The Im Family

while at the mall the other day, mimi says she wants to pop into the american girl store.  so we do.  she goes in ahead of ozzy and me.  when i catch up with her she is standing in front of this beautiful doll closet.    a $350 doll closet.   i told her it would take her awhile to earn something like that.  she nods and moves on.   later at home, as she's carefully folding her doll clothes into an old briefcase that Rob gave her (i think it belonged to his dad?), i was putting away some clothes she had outgrown, and was moving around some cardboard boxes, and mimi eyes the box thoughtfully and then says.  mom, i bet we could turn that box into a really cute doll closet.  then we wouldnt have to spend any money and i'd like it because we made it.   no doubt about it. she's got my DNA. (however, i think we might be able to find an unfinished wooden doll closet for a fraction of the cost of this....

yesterday ozzy called me into the bathroom with him, screaming he needed me to stay with him b/c there was a bug in there.  what is it?  i asked. it's a mast!  he says. a math?  i ask, confused. NO!  a MAST.  he says. i dont know what a mast is.  oh, you mean a MOTH?  i say. NOOO!  a MAST.  he insists. ozzy, i dont know what a mast, is.  does it look a like an ant?  i ask, trying to determine what he was talking about. yeah, he says.  a tiny ant, but it flies. oh.  you mean GNATS! yeah.  that's what i said.  mmmmmaaassst!

it is still hard to get video of ozzy reading, but i was able to sneak this one in last night.  i was working on the iPad while he was reading out loud to me, and discretely switched it to camera and recorded him.  i think he gets embarrassed because there are words he doesnt know and he doesnt like me to record him when he cant do it all perfectly.  if i ask him first if i can record him reading, he whines that he doesnt know how to read and refuses to even try. he's still working on 'level 1' type readers.  repetitive words/structure, lots of picture support, one or two lines of text.   he will read 1 or 2 books for me each night if i promise to read him a story or two.  i think that's a pretty fair exchange.  ;) he's also starting to do some writing practice.  he can write his name, but his Y looks like a football goal post.  lol.  he can make a P, D, O, Z, Y, I, C, F, G, L, Q, T, V, X, a, b, d by himself.  he loves to d...

last night, ozzy woke up at his usual midnight timeslot looking for me, but instead of crying that his usual bad dream about a monster taking mommy away from him made him scared, he said he needed me to stay because he was "too little to sleep by myself."  you're not too little.  you're a big boy now.  i told him.  he shook his head and said, "but, i'm really not.  i really am too little."  dont you wanna be a big boy and do lots of things that big boys do?  "no.  i wanna stay little and i want you to stay with me." ------------------------------------------------ today at tae kwon do, ozzy earned a green stripe for listening, following directions, and improving his punch technique.  his teacher, Master E, tells the mommies watching to give ozzy a hand for his accomplishment so we clap and cheer.  then he asks ozzy if he'd like to say a speech.  ozzy nods.  so master E tells ozzy to turn around, face the mommies, and say his...