Cool things that have happened recently

Because I can't seem to keep up with posting, I thought I'd make it easier on myself and just write about random good stuff that's going on.

• R learned to play a plethora of new games over his school/holiday break and at his after-school program. But I was most excited when I took him to the bookstore to get some new books and he picked out a kit about medieval knights that included a book AND a chess set. A taught him to play chess, and R's been gung ho about it ever since. Yay! At our town library on Thursday afternoons, they have chess classes/sessions, so I may get him into that since he already knows some kids who participate.
  
  
• R is really reading! At our parent-teacher conference, R's teacher talked to us about the types of books we could look for to help him. (He was doing fine and was at a good reading level - I just wanted to know how to encourage him further.) I found a set at the bookstore that includes 10 books, a poster, a certificate of achievement, and stickers to put on the poster for each book read. I bow to the power of stickers. Getting R to read before was a struggle, so I didn't force it even though I knew he could actually do it. But hand him the mini books and the stickers, and he was so excited and wanted to read several of the mini books each night. He hung the sticker poster over his bed, suspended from the ceiling.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We took R to his first real concert! Just after Christmas, Bim Skala Bim, the band that is the reason that A and I met (my friends and I used to go see them all the time and A is friends with the band) got together for a reunion show at the House of Blues in Boston. It was an all ages show, so we decided to bring R because we were afraid that he'd never get to see them play otherwise. We had so much fun. Everyone was so excited to see Bim again, the guys dedicated a song to A, and R really seemed to enjoy his first concert, although he did spend a lot of time playing under the merch table. It was surreal for me to be dancing next to my friends' kids (15 and 13) because I've known them since they were wee (2 and 0, respectively). And, it made me a little sad for the old days. I missed my friend who used to take me to their shows all the time. But still fun - yay!
  
  
• This week, I bought tickets for R and me to go visit my family in Florida over the school break in February. We are so excited! After 10+ days of Christmas break, during which we were often housebound because of the frigid cold and snow, I checked airfares to see if we could afford to escape from New England for a little while. Although we made the best of it over the holidays and we did get outside as much as possible, it was still difficult being limited as to what we could do, and most of R's friends were away so there weren't any playdates to be had. So, we're heading to Florida in a few weeks - woohoo! I haven't been to my mom's house in years, and I'm so thrilled for R to see my mom, stepdad, and his aunt and uncle and cousins. It'll be my first time traveling with R but not A, so that will be interesting, but R is so easy to "handle" now that I'm not worried. And, he loves to fly.
  
  
• One of my friends from work bought me two books that are written from Captain Frederick Wentworth's perspective. (He's the hero from Jane Austen's Persuasion.) So, I've been continuing my Jane Austen-ish obsession - and enjoying every minute of it! :-)
  
  
• A bought me an iPod Nano for Christmas (the purple one!). So I've finally caught up to the 20th century. Hee hee.

 OK, I've written something. Phew!

Happy 2010! Everyone seems hopeful that this is going to be a better year. 2009 didn't end up being too bad for me and my little family, but I'm excited for a new start, too.