What a difference in L's behavior today! I started the day off reading her a chapter in The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie the Pooh, and then several stories from her Little Bear collection. Next she wanted me to show her how to write a few words, which she practiced tracing, and that was it. She went and kept herself occupied for most of the remainder of her sisters' study time. I hope this continues!

The book was her Christmas present from her father and me. We had been reading it together regularly at bedtime, and everybody greatly enjoyed it. G would sneak out of her bed to curl up and listen, and Dad could even be heard chuckling at Pooh's exploits. A.A. Milne is very silly and so much fun to read, and the illustrations by Shepard are some of my favorites.

"An Ambush," said Owl, "is a sort of Surprise."
"So is a gorse-bush sometimes," said Pooh.
"An Ambush, as I was about to explain to Pooh," said Piglet, "is a sort of Surprise."
"If people jump out at you suddenly, that's an Ambush," said Owl.
"It's an Ambush, Pooh, when people jump at you suddenly," explained Piglet.
Pooh, who now knew what an Ambush was, said that a gorse-bush had sprung at him suddenly one day when he fell off a tree, and he had taken six days to get all the prickles out of himself.
"We are not talking about gorse-bushes," said Owl a little crossly.
"I am," said Pooh.

Now that we are on track again after the big relocation commotion, we're adding this treasure back to our read-aloud stack.

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The hardcover Pooh collection was one of my best book buys. I found it at Books-A-Million on clearance for $6.00 and bought one for L and one for my littlest niece. Shhhh...let my SIL think I paid full price, she'll like it better that way.

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HA! I was right! It IS my mother (aka The Wet Blanket, The Black Hole) trying to put a halt to our trip. My father is totally looking forward to going, his only concern was wanting to know the date we leave. He even suggested I get the first few hotels lined up. Yep, I certainly got my planning gene from him. And my wanderlust.

L received a LeapPad from Santa this year, but now with her strong interest in writing and spelling, I may splurge and buy her the LeapPad Plus Writing. Definitely at least a pair of headphones. That will keep her busy and very happy on the car trip. It might even keep Nana busy and happy, too, but I'm not counting on it.