Daddy, I Can Read!

I have never heard these words said with such true pride, and genuine amazed emotion as when Gavin declared this to me the other night as we were finishing his story before bedtime. The story that he had just read to me, cover to cover, by himself for the first time.

Now, he has brought books home from school to read to us before. Stories that they have read aloud in class, or practiced during his reading group. But, this book was different. This one he read cold.

Gavin, Isabelle, and I made a trip to the bookstore the other evening, and they each picked out two books to buy. Actually, they each picked out four or five, but we widdled it down to two each. One of Gavin's choices was Dr. Seuss's Cooking With the Cat. And this was the text that was driving his excitement and pride.

We cuddled into his bed, cracked the binding, and he started to read. Word by word, line by line. Sounding out the words that he was unsure of. Slowly at first, then picking up speed as his confidence built. About halfway through the book, Gavin was so excited at what he was doing he ran out of the room to get Donna so that she could come sit and listen to him read the rest of the story. We both sat there smiling as he continued working through each syllable, word, and line until the story was finished. Then it was hugs and high-5's all around as he beamed with pride at what he had accomplished.

Gavin got up the next morning and read the book to Isabelle. Then he spent the rest of the day telling everybody he saw that he read a book. True, unbridled, childhood pride. True, my baby is growing up, Parental pride.

Gavin can read.