tuesday.

I have artists living in my house. In fact, they believe that this house is their art gallery. The actual house, as in the walls. We have spent a lot of time coloring lately and somewhere along the line the crayons and pencils moved from the paper to the walls. We spent some quality time with the Mr. Clean magic eraser today. That thing is a lifesaver.

Seneca may or may not be asleep in her bed right now with ballet slippers on her feet. That's how excited she is to start dance class tomorrow.

She has also thrown some impressive tantrums this week. Gotta give the girl points for stamina. And me too.

Bex has been completely delightful lately. He got his hair cut Sunday and is so dang cute I can't handle it. He does things I think are funny just to get me to laugh at him like pull his jammie pants way up high. He's an awesome eater and goes to bed without a fuss.

Cooper and I have been reading the the first book in the Boxcar Children series at bedtime after scriptures. This is a change-up from Magic Tree House. The chapters are longer, but we're both liking it. I never really read these books, although I think one of my sisters really liked them... Katelyn, maybe?

Adoption certification is final. I feel perfectly content right now that the right little spirit will join our family whenever the time is right. I don't think it will happen quickly, but I'm not in charge.

Shout out to my dad who was a year older Sunday. He's pretty much the coolest old man I know, but don't tell him that. He gets a big head easily.

We made a decision on lights for the entry, dining and living rooms. They're pretty cool and I'm excited to get them up!

Coop had music class today. He came home excited to show me the chords he was learning, except that he doesn't know they are called chords yet... they are "tricks with his fingers." Love it. This program is really cool. We are practicing five days a week, which I thought would be a lot, but it's been fun and I love the things he's learning while thinking he's playing. brilliant.

I said the word, "cool" a lot in this post.

Denten just walked in from his swimming lesson. Better go give him some love. He is my one and only, you know. 'night.

reading: post edit

* beckham says, "oh, man" all the time. with great inflection. wish print could capture the sound. he also says, "oh my goodness!"

* I tried to call D tonight on our way home from swim and couldn't get him. cooper said, "just text him." what? I text a lot, but I don't really use that word. I asked him how he knew about texting. He said he learned it when grandma robinson was here. she is a great texter... funny that he caught on.

* Seneca is into talking about making good choices. She'll tell me in the car, "look mom! I'm making a good choice and keeping my arms in my straps!" or, "mom, I'm not kicking your seat!" a while ago I asked her to make a good choice and stay in her bed and she said, "ok, I will make a good choice and stay in my bed because it makes you sooooo happy." well, that's true. it's not really the reason to make a good choice, but at this point, I'll take it!

** I'm reviewing an awesome book, the read-aloud handbook. It's amazing what reading to a child does for their own reading and language skills. I'm convinced that kids start speaking earlier and with greater clarity when they are read to, and that they enjoy reading more on their own. This book has several great principles, completely worth your time. I think it will be my go-to baby gift. It makes me grateful that my parents read to me growing up and that we have that as part of our daily routine in our family.

My mom has always loved children's books and gives them to us as gifts every year. It is a gift I look forward to. She has a knack for picking out great ones and it's fun to have our home library grow. It's also so nice to have the public library system be easy to use- go online, reserve the list of books we want and go pick them up. I have rediscovered some great childhood favorites with my kids the past few weeks, like Amelia Bedelia, Harry the Dirty Dog, King Bidgood and learned about others like the Magic Tree House series. It only takes a time or two reading a book until Cooper knows it well enough to tell it to the others. I caught Beckham on the couch by himself the other day reading out loud about the "dirty dog." It was pretty cute. We are just discovering Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy. What are your favorites to read with your kids??

The weather has been so nice lately that it's a bummer to come in for bedtime, so we've been taking the books outside. We throw a quilt on the grass, take out pillows and lay and listen to stories as the sun goes down. It's pretty magical. The change of scenery helps the kids hold still and listen, I could easily read for 45 minutes before they're restless. I see a lot of reading in our summer future.

post edit: I was thinking about some of the great reading memories I have and I don't know that I've ever recorded them. The one I best remember is my dad reading Huckleberry Finn to my sister and I. We lived in the duplex, in the basement bedroom with the flower wallpaper. The doll hutch was in between our two twin beds. Dad would sit on the floor or bring in a chair and read to us before we went to sleep. I think I loved the adventures of Huck and Tom because my dad did. I'm excited to read that with my kids someday. My dad doesn't read a lot of fiction so that stands out to me, how much he loved that book. And Jane Austen. He loves Jane Austen and therefore I do too.

I also remember reading the BFG together as a family. I don't know where we were, but I kind of remember that we read part of that on a trip somewhere. Mom was reading to us from the front seat and we were laughing about whizpoppers. I also remember reading the Indian in the Cupboard. I don't know if mom read that one to me, or if I read it on my own and talked to her about it, but I remember really liking that book.

Everything from the Berstein Bears to the Baby-sitters Club... I loved hiding away and escaping to other places through books. My reading for pleasure was more sporatic once I started college, but I'm grateful to have a love for books and reading instilled me and I'm excited to share it with my kids.