I promise to blog about it LATER. I am including pictures from Christmas in this blog because, when I started this blog, I wanted to do my best to include images with text whenever I could. Today, I can include pictures from over a week ago more easily than any from today, so I will. But I will blog about Christmas LATER.
Charlie on Zoey
Naptime after grocery shopping
Saddle up, Chuck!
***
Tonight, after cleaning canned clam chowder from Charlie's eager face and body, after letting Charlie fall asleep in my arms in the quiet of a house without other children (Brian took Gabe and Lucy to get dinner), after convincing Gabe to visit the bathroom before putting on his new Spiderman pjs (while Brian read to Lucy), after moving our "operation" in order to keep Gabe company in the dark so he could or would fall asleep (while Brian stepped out to play late-night basketball)... I told Gabe a story.
This was a custom-crafted, 100% from-scratch story designed to keep his attention from straying: a Mom Special.
There was this horse, see--and it always helps my kids if they get to name the main character, so we had a horse named "Jake." Jake-the-Horse had a bit of an obsession with... Batman! (The last book Gabe chose was a Batman book--all crime-fighting and heroism.) Jake-the-Horse reads all the books he can about Batman (on the sly, because he doesn't want anyone to know). Jake-the-Horse dreams about one day meeting Batman. One night, Jake has a fantastic dream about having an indispensable role in helping Batman save the day. Alas, he wakes and has to get a grip on reality. With the help of his horse friend, Gabe-the-Horse, Jake-the-Horse again comes to appreciate his own life and his own hard work. However... (Dun dun dun.) One day, Jake's dream comes true. Jake sees a stranger approach, dressed in black. He...looks...like...Batman! Batman's motorcycle has been tampered with and he needs to go help stop a criminal from hurting people. He sees Jake, finds Jake's owner, gets permission to take Jake, and rides off to save the day. Jake-the-Horse is a hero, (prepared for this fateful adventure by a strong work ethic and a positive attitude) and has weekly visits with Batman for the rest of his life.
After telling this story, I think I've stretched it long enough to let Gabe fall asleep. He isn't moving. He has been quiet the whole time. It's dark so it's hard to tell... The story seems to have lasted ten or twenty minutes--I really piled it on! I am feeling a little proud, actually. A few good character-building themes, some good vocabulary, a decent story-arc with opening, climax and and a poignant, happy resolution...
After telling this story, Gabe rolls over and says to me, "Mom, Batman is silver."
Gabe in bilibo
For those of you who are on the edge of your seats, dying to know what happened after Gabe told me that Batman is silver: he rolled over and fell asleep, holding Charlie's ear.
