Madison is also enjoying play dates with her new friends in England.
Last Friday we spent the afternoon with her friend Freya. Madison enjoyed playing with Freya’s guinea pigs (a very popular pet in the UK).
I am so proud of Madison.
We were trying to encourage her to read and use her strategies and it was a battle every night. Usually with tears (mostly me since I was so frustrated that I could teach other children to read and not my own). We tried to praise her and give her encouragement and that seemed to get us no where.
She really wanted to play with the doll house from Bethan so we decided to use it as an incentive. We told her that each night she had to earn the time to play with the dollhouse (all I really wanted was for her to try her best when reading and to not give up when it got hard- she had a tendency to just give up when it gets a bit hard).
We really only intended to use this on school nights when she has to read the book from school.
First day we tried it, brilliant, she tried her best, made a few mistakes but did not give up and earned time with the doll house. Second night the same. Third night she was grinning so widely that she could really read and was doing a great job and then off she went to the doll house.
Then school was done and it was the first day of holiday, I wondered how we would be for the summer reading.
I had planned to read a book with her after I fed Lillian. As I walked by her room to get Lillian to feed her (Lillian was taking a nap and had woken up) there was Madison on her bed READING a book on her own. I had to walk by twice to see what she was doing. When I asked her about it she simply said- Mommy I am reading so I can play with my doll house.
Madison has also completed a week of swimming lessons. She had swim lessons every morning at 8:30 at the local pool. The class was made up for 5 students, including Madison.
I was very impressed by the improvements she made in just a weeks time. She has a beautiful back stroke and is perfecting her breathing techniques for her free style.
LILLIAN
Lillian is now 4 months old and doing great. She is only 10 lbs 10 oz but happy as a clam.
Her new favorite toys include her lion play gym (we won it off of Ebay) and her pink doll from Omi (Madison has named it mini baby). Both toys seem to bring her endless joy.
When she gets a bit too fussy, we can simply place her in her baby gym and she is happy.
