Madeleine didn't let Ethan's sickness or need to sleep deter her from a bright and early rising this morning, however. Clambering onto our bed, she began chattering happily at me about every subject under the sun. Perhaps the best bit of conversation was about her big toe hangnail:
MADELEINE: (picking at her toe) Mama? What IS this thing that I'm picking? It's kinda like a HANGNAIL.
ME: (sleepily) Mmmmmm.
MADELEINE: Hey Mama! We're all BUSY! I'm busy picking, and you're busy SLEEPING, and...Julia's busy SNORING, and...Daddy's busy...LAYING!
In other words: everyone else is trying to sleep and you're busy yapping at us.
A moment later, Madeleine second-guessed her proclamation.
MADELEINE: But Mama? Is picking your hangnail BUSY?
Once everyone had risen, Julia scrambled upstairs to get Ethan the birthday gift she had made and wrapped for him. This gift was a special daughter-daddy gift in honor of the "Chronicles of Prydain" series that Ethan had read to Julia. The Prydain books are as follows:
#1 The Book of Three
#2 The Black Cauldron
#3 The Castle of Llyr
#4 Taran Wanderer
#5 The High King
Well, the chronicles stop at book 5 no longer! Here is the long-awaited sixth book of the series:
Taran Hero
by Julia Rowe
Ethan read this non-stop action-packed chapter book aloud to us as we sat around the breakfast table:
Julia had filled each page with text, with no pictures, in order to make it as authentic as possible. Here are some of the best excerpts from the text:
Chapter 1: Someone Gone
Taran cood not sleep. He couldn't evin remembre the last badle he was in. He disidid to find Gurgi but when he got to Gurgi's bedroom he was not thar. Taran gaspt. In a flash, Taran jumpt on Melinios. "Go to the woods" sade Taran. "We must find Gurgi befor dusck. Wate I know. Ffludder and Llyan will hlep us find Gurgi." Taran cood here Gurgi shoting. "Oh kindly master, Gurgi is stuck in a tree with grat ackings and brakings oh kindly master, plese save Gurgi's pow tendre head."
Chapter 2: The Trap
"Grat Belin, a cajd egle!" "Yes a cajd egle!" The companions wor so bisy toking they wokt into a trap. "What is this?" sade Taran. "Great Belin, its a trap." Then a figyre walkt ovre to them. "Hello my name is Loow. What are you dwing in a fishing trap?" "We walkt into it. Can you hlep us out?" "Yes I will and I will lend you warm fire. We have vary little food here but fish, crab and lobstre so we cech them in a fishing trap. We need all of the food we can get." "We shall leve arly in the morn. A Flam nevre givs up." Taran cood still here Gurgi caling for hlep. "Ffluder we need to go now. We can not chrust this man." "Then we shall take are leev old friend. We shall leev. We need to and agen, a Flam nevre gives up."
In other Julia writing news, yesterday she took home her kindergarten portfolio with all of her writing work from beginning of school year to end. I can't believe what a long way she's come at kindergarten spelling since the good old "rlcr" days:
Not to mention the good old backwards "s" and shaky lower-case letter days:
Even Julia found it funny when I read aloud her attempts at spelling from back in January:
"I went to a papi show. I soe a wich at the papit shoe."
Some of her latest journal entries had to do with Ethan and I:
And then there was a non-fiction story that she wrote, all about the time, a few years ago, that we took a train into Boston to watch Ethan run in the corporate challenge:
The Best Rase
by Julia Rowe
"I whent to Bostin to see my dad rase and I was so exitid!"
"I stud in the rode and I cherd for him."
"After he finishit we had diner thar and I was so happy."
I think Ethan is truly honored to be the subject of Julia's non-fiction writing.
Hooray for a great year of progress, Julia!
Happy Birthday, Ethan! Go DAD!
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