Here’s a video of Lucy reading to koala, shopping at the bookstore, and playing with Wubie. It’s a bit leisurely-paced…and about 9 minutes long. So get a cup of tea, settle in, and enjoy!
Lucy playing (large version) from Jill C on Vimeo.
We were reading one of Lucy’s fave books, Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs, when Lucy decided it was about time to write her letter to Father Christmas.
We got out her letter-writing kit, and with some prompting, she dictated to me:
Dear Father Christmas,
I like your reindeer. I would like a train set. And Wubert would like a dry towel.
(The dry towel being for after he got out of the tub and was a “soggy moggy.”)
I left the room for a moment, and when I came back, she had started to write another letter in her own hand. So I left her to it.
She used all the stamps on her letter, just in case.
A bit later I wandered back in to see Wubert in the midst of creating his own letter. I suspect he did not want a dry towel after all…and was making his wishes known.
We sent the letters out the next day. We’ll keep an eye on the post and report any interesting mail.
Seeing Lucy sitting on the floor reading at my house reminded me of a couple of my favorite pictures of myself when I was about her age, way back in the olden days of 1971. I think Lucy wins the fashion competition, but our sitting/reading styles are quite similar!
Auntie Laura
One of Lucy’s fave books at the moment is The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr (who also wrote the beloved Mog books).
Recently we snagged a tea set with the aforementioned tiger on it. Here are some pics of Lucy sharing tea with auntie; clearly she hasn’t mastered the finer points of dunking yet.
Oh, and in my quest for the teaset I discovered that there is actually a play based on this book.
Don’t know how they can stretch it out to an hour’s worth, unless there is a toddler on the side of the stage saying ‘again!’ everytime they get to the end…
A few days ago Miss Lucy and I stopped at a bookstore while we were out and about. It had a nice children’s section with a lot of books at Lucy level, a small stage with trees and seating, and at the other end a wooden train set.
Lucy enjoyed running back and forth between the two ends, playing with other kids, and selecting various books and dinosaurs from the toddler-level shelves.
While she was playing at the train table, one of the little boys playing there wanted to choo choo past her. For a second he looked at her, then smiled, and planted a big ol’ smacker on her cheek.
(cue Mommy in the background saying ‘oh my goodness!’)
This was an older boy, mind you, at least 3 or 4. The boy’s mom just smiled and laughed, so i suspect this boy might be a bit of a Georgie Porgie.
Afterwards I asked her if she was surprised, and she said yes. I think she’d rather they ask first. These boys move so fast!
We’ve all been a little under the weather for the past week, going through lots of tissues, tea, and cough drops. I’m actually writing this blog post at 1:00 am on a Monday morning because of my scratchy throat. Lucy’s been a real trooper, keeping up with her normal day to day activities (including serenading Wubert) and has generally being pretty un-whiney for being a sick kid.
Luckily, one thing that has made this time more bearable has been Frances, by Russell Hoban. I actually think Jill and I enjoy Frances more than Lucy at this point, but the kid humors us and what can I say, Frances is way cool.
We’ve been re-reading the books to Lucy, and over the weekend we actually discovered a few Frances cartoons. Thanks Mr. Hoban for all the enjoyment you’ve given us, especially during this tough time. We salute you (in between sneezes).
Lucy had a semi-annual checkup recently, at which her doc mentioned that she would be having a ‘language explosion’ in the next 6 months.
Lucy must have really taken what her doc said to heart, because that afternoon, she began talking in a different way than she had. Not so much her usual lazy ‘eh, eh, eh,’ and point, she started adding ‘doodle diddle womble wah…’ and making more of an effort to get some cool sounds out there.
She already has her stash of useful words that we recognize (‘mam,’ ‘dad’, ‘yeah,’ ‘cat,’ ‘dug’ [=dog], ‘gamaw’ [=grandma], ‘gampaw’ [=grandpa], ‘yum,’ ‘dat,’ and the like) and has been adding to them rapidly these past few weeks since she got the doctors orders. New words I’ve noticed include, ahem, ‘boob,’ ‘gookie’ [=cookie], and ‘denku’ =[thank you]. The words are getting a little more complex than before…
‘Gookie’ reminds me of a book both her daddy and I loved when we were kids, ‘The Hungry Thing,‘ in which a hungry thing comes to town and asks for various things, but uses rhyming nonsense words, so a little boy has to translate for him. (Here is a great primary school website about this book.)
Until I get some good talking video to add to this post, that will be our blog photo. And maybe we will let her handle one of our fragile copies of that old book!
p.s. she did really well at the doctor this time, a lot less crying, she is growing up, my big girl!
Don't bother me! I'm reading!
Lucy has a lot of favorite books. She loves to read, and be read to, and will insist on several readings before bed.
Here is her current top 10, not in any particular order, for a historical snapshot. (We hope to add her top 10 songs soon too, but that’s a whole other post.)
The kid loves her books. A current favorite is Milton, a book about a cat who thinks very highly of himself (we imagine this is how most cats must view themselves.)
Lately, it seems every time the kid toddles off to her book shelf she comes back with Milton tucked under her arm (along with a baby-demand that we read the book to her.) She gets a kick out of showing off the many similarities she shares with Milton as we read the book together.
“ by Django Reinhardt
Lucy likes to read a book or dozen before bed, and lately has been asking Daddy to do it. So here are some pics of the bundle getting read a bedtime story! The top row she is reading her new Totoro book, and below that she is reading another favorite, Mog.
You might remember a previous post about this subject complete with video here…
