Birdie, Better and Bet-er

We have been meaning to report that one day last week, when Julie arrived to pick up Clara, Julie found Birdie stretched out on the couch in the Pre-K library area, with a book propped up on her belly, looking every inch the big girl. Oh you should have seen her, Brigade.  She's really getting her letters down pat.  Julie will usually ask Birdie to name all the letters in the title of the books they read at night, and nowadays, Clara will always pull the book away so she can not only say the letters, but point to them all by herself, too.  She's more confident and quick than ever.  Birdie will also always ask when she doesn't know what a word means, which means affecting different accents for different characters is temporarily out.  A week or two ago, Clara was on a Boo Hoo Bird steak.  Boo Hoo Bird features a bird (it's true) who gets bonked on the head while playing a game of catch with an animal friend, which leads to all manner of other animal friends trying to help make his boo-boo feel better. Julie likes to give all the animals a different accent. Fox is British but is affecting an American accent right now because when Julie, as British Fox, would read, "What you need is a Band-aid. Band-aids always make my boo-boos feel better," Clara would ask what "bet-er" meant.  In any case--and in any accent--she's getting better and better at all these letters and the words they become.

Of Drawing Difficulties, and Focus

In other news, tonight, when Julie was chatting with Joe after reading books, she checked in on whether Joe focused on Mrs. Dvorak at group time.  He said he had, "most of the time." So Julie said that she was really proud of him for doing that, and for working hard at even the things he didn't necessarily love to do, like color.

That's when Joe said, "Drawing's just hard because there's skin under the clothes." Julie was mystified but then she she had it: our literal-minded Hero was puzzling aloud over how to draw the skin you can't see, as well as the clothes that you can see. Julie suggested to Joe that he I just draw what he saw--that is, the clothes and any skin they weren't covering.

This was met with silence.  As Julie said all of this, Joe was looking at the corner of the book Julie had just read to him and thumbing the pages.  So Julie said that she was petty sure he as focused on her, but she couldn't be entirely sure because he wasn't looking at her.  Then she said that she needed him too because she hard to tell him something important, even if she thought he already knew it. Joe turned to her and Julie said, "I love you."

And Joe said, "I already know that." But he was laughing when he said it.

Our Little Grand Master In the Making

Fans, Chess Club was a hit! Despite the fact that Joe noted he did not learn anything new today. (Apparently they covered how the pieces move, and as he said, he already knows how they move.)  Julie had walked to the school to pick him up, so they walked to collect Birdie from the KinderCare as well, and Joe kept up a running monologue about Chess Club the whole way there.  The very first thing he asked a if Julie would always pick him up right after Chess Club and Lego Art Club (which is on Tuesdays), before he would have to go to Kid's Place. The fact that yes, Julie will in fact pick him up right from these clubs, makes Our Hero like them even more than he already does.  Julie's heart twisted a bit because she so wishes she could pick Joe up at the end of the school day. But the hope was that these clubs would break up the after school Kid's Place monotony a bit in a way Our Hero welcomed, even if it meant tossing him into another new, mixed-age environment, and it would seem that they are in fact offering just this respite. Check and mate.

Trimming Joe's Toe Nails

Trimming touch up post-hug.

We may have failed to report that Our Hero has been, for some time now, trimming his own toe nails.  The road to self-sufficiency was rocky and paved with frustration.  Indeed, Joe reached self-sufficiency in this area after Julie, in a (very mature) fit of frustration of her own left a wailing Joe in Raleigh House to march outside and pitch the toe nail clippers out into the yard.  Trimming toe nails was never a big deal, until it suddenly was, and every time the nail clippers would even appear, Joe would begin wailing that it hurt.  It hurt--despite the fact that nothing would be happening, even when the anticipation was over and the moment was upon him.  Thrashing and twisting abounded.  Tears!  Red-faced wailing!  Screaming!  Circumstances were only moderately improved by Ted manning the clippers.

The Evening the Clippers Flew was the night Julie said she was finished with trimming toe nails.  She told Joe as much and told Ted that by default, he had to be in charge of toe nail trimming.  Well the months passed and while no one was tossing nail clippers about, it is fair to say that toe nail trimming was a task dreaded and sometimes avoided until it could be avoided no more.  Eventually, Ted decided to have Joe trim his own toe nails.  Joe began with one toe a night until they were all trimmed.  Time would pass, and the process would repeat itself.  Julie stayed out of it, but asked Ted to please check Joe's work.

Tonight, Ted happened to be telling Julie that even though he knew she was a little annoyed by this one-toe-a-night routine, he did think it was one of the best ideas he ever had (true), and it was at this precise moment that Joe happened to pad up to Julie to announce that he had trimmed all of his toe nails all by himself.

Fans, it is impossible to say who was more proud: Joe, Julie, or Ted.  Julie lifted Joe up and hugged him, then Joe reached out to hug Ted, and then Joe pulled both Julie and Ted in for the group hug.

All trimmed up.  (That abrasion on Our Hero's chest was acquired by repeatedly sliding head-first down the basement steps which, obviously, is way better than trimming toe nails.)

Joe Goes On A (Play) Date

Avid Fans will recall that a few weeks back, we mentioned meeting Joe's special friend, Nora, and her mother, Laura, at Family Fun Night, and which Julie and Laura exchanged phone numbers so that they could arrange a play date for the special friends.  Julie and Laura did, and today.  Was.  The.  Day.  !!!!!  The date (if you will, Fans) was a drop-off play date at Nora's house, including lunch.  Julie dropped Joe off and said, "Please remember to be polite."  Joe looked at her and said, "Bye."  It was polite!  Julie and Laura chatted for a few minutes during which time Joe and Nora appeared once only to disappear again.  Now when Julie picked Joe up, he said two things to Nora: 1) "Thank you for having me over, Nora," (unprompted!) and 2) to Nora, "I'm not IN LOVE!!!!!"  That may be, Fans, that may be, but he did have a good time, although he can't remember a single thing they did--dazzled by Nora's brilliance?--save that they ate peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch, and drank lemonade.

One of Nora's picture-notes that came home in Joe's take-home folder.