ava loves that her cash register is also a calculator (thank you grandma). she has finally slowed down with the button pushing to figure out the operations, and will spend a good chunk of each day teaching herself basic mathematical truths. it seems self evident to an adult, but learning that 2+3 is 5 when you count on your fingers and it is 5 when you use a calculator, and it is 5 when you use an abacus is pretty interesting to a 4-year old. she ran up to me today and said "mommy! mommy! 5 and 5 really IS 10!"
her pride when she has learned something is so huge. she gets very excited and says "mommy! i LEARNED something!"
so, after she told me that 5 and 5 was 10, i said "what is 10 and 10?" she paused for just a moment and then her whole face changed--"20!" she blurted. "20 and 10?" "30!" "30 and 10?" "40!" -- and on we went, counting by 10s all the way to 100. her joy in seeing this pattern for the first time was just oozing out of her.
and it is so interesting, because i have casually tried to see if she recognizes the 10s when counting--without drumming it into her or anything, and until today, the #s from 1 to 100 were just this vast string of disconnected parts. we would do lots of counting, but from her stumbles i could see that it just was not yet clear. suddenly, this evening, it all came together for her.
as for her health, the doctor thinks she has been hit very hard by whatever virus nailed her last week. give it another week, and if her mystery pains do not resolve, then we will initiate testing.
carter has finally begun to say "oh" when stringing together his "whys." now he does not keep asking ad infinitum, but after tracing back the etiology of why we need to wear socks with boots to the fact that our part of the earth is just farther from the sun in winter, he will finally acquiesce and cheerfully say "oh!" and then we can finally leave the house.
tonight he accidentally bit his finger at dinner. he was very upset, asked for a kiss, etc., then very seriously looked down at his hand, and said "sorry, finger."
