Good stuff on Tommy

Provided a quick, cute post about Elliott yesterday. Tommy has one due....

He's started trying to read chapter books. They are VERY simple (Polk Street School Kids.... if you have kids you might know them) and he can read almost all the words. But, because there are SO many words on a page compared to his usual books he gets pretty exhausted. So, I read most of the page and he reads the last paragraph or so. It is so awesome. He's a completely on-grade-level kid. Nothing spectacular but nothing alarming in the other direction either. The best part of all of it is the grin on his face as we are reading and when we have finished. He feels so proud and Big Kid about it. I wish I had a cross section of his brain to look at so I could watch all the connections being made. So amazing.

Also... saw his teacher this morning. She mentioned - completely unprompted and out of the blue - that his writing is quite impressive. (To be clear, the CONTENT of his writing... not his handwriting, which is pretty terrible). He can write in complete sentences which she says most of his peers cannot. I have posted previously about his strong language and his varied sentences so it's very nice to have someone independently confirm what I was thinking. Given that we had our biggest concerns about him as a toddler/preschooler regarding his receptive AND expressive language... well, it's just another big fat "PHEW"! about him.

The Wonders in My Head

Last night Tommy saw a clip on America's Funniest Home Videos that intrigued him. He said, "Mom, I have a wonder in my head.... How did that dog even get that flower?" I was blown away. I had never heard anyone say that phrase before. I thought it was totally beautiful and kind of poetic. And it got me thinking about all the amazing wonders that I know Tommy has, and the millions more that he doesn't share with us. We all have them. So, I scribbled in my notebook in the dark. When I read it to myself it has a bouncy kid's song beat. I hope it gets you thinking about your own Wonders and maybe share them here.

It was Sunday night, dark & cold as can be
We were doing Star Wars puzzles and watching AFV
Tommy “aww'd” and gave a chuckle and finally he said,
“Hey, Mom I have a Wonder in my head.”

A Wonder in his head.
A Wonder in his head.
So much goes on it's no surprise
A Wonder in his head.

How did that in-love dog even get those flowers?
And why when I am waiting does 2 minutes take an hour?
And you know I'm not a Jedi or a Super hero, Dad,
So why do you expect me to be kind when I am mad?

Such wonderings from little boys will make moms ponder, right?
So I read his brother Fox & Hound and kissed them both goodnight.
I checked my email, Facebook, blogs and climbed into my bed,
And then I started thinking of the Wonders in MY head.

The Wonders in my head.
The Wonders in my head.
So much goes on it's no surprise,
The Wonders in my head.

How come every oil bill still takes my breath away?
And when they're ready to leave home, will I wish they'd stay?
If everyone did what I did, how would this world be worse?
And would I find my cell phone if I finally found my purse?

The Wonders in my head.
The Wonders in his head.
The Big, the Small they all live there,
The Wonders in our head.

"So" what?

I've only noticed it in the last 6 months or so. It's a language habit that a lot of people are taking up. Well, at least a lot of people who are interviewed on NPR.... which is pretty much where I do most of my hearing on a day-to-day basis.

It seems that every second response to a question begins with the word "So". Today I was listening to a very smart person talk about psychopaths and what sort of rehabilitation or punishment would help them alter (literally) their brains so that they can behave in socially acceptable ways. He's probably a PhD. He's probably an amazing researcher who might very well lead us to a more peaceful world. But all I could think was that he was kind of a boob because he couldn't think of another way to start his sentences! Like, maybe, just say what you're going to say and skip the world "so"?!

Is it just me? Is it even new or am I just now noticing it? At first I thought it was a little bit charming... but it's beginning to annoy the bejeezus out of me.

Anyone else notice it?