Santa Came!

Charly may have wanted nothing to do with the jolly guy in red this year, but she sure accepted all the gifts he brought her with a big ole' smile!

 

She loved her building blocks.

 

And her Elephant and Piggie book.

 

But Mom had to read it because it was too early and "bite".

 

Her Curious George DVDs were a hit, even if she couldn't take her eyes off A Very Monkey Christmas, which she insisted play while she opened presents. We tried deleting it off our DVR but I think it's burned in permanently from the thousands of times it was played this December.

 

Little People are very cool. As is her Little People dollhouse. It has sound effects for the doorbell and the washing machine (both harmless), and the toilet and the shower (both kind of odd choices)! Thankfully the makers of Little People keep their minds out of the gutter, unlike me apparently. Charly thinks it's cool and has to get it out at least once a day, even though at the time she would have rather played with the screwdriver I used to take the box apart, to "fix" everything in the house.

 

And the biggest gift Santa and Mrs. Claus (plus 1) carried up the stairs from Santa's Basement Workshop . . . (drum roll please)

 

A kitchen!

 

She's a master chef and always remembers to wash her hands.

 

Her stocking was filled with "mimi's" (M&M's) and colors. The girl could color for hours on end. And read. Toys are not necessarily her thing. But give her a pack of Crayolas and an Elephant and Piggie book, and the girl is occupied and content. 

We had a lot of fun on Christmas morning and can't wait to see how Charly shares the spotlight next year!

Watch Me Read the Book!

Mo Willems is a genius. He's this generation's Dr. Seuss. If you've ever read his books Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, or Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, then you know what I mean.

I love children's literature but don't get around to reading much that's out there for early readers. Recently, I was advised to check out Willems' Elephant & Piggie books. I bought a few "for Charly" and became obsessed. They are hilarious. Even Uncle Taylor, a junior in college, laughed out loud when he reached "the twist" of There's a Bird on My Head!

And they're the perfect size for Charly. She loves sitting in her new big-girl bed and flipping the pages. She laughs at Elephant and Piggie's hijinks on each and every page and sometimes we wonder if she actually is following what's going on in each story.

Reading books has become Charly's favorite thing to do. Drawing and coloring ranks not too far behind. I think she's going to have a creative soul. Both being teachers, Kelli and I couldn't be more excited to watch her begin learning new things through books and expressing herself in creative ways like drawing.