Harold and the Purple Crayon

My son is very interested in books now.  He's liked books for some time, but it was hard to get him to sit still and make it through to the end of the book.  He wanted to turn back and get off on tangents and upgrade to a different book.  In short, he wasn't able to sit through a complete "story" until recently.

Now that he likes books, my husband ends every night reading to him.  Favorites (of my husband) include Dr. Seuss books.  The stories are fun to read, the illustrations are quirky and the stories always have a good moral.  My son realized soon after they started reading some of the Dr. Seuss books that his meal-time bib had the Cat in the Hat on it.

And while my son can be aggressive at times, he is quite respectful of paper books at this age and his experience at school has taught him to use his gentle hands when turning the pages.  And this is good, because board books typically don't have meaningful stories across their few pages.

I have a collection of books saved from both my and my husband's childhood that I go through from time to time to check for age appropriateness.  Recently, I was able to bring out one of my favorites, Harold and the Purple Crayon.  I didn't realize the book was over fifty years old.  Then, when I realized I was over forty years old, it made more sense.  Also, it made me feel old.

It's a charming little story about a boy who draws what he dreams and eventually realizes he wants to go home only he's not sure how to get back.  In the end he discovers the perfect way to get home, and not unlike Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, the answer was with him all along.

The Big Boy Update:  "Two hands momma."  In addition to enjoying reading books of late (see above,) my son has taken on the role of Safety Marshall for the family.  In the morning on the way to school he reminds me, often, that I need to keep "two hands" on the wheel.   On the unsafe front, he decided putting a card-lacing string around his sister's neck and pulling her around this morning was a fabulous idea...

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Dancing for Gramps.  She loves to do that baby sway and stomp thing when music is on.  Yesterday after dinner, I put on some music and she danced for Gramps.  He tried to video it, but every time he pulled out his camera she'd turn away and dance around the corner. 

Fitness Update:  Bonus six mile run with Uncle Jonathan yesterday afternoon.  Today is a day of rest.  And of eating a big breakfast.  Of late, I'm obsessed with bacon, eggs and French toads.  I  mean toast.  Not toads.  That was such a crazy typo I had to leave it in.  Anyone else getting a mental image of a French speaking toad frog?

Someone Once Said:  Freedom begins when you tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.