Babysoroos

Ben is reading. We started with the SRA/Distar reading course of Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and about 100 days later, he’s done. It worked well, far beyond my expectation of what was possible.

So, today we took Ben to the library and got him a library card. He chose a book, sat down and read it to us. Then another. He checked those out, and a couple more to read at home.

He’s pretty much 100% on the Level 1 books, and I think that he’ll make a good dent in the level 2 books that we grabbed. His spoken vocabulary is huge, so it’s mainly a matter of decoding the written words — there’s not a lot in these books that he hasn’t heard before. I’m really curious to see where we actually are at the end of the lessons, and how long it’s going to be before he’s reading essentially at the level that we read to him.

Nathaniel is 3 months old today. So in the family tradition, we dressed him up and took pictures. Looks just a little bit like his brothers, don’t you think? 😉

Nathaniel, 3 months

Timothy, 3 months

Benjamin, 3 months

We’re all doing well, just busy with visitors and Ben starting Kindergarten, and getting used to being a family of five. It’s been a crazy few months of adjustments but we’re finally settling into a routine. Sort of.

Nathaniel had his 2 month appointment today, and weighs 13lbs 10oz. That’s up almost two pounds since he was last weighed, two weeks ago, at the midwife’s office. So while he’s smaller than both his brothers at this age, he’s gaining weight at about the same rate now. And otherwise he’s healthy.

Here are a few recent photos of him:

Both big brothers love to hold him and make frequent requests (demands?) to do so:

And here are all of them, The Whidbey Soroos Boys, together:

This morning, during breakfast, Ben disappeared into the kitchen and we heard a bunch of clattering about, and the fridge door opening and closing. I went in to see what he was up to, assuming he was pouring himself a glass of milk.

He was pouring Timothy a bottle of milk. Because Timothy said “Yum.”

Isn’t that sweet?

And then he told me I should write about it on my blog. So I am.

(Next post will be pictures of our recent trip to N. Ireland and Spain.)

Two weeks ago, it was still summer. So on a Tuesday afternoon when our swimming lesson was cancelled because the instructor was sick, we headed to the beach instead.

We started out mostly playing in the sand, with driftwood, and paddling in the shallow water.

But pretty soon there was splashing and sitting and reaching down and falling in. And the t-shirts came off.

The weather was warm, the water not so much. But the kids didn’t care. (I suppose it wasn’t too cold, really. If you’re 4.)

Ben was running and JUMPING into the water. He was getting soaked and making big splashes and having a great time.

Timothy was stomping around, investigating what was on the bottom. Picking up sand and rocks (YOCK!) and dropping them. Conducting very important scientific experiments, you know.

It was a great alternative to a swim lesson!

… means we get the pool out.

And the boys, of course, get naked, dump sand in it, and start driving trucks and planes around the edges.

Why, what else would you do in a pool of water?

A windy but warm morning at the park…

Lots of laughter.

Flying, sliding, and “Zing?”

Riding and climbing (Timothy’s adventurous but seems to know his limits… he went back up after this.)

And swinging.

And an hour later it started to rain for the rest of the day. Glad we got out when we did!

Ben has wanted to ride a bus for a long time, so on Monday, his birthday, he and Timothy and I took a bus trip into Langley. He was cute. Looking around in wonder, asking what everything was for, and thoroughly enjoying himself.

We went to the thrift store (he loves playing in the toy area), the library, and then we got ice cream cones. Cones are a newly discovered treat for him, usually we’ve just done bowls. He manages pretty well really, not too messy.

Timothy, on the other hand, does not quite grasp the purpose of the cone. Yes, there are bites out of the side of it and he’s trying to eat the bottom.

Then we went for a walk on the beach in town.

Looks beautiful, huh? Idyllic, even?

Yeah. What you can’t see is that that sand sinks. When you step on it.

It wasn’t quite so dramatic for the boys, being lighter than me, but when they started getting too far out there towards the water and I had to go after them for peace of mind, I started sinking up to my knees in the sand. My knees.

At that point, I got a little freaked out and we left. Got up into town and sat down to read library books for a few minutes while mama’s heart calmed down, then went to buy new balloons to replace some that flew away at the birthday party.

Then we went home (Daddy picked us up, I wasn’t quite willing to ride the bus home too, what with balloons and library books and other errands, and a once-every-two-hours schedule) and he got his choice of dinner — curry. Because with curry comes raita, and raita is really yogurt, and the boy could eat yogurt for every meal if it was allowed.

I think it was a good birthday.

In Birthday Crown, sunglasses and velvet cape.

Looks like he’s up to something, doesn’t he?

But no, not our Ben. Never. Innocent, he is.

Are you convinced?