The color of our skin

"Mommy, this is like your hand. It's peach!" "I'm peach colored?" "Yes" "I thought I was white." "No (matter of factly) you are peach color." (At this same age Carolina said we were beige, and pronounced it "baj")

Mel hears the "S" word

Meanwhile Mel just said "Mommy! That boy [in the cartoon] said the S word!" "Um. Do you mean Stupid?" "Yeah! He said it! He said it and he didn't even apologize!"

Carolina knows a bad word

she's seven and we just had this conversation:

C: "Mommy, I can spell the F word."
Me: "You can? How?"
C: "F-I-T. Or is it F-I-T-T? I forget which way is the bad way."
Me: Um. Fit isn't a bad word.
C: It's not?
Me: No
C: Ok, then I have no idea.



A few minutes later she came back and said "Ohhhh! I know. It's the "fuh" word. Ok."

Mel's first day reading!

about this same age, Carolina started to read. Two and three-letter words. Mel's first day was yesterday, but I didn't know until his teacher told me today at pickup.

Here's his first book.

C walking to school on her own. Part way.

That's my almost-7-year-old daughter in the purple backpack. She's walking to school with a friend. The last two blocks anyway. She doesn't need me anymore. Yay?

#BigGirlGrown

She's so proud to be more independent, and this time last year she wouldn't let me leave her side until she was through the school doors. 

Mel turns four with a cheese party

As requested, cheese in cubes with toothpicks. He's four!

Reading to Mel

Carolina has decided that Mel should be able to read. Now. Today. So lessons have started: