What we have been reading

My absolute favorite thing about Niceville is our local library.  It is less than a 5 minute drive from our house and I am optimistic that in the next month or so, the kids and I can ride our bikes there for the Wednesday morning story time.

After story time, the boys get on the computers for a bit while Molly and I stroll through the aisles picking out various books to read.  Ok, stroll is really not what we do.  Molly prefers to run, and I prefer to chase.  Though, I will admit that lately Molly has gotten in the habit of picking out a couple of books and making a good show of sitting quietly and "reading" them.  This lasts until about a second after I turn my back and then I generally hear a "Is someone missing a little girl?".  But, we learn a little more every week.

Anyway, lately the boys favorite books to read are by the author Mo Willems.  I'm sure most of you have heard of this author.  He's written several books and a few series starring the same characters.  The boys loved the pigeon series of books in Ohio.  Here we have discovered the Piggy and Gerald books.  They are hilarious.  But one must look at the pictures as well as read the words.  I was reading one to the boys and we were all laughing hysterically, but poor Uncle Brian only heard the words and probably thought we were going crazy.  Anyway, the boys love these books.  And now that Dom has a grasp on reading, he will hijack them and read them to himself.  My favorite part about this, (aside from the fact that my son is READING!!!) is that he will get so tickled that he can hardly get the words out.  This is actually just one of my favorite things about Dom.  He will start laughing so hard he literally rolls on the floor.

The books are simple enough as well that William can memorize them after a couple of tellings.  He will "read" the book as well.  He does it so perfectly that I thought perhaps he was, in fact, reading them.  However, if I asked him to point at a specific word, he just moved his finger below the words and when he said the word I'd asked for, he would stop.  So with the line "I am not a happy pig", if I asked him to point to "pig" he often stopped under "happy".  However, clearly he is ready to start some phonics, which is always a positive.

Another story that goes along with these books is that they are very easy to act out.  I caught the boys acting out one over and over.  What I found particularly cute was that Dom directed the play.  He had the book open to the page they were acting and explained to Will what needed to be said and done.

The other series of books we have started are "The Magic Tree House" books.  There are at least 40 books in this series.  Each book has 10 short chapters.  I originally intended to read a couple of chapters a day and go through about a book a week.  Dom balked at having to sit through a chapter book at first, but when I got to the end of the second chapter, he begged me to keep reading.  We ended up sitting and reading two whole books in one afternoon.  They are nice little books that have sort of cliffhangers at the end of each chapter which makes a child want to keep reading.  There is an ongoing mystery also that is common to all the books we've read so far.  And there is also a little bit of history or science involved.  Sort of a win/win/win scenario.  A friend recommended this series to me and said that it had made a reader out of her son, and I can see that as a possibility down the road for both Dominic and William.

In Molly news, she is discovering letters.  Though every letter is "Y".  She gets excited when she sees writing and points at each letter yelling "Y".  Cute at home, a little cute at the library, really not so much in the middle of Mass. 

Visitors

 

 On my Christmas list I asked for people to come visit us, and I have received that gift many times over. 

Shortly after the New Year, my parents flew out to experience the Florida winter and Molly's birthday.  Unfortunately, the Florida winter was actually on the chilly side and Will started having flu symptoms the evening they flew in.  However, we managed to make it to the beach and celebrate Molly's birthday in style.

 

 We also ate at a couple of nice restaurants including Helga's which is an echt Bavarian restaurant that the boys were extremely excited to show L'Opa. 

 Nana gave Molly a few tutus and Molly loves to twirl in them (once you convince her to put them on...she can be very stubborn and I am just not so sure where she inherited that trait from...)

 Despite the cold, we had a fun time at the beach and the kids played quite happily in the sand.

 For Molly's birthday, I made a chocolate chip and peanut butter chip cookie cake.  Very rich and very good.  The fact that it was slightly underdone did not seem to bother anyone too much.

 Shortly after Nana and L'Opa departed, my good friend and bridge partner flew out for her beach vacation.  Just in time for me to catch the flu.  Luckily, I manage to only have friends who are extremely low maintenance, so she went right along with the new itinerary, which involved her taking care of my kids as I spent the first day in bed.  The weather was a little warmer for her visit.  Not enough to actually get in the water (though our children did not get that memo), but enough to lounge on the beach in our NEW BEACH CHAIRS!!!  (Go back and read that like the announcer from The Price is Right, I think your blog experience will be much in improved).  Though I was leery about Eric's idea to check out a new beach site, I fell in love with it.  It is a little bit of a walk and there are no on site bathrooms, but it is isolated and beautiful.  Definitely my new favorite spot along the shore.

 Shortly after Ann's departure, we got an email from Eric's brother, Brian, that he would be making a trip east for a nice beach vacation.  Again, the weather was not particularly cooperative, but we did manage to get back to the gulf for an hour of fun in the sand.  It was one of the windiest days we had been to the gulf, so the waves were huge.  The kids tried out their new sand toys and we played soccer on the beach.  Shortly after Uncle Brian left, we welcomed my God-Daughter, Alicia, and her children into our home.  Just in time for me to lose my voice...but, we still had a great time watching the kids play together and getting a couple of games in before she headed back to Ohio.

 

 You never rank your guests, but I'm going to have to say the last one is the absolute easiest.  He doesn't need to be fed or have his sheets changed.  He always has a smile on his face and is happy to go where you take him.  Mr. Flat Stanley can stay for as long as he wants.  Or until Molly puts him in her mouth.  

 

When will you be planning your visit? 

Pretty Pretty Molly

 Our Little Valentine has a flair for accessorizing.  It is rare for her to go a day without putting on a necklace or experiment with footwear. 

 There have been days that she has put on every piece of jewelry that she can find.

 Days that she goes a little more simple and lets her hair do the work.

 While her Uncle Brian was visiting and during the Kansas slump a week ago, she went Oklahoma on us.  Entirely on her own, I might add.  She got into the closet and discovered a pair of boots that I didn't even realize would be her size.  Uncle Brian was very impressed and said she would fit right in in Oklahoma.  But, as much as I love my in-laws, we nipped that in the bud immediately:

 

And for those wondering (which included myself, until my sister unearthed this gem from 30 years ago), Molly does come by her beauty naturally.  Who knew?