Books, anyone?

As a reading teacher, in the back of my mind I always had a fear that my children would have some difficulty with reading.....not love to read, have trouble decoding, comprehension, fluency, etc. My mind has been put to rest with Alexander.

Case in point: (check out the careful observer in the background - behind the snowman)


Some of his books are kept on the lower shelf of the television stand - only tonight, he took them off - one by one - to read. He turned pages on each and every one, and even "read" most of the pages. Some books he read for longer than others, but he did read all of them that were on the floor. The most hilarious part was that he has a "touch and learn" book about Creation where he can feel the turtle, tiger, flamingo, a comet, a tree trunk, and zebra fur. He decided that he wanted to feel all of these textures with his tongue.....

I almost wonder what goes through his mind before he does something like that...."Hey, I bet I can stick that in my mouth!" He is definitely in his "oral" stage right now!!

What else can fit in his mouth, you ask? Well, here are some of my VeggieTales nativity characters....(no, Sarah, not the ones you and I discussed the other night). His favorite is Larry the Cucumber (seen below) - followed closely by Junior Asparagus and Laura Carrot.


He also seems to like to carry his toys and play in our entryway. Here he has Laura Carrot, Junior Asparagus, and his baseball in the doorway. He then proceeded to pull many more toys across the living room. Now to only be able to have him put them away......



Now time for our funny video. Last night Alex figured out the game of tag. He would "chase" me back into the hallway, and I would then chase him back out into the living room and tickle him. He would fall down dozens of times while I was chasing him - because his head would go faster than his feet......but he was laughing and having such a great time! I'll bet we chased each other for at least half an hour! Then it was time for a milk break and a few stories - and then he crashed HARD! Hope you enjoy the video!!





On a sadder note, Snickers, my family's dog, passed away earlier today. She had been in quite a bit of pain for quite some time, and this morning she was having trouble walking, so the vet thought it best to put her down. Although we will miss her patience and companionship, we will always have fond memories of her making messes (and Mom then cursing because of those messes), and all of the fun times we had with her (like when she got into the 5-pound candy cane, and made the S-T-I-C-K-Y mess ALL over the floor!!) She was great around everyone, and never snapped at anyone (that I know of, at least). I can remember when we got her - I was in high school - she was even in my Senior pictures!! She was a great dog, and will be missed.



Maybe Mom and Dad will want another puppy for Christmas........ :)