Ada’s world is very black and white.  Rules exist, she knows all of them, and she expects you to follow them.  However, she is a master of finding loopholes and she will jump through them all the live long day until she is caught.  Unless she is explicitly told NOT to do something, in her world, that means she CAN do it.  She has taught me to be very clear and thorough when giving instructions.

Today after school, Eli came to the car in tears.  Ada had tricked him into talking in the carpool line so he has to pull … Read the rest

Ada brought home this worksheet yesterday of sentences that she wrote:

1. I love my famlie becuse thar nics to me and that they are silly and I am to.

2. I like to go swimming becuse I git to go swimming with my Grandma and Grandpa.

3. I love to show evrebody that I love Jesus becuse I got babtisd.

4. I like to go to the bech it is fun that I go swimming thar.

There was then a note from her teacher: Good sentences!  be sure to use the words on the other side!  So I looked … Read the rest

Wednesday Ada finally got to go to Science Central.  She flitted from one exhibit to the next, loving the freedom of being the only one there to choose what we looked at.  Then we took our packed lunches to a friend’s house, where she enjoyed some friend time and so did I!  After that we went to work for a bit where she thoroughly enjoyed taking pictures with my phone, and then we went swimming.  It was another good day.

Then Thursday.  Oh, Thursday.  I cleaned Grace and Eli’s bedrooms.  And cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned.  I came out with … Read the rest

Today was recovery from yesterday.  I slept in.  At 8:30 Chad brought a tired, wrapped up Ada into our bed to rest with me.  We chatted a little, then I asked if she was ready to get up.  She said she wanted to rest some more.  Not a problem.  Then she tried to talk me into breakfast in bed – my bed.  Nice try.

Puzzles, Wii, cartoons, and suddenly Chad was home for lunch and we were still in our jammies.  So recovery was a success!  We ate lunch with him, and she said, “If you need to go to … Read the rest

I had to wake Ada up at 7 to get our day started.  I gently rubbed her forehead, she looked at me and said, “Good morning, momma.”  Those are the first words out of her mouth every single day.  And it makes me smile every single day.  She wrapped her teeny arms all the way around my neck and I asked if she was ready to go to Kyra’s house.  Kyra is her dear friend from Sonrise Preschool who moved away this spring and I planned a day trip for us to go see her.  She said, “Yes, after I … Read the rest

Today we dropped Grace and Eli off at Camp Lakewood for a week of playing, singing, swimming, forming new friendships, and learning more about God.  So Ada is flying solo and she told Grandma and Grandpa that she will not miss Grace and Eli while they are gone.  After we left camp however, she was very quiet but refused to admit that anything was wrong.  I gave her my iPhone to take her mind off things for a bit, and so she didn’t have to struggle to not cry (I know my girl).

We went to Culver’s for ice cream, … Read the rest

I remember this conversation very clearly from when Ada was just three…
Me: Ada, do you want more?
Ada: silence
Me: Ada, please answer me.
Ada: I answered you with my eyes.
Me: Your eyes don’t talk.
My dad: Oh yes they do.

And they really do.  She has the most expressive eyes and eyebrows I’ve ever seen.  Her feelings are made known before she ever says a word, and she doesn’t need body language either.  It is all on her face.

This morning she made one of those faces, her “I’ve been wronged” … Read the rest

I love finding notes that my children have written, it seems to be where they are the most honest.  Now that they all can write well, I can find notes from all three of them.  If you’ve been a reader for any amount of time, you know that I’ve found many, many notes from Grace.  Many of them are directed at me.  This weekend I found one from Ada.  It was in one of her many notepads.  It says three simple words.  “I will not.”  It isn’t written to anyone, or about anything specific.  It applies to any situation … Read the rest

Ada Larson, my baby girl, turned six yesterday.  She makes us laugh every day, and she usually doesn’t think it’s funny.  She’s the most quick-witted child I know, and ridiculously smart.  Her world is very black and white, which makes it very difficult to reason with her.  Choices are her greatest currency, so most of the time her choices are things like, “You can have this or nothing” or “You can listen or you can have a spanking”.  She tends to reply with, “I don’t like those choices.”

She could yell at her brother before she could sit up.  She … Read the rest