To read makes our speaking English good.

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Happy St. Patty's Day :)

I let Bean stay home yesterday because she's got a cough and said she had a sore throat. I'm pretty much convinced it's 'just' post-nasal drip, because she's fever- and chest congestion- free, but rather than have her dramatic self wandering around informing everyone "I have a very bad cough. I'm sick" every time she coughed, I decided to just keep her home.

It was a long day.

I did get her to nap in the morning, but the kid is just so chronically overtired from waking up at 5:30 regardless of when she goes to bed (Sunday night was around 8:00) that I'm just keeping her treading water ... she could use a good week of real dedicated napping and staying at Dave's, where she always seems to sleep later.

The past couple days have yielded a few Beanism gems, though.

Bean: Let's cook Lulu (her little plastic lamb figure). First we cut her up and then we cook her in a pot. We will make lamb soup. That will taste delicious.

Later: I love lambs names Lulu. They're yummy.

Bean: I love you twenty twenty.
Mommy: What am I going to do with that much love?!?
Bean: You're going to have to give me lots of hugs.

Bean's got a couple new favorite books that I wanted to mention in case anyone is looking for new reading material.

One is Stand Tall, Molly Lou Mellon. I *love* this book. Love it. It's such a sweet little story and such a good lesson. One of my favorite things about Bean's toe-walking and all the rigamarole we go through with it is that she's been exposed to so many differently-abled kids that it's all normal to her. In a more ordinary vein, Molly Lou Mellon drives home the whole "looking different isn't bad" thing, and Bean just loves Molly Lou and the whole story.

Another is Ladybug Girl. She got this for her birthday last year, and still asks to read it a lot. It's a cute little story that builds self-confidence and belief in oneself.

She also gets a kick out of all the "Bear" books by Karma Wilson. Right now we're reading Bear Feels Sick every night. These books have a nice, gentle meter that makes them easy to read and they have some repetition that allows non-readers to get involved. They're cute little stories of friendship and compassion.

She likes Just Another Ordinary Day, too. It's like illustrated hyperbole - the words say one thing, and the illustrations take it to the max. Nothing major as far as 'the moral of the story' goes, but a fun read with a lot of imagination fodder.

We've read Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type a couple times, and I think it's pretty entertaining, but she's not asking for it a lot. Like the previous book, it's just a fun, imaginative read.

A late entry, but one she asks for several times a day, is Smash! Crash! Just a silly little book, but one that's fun to read. There are more Trucktown books out there, so I'll be keeping an eye out for them, as well.

I'm trying to decide if I get to count these toward my 100 books in 2009 goal ... ?? :)
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