what a day for paceboy!!

everything sort of came together for pace the other night and he started reading on his very own!!  the night we hung ornaments on the tree and max was asleep in bed, pace chose a book from his top shelf to read for bedtime.  i told him the top shelf was very special--they were all books he could read on his very own.  it's lately been like pulling teeth to get pace to do his workbook and practice letters and reading, so i figured i'd just drop it and wait another few months.  but when we sat down to read the other night, he said, "i can read this, mommy!"  and he just started sounding out the letters and putting them together!  probably the proudest moment in my entire life! 

since then we've read these little "bob" books (i think from uncle je?), and pace has done really, really great.  i've had to do some coaxing along the way--if he reads a whole word correctly all by himself, we jump/bounce on the couch or his bed (wherever we are reading).  we have also read in the dark, and pace uses his special flashlight to shine on the letters and words he's reading.  

today was pace's turn to tell a story in school (that's one of the skills they pass off this month).  i asked his teacher if it would be ok if he read a story instead of telling a story, since that's what we've been working on at home.  she said of course!  so we practiced and practiced, and yesterday pace read Mat all the way through, all by himself!!!  LOTS of jumping!!!  and today, i went to pace's school a little early to pick him up to help him read Mat to his class.  pace read the whole thing with just a little prompting from me!  so proud!!!

we've been in the high 50s and sunny all week long!--we've been outside all week long, between the park and out back with our neighbor friends!  tj and pace pretending they are sinkholes.  they are not in sinkholes, they are sinkholes..."be careful, mommy, don't walk on us because we'll suck you in."  duly noted.  do not walk on paceboy.