A New Book!

Our little guy wants to write stories all the time these days! The process changed a bit between this book and the last. This time, when the drawings were finished and it was time to write, he got out his sight word cards (which we have hardly ever used for lack of interest) and his ball that has all of the planets and their names. Then, when he needed a word, he would try to find it in his cards or look at his planet ball. The others he sounded out, this time with less help. Here is the latest:

1. A space ship was leaving Earth.
2. The robot made an explosion on Uranus.

3. The planets changed and now the Earth is by the sun. Now everybody died. (tragic and dark, I know, but if the sun was right next to the Earth, it is a logical conclusion...)

4. Another robot exploded on Jupiter.


5. The robot walked to the man who made him.
6. Now they are friends and he is sad that he exploded his new friend. (Really, a lesson can be learned here. Don't randomly explode anyone-- they might become your closest friend and you will feel real bad!)


7. The robot met his friend on the moon.

8. The space ship shined its lights on Jupiter.

9. On Jupiter, suddenly there was a big fire.

10. They had to leave. (The larger robots are their mommies. One had to go home to Earth and the other's home is Mars. Dylan says that they really don't have to be too sad because they can visit each other with one jump since they are robots.)

Cousins!

You really can't get these hooligans to pose for a decent picture anymore. I mean, really, how hard is it to sit and smile? Must we make faces??? Must we complain the minute we see the camera? Don't they know me at all???

At least these two below can pull it together sometimes...

Easter!

Hannah decorated the cake!

Coloring Easter Eggs!

Pool Time!

The two Dylans just started back in swim lessons yesterday! I had thought that Dylan had forgotten everything he knows about swimming, but he jumped right in and swam half way across the pool first thing! Sorry about the abundance of photos-- sometimes I have a hard time narrowing it down!

Preschool Easter Party!

Pianist!

Mason recently began playing this song-- here is the first page accomplished!

Ice Cream Truck!

The Latest Installment From Our Resident 4 Year Old Author!

This is the publication of Dylan's latest book! :) I love the process of making these books. He really goes into it with a plan. First, he has an idea pop into his head and he grabs lots of paper and a pen, maybe a couple of colored pencils but not if coloring is going to slow him down... Then he sits on the floor and madly produces picture after picture, numbering them as he goes so he keeps the order straight. Then he tells me the whole story. Only then do we sit down to write it. The writing is also a process. Sometimes he sits down and focuses completely and writes three or four pages at a time, hardly needing much help, saying "Don't tell me anything! I know how to write it!" Other times, he asks me to help sound out the words. I love doing these books with him because it is so much fun to watch him take off with his ideas! This story is about a space ship that has a robot inside and he is exploring the solar system. Translation below, if you need it...

1. "DDRD, DDRD, VDRD" (that is the robot noise, pronounced "dee-dee-ard, dee-dee-ard", etc. A space ship suddenly landed.

2. The space ship took off.

3. The space ship landed on Jupiter.

4. The planets orbited around the sun.

5. The robot put his wheels on and rolled on the sun.

6. The space ship went to Pluto.

7. The space ship landed on Uranus. (I won't mention the giggles that erupted about that one. Sometimes that kid is such a boy!)

8. This is the castle. (because a robot needs a castle, right?)

9. The space ship went to the moon.

10. He flew with his fire bursts.