled it up and saved it for the next time he's overcome with frustration.  It was like suddenly There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy had opened up this whole new world of enchantment and opportunity.  As I kissed him good night, Ethan said "I did it, Mommy!  I read that whole book!  Those Fly Guy books are perfect for me - can we read another one tomorrow?  And go get all the ones they have at the library so I can read more?".  And as I walked out of the room: "Mommy, my legs can't stop moving I'm so excited about reading."  This proud mama thinks it doesn't get much better than that.  Seeing your child burst with pride and excitement over his newfound skills is one of the sweetest and most fulfilling parts of parenthood.

And because I didn't get Ethan's reading debut on tape, I am posting a video of another of his newly mastered skills - skating.  Ethan and Adam spent this past weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's while Mom and Dad got an amazing and needed getaway (thanks again Tom and Sue!), and had much opportunity to practice their skating.  Ethan was so proud of his new abilities that he asked Mom and Dad to meet him at the rink on Sunday to show them off.