A Current Favorite Photo

All of the sisters together outside the temple after Baby Sis got hitched. Congrats to Corey and Jed!

From the Mouth of My Babe

Superheroes Unite!

Maddie: "Mom, what do rainbows taste like?"
Me: "What do you think they taste like?"
Maddie, after some thought, "I think they taste like watermelons!"

At Your Local Library...

I am a sucker for a good children's book. I recently heard someone say, "Forget flowers! Bring me a children's book instead" and I loved it. One day I hope to add hundreds of books to our current collection. Since we frequent the library often, I have some current favorites that I want to share:. 

Mo Willems is definitely a contender for my favorite children's author of all time. city dog, country frog is different than any of his other books but it is just as noteworthy. It is simple, tender, and sweet.

There are five books in the Llama, llama series by Anna Dewdney. Anyone with young children will be able to relate to the different situations that Mama and Llama find themselves in. While I have only been able to find three of the five books, Llama llama, Mad at Mama is my favorite.  

Food for Thought is our current Freymann/Elffers read, but all of their collaborations are great. The books are simple enough for the youngest readers, but the illustrations are clever enough for children of all ages--they are made using nothing but fruits and vegetables. 

I know I've already put in a plug for both Mo Willems and the Piggie and Elephant books, but seriously, Can I Play Too? is laugh-out-loud funny. And these are some of the best early readers I have ever seen. 

Grandpa Green received a Caldecott honorable mention this year. It's a sweet story told from the perspective of Grandpa's great grandson.

This wordless book, The Red Book, by Barbara Lehman, has been Maddie's almost-constant companion since we found it at the library a couple of weeks ago. It received a Caldecott honorable mention in 2004 and, in my opinion, is much more interesting and creative than this year's award winner, A Ball for Daisy. 

Also a Caldecott honorable mention, Blackout was an instant hit with my kids. Not to mention that the illustrations are amazing. 

My friend, Hilery, introduced me to Press Here months ago and my preschool students were instantly smitten. It is a fun interactive read that will make you wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Last but not least, my friend, Chrissy, first introduced us to Kid Tea years ago and it is one that we check out from the library time and time again. I think I may have even mentioned it in a previous post. It is colorful, catchy, and even comes in the board book variety (a double bonus if you have a Davis-like reader). 

Now it's your turn. I'd love to hear your recommendations!

January Photos

A few camera phone photos of our life this month:

Watching Chicken Little during Friday night pizza and a movie.

Maddie decorating her new Valentine's mailbox. The only rule with the boxes is the kids aren't allowed to ask anyone to put things in their box (Ike tries to work around this by dropping hints) nor complain if they think their box isn't being filled enough. Thank you Target dollar section! It has been fun to see the kids excited about giving things to one another (and even more excited about getting them).

I guess it's time to show this kid A Christmas Story. This boy told me today that he wishes he could have wheels instead of feet. I wonder if he ever won't be obsessed with cars. 

Just hanging out in the diaper pail.

Looks great in sunglasses.

From the Mouth of My Babe

Isaac enjoying last weekend's snowfall

Maddie, not so much enjoying last weekend's snowfall.

Not long ago Isaac asked me if I would get him a "real" super hero cape. "I made you one, buddy," referring to a cape I made him years ago that he occasionally uses while playing dress up. "No, mom, I mean a REAL cape, like one that helps me fly in the air."

This is my 500th post. I can hardly believe I've been keeping this blog for almost 5 years. I think it's high time I make it into a book or two (or five), no?