Dear Kids,
Here are some stories about us.
I had bought each of you several special coloring books of your own, so when I purchased Johanna Basford’s The Enchanted Forest, it was supposed to be my coloring book. Honestly, I had thought that our coloring time would be more comfortable if we each had our own book. But Livia never likes to be left out of things, and she wanted to color with me, in the same book, at the same time. So together (and with Marshall’s occasional help) we worked on the book and finished it. It’s a beautiful thing, much improved by your work on it, and I keep it on my bookshelf. (Meanwhile, your unfinished coloring books are cluttering up the house.)
Marshall really grew as a reader in 2017. Sometimes he even refused to listen to stories, and instead insisted on reading them aloud himself. He often eschewed fiction in favor of miscellaneous facts and science trivia which, alas, is not always the best material for listening. This, I could tell, was the beginning of the end for our nightly storytime, but it wasn’t as sad as I had thought it would be. Half the point of storytime was to turn you into readers, and you are both well on your way. Now my job is to keep you supplied with reading material (something your father helps with by putting new books on your tablets) and to continue to set a good example by reading often myself.
You both bring home piles of paper from school. Most of it is ordinary homework and schoolwork, but sometimes you bring artwork and journals. My favorite surprise to come home last year was a journal by Livia that she had labeled “My Love Journal.” It contained only one line, but what a line! It said, “It is love day oon happy flawr planit.” I so want a holiday called Love Day and to celebrate it on Happy Flower Planet!
We try to take an interest in your activities, such as Minecraft, but the harder we try, the more we set ourselves up to be schooled, like this: “Daddy, it’s a command block, not a control cube!”
In October we went to an outdoor screening of “Captain Underpants.” The movie was great. The weather was great (a mix of stars and pretty clouds). Turnout was great, and a great time was had by all. (Did I mention that it was great?)
I hope that 2018 will be filled with many more happy hours spent together.
Love,
Mom