Thursday, January 23, 2014

Life Lessons Month of January: Blog 4- Letters from Mom & Mimi

Hi Ellie,

So this month was significant to our family because routine has prevailed.  The craziness of the holidays are long past, I am back to work part-time, and Will is sleeping 11 hours at night.  We are all on a schedule.  And anyone who knows me understands how much I love, need, and crave that!  But for me, routine means that I have time to read my books again (before this month, I haven’t touched my Kindle since the night before Will was born but I am happy to say that I have read two of my own books these past two weeks!).  I suppose that my lesson here could very well be to carve out time for yourself but I think what I learned recently is more than that.      

Life Lessoned Learned #47:  Share your passion with others.

Just because I didn’t touch one of my books in these past few months doesn’t mean I didn’t read at all.  It’s quite the opposite actually.  I read you and Will many books!  And you read Will lots of books (we’ve read some of your favorites so many times through that you have memorized them perfectly). 

Here were your top picks these past three months:

My Name is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry (this one may just be one of my absolute favorites at the moment because of the strong feminist voice)

Paperdolls by Julia Donaldson (which we then made our own paper dolls so that we had more characters when we read the book aloud)

The HICCUPotamus by Aaron Zenz (which you chose often for Will because he gets the hic-ups a lot after he giggles… just as did you- hence how we acquired the book from Mimi who gave it to you when you were a hic-cupping baby).

The Great Big Enormous Turnip by Alexei Tolstoy (which your Mimi gave me when I was 17 weeks pregnant with you, when according to a website, you were the size of a turnip.  She sent it when we lived in Denver when I was so nervous waiting for the AFP results that went so badly with Kyle.  She sent me a care package to make me smile and appreciate you, my little growing vegetable!)

The Black & White Rainbow by John Trent (this one is a spiritual book given to you by your Great-Gram Bubbles which generated a discussion on forgiveness, a word that you have never heard before but actually understood very well.  You then demonstrated your new knowledge of what forgiveness means by telling me about how you forgave a boy at school for accidently kicking you).

Presss Here by Herve Tullet (I love that this book because it makes you think of your Denver friend Ben.  He gave this to you on your second birthday).


Declan Grows Up: It’s Just Not Fair by C. Austin Lee (our family friend Linda, who’s relative wrote this book, gave this one to you not too long ago but we’ve read it several times since.  It has allowed us to have conversations about our talents and focusing on what we are good at… you proudly told me you are really good at eating and playing with your Ferbie and hope to get better at soccer!)

Oh No! by Candace Fleming

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Where Can They Be? by your Mimi, Mickey Russell

Three Billy Goats Fluff by Rachael Mortimer

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple (your Poppy gave you this one when you were born… he could foresee the independent person you were going to become!)

The Jellybeans by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans

Bernstein Bears books (which Great-Gram Russell sends you.  Ellie, you particularly like the one about telling the truth.  You never heard the word lie before so that generated a long talk about always being honest)

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

The Little Red Hen by John Escott

Dr. Seuss books- your favorite is I Wish I Had Duck Feet (we have quite the Seussical library as our cousin Taylor, who is now a senior in high school, passed on her collection to you as a gift for your baby shower)

Put Me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

Peter Rabbit by Frederick Warne

Goldilocks and the Three Bears (we have two different versions and you love to compare them)

I hope you share these with your children someday Ellie because they have brought so many smiles to our bedtime routine!

Love you Bean,

Mom

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