Quotable EJ, Now in Writing

EJ has been reading for awhile now, which continues to startle us at times, even though we should be used to it. What is new, however, is her pen-to-paper writing of letters and words. As she became more excited about letters and words, she would type them out on the computer (yes, really, I even blogged about it), or would dictate notes to us to write for her. While our days as scribes are not over yet, they may be soon, as evidenced by her recent foray into signs and cards.

The first thing that she wrote by hand, aside from her name or those of family members, was a sign that said, "Keep Out Ada"---I kid you not, the little girl put a sign up on her door to keep our dog, Ada, from getting in to eat her toys. It was so "Little Rascals" clubhouse, I laughed out loud when I saw it. I should have snapped a picture of it right away, but I didn't, and now that sign has either been destroyed or lost or repurposed---things tend to resurface in four-year old land, so it may not be gone for good.

If I find it, I will document it, but in lieu of that, here are some recent favorites:

Card for me, Outside:



Card for me, Inside:



How can you not love a card with your kid's self-portrait inside? Especially when it comes from a kid who now professes that she loves you more than Lovey (her blankie) and Spot (her little stuffed dalmatian)?

Letter for her Nana and Papa:



My parents left for their place in Florida last week, and EJ woke up absolutely inconsolable about missing them a few days later. She woke me up to ask me what their address was, and I told her it was on a magnet on the fridge. By the time I had crawled out of bed, she had completed this letter for them (and their dog, Wilbur, of course), along with all the numbers from the magnet---house number, zip code, and phone numbers, all mushed together.

Imaginary friend birthday party decorations:



Throwing imaginary parties for her imaginary friends is a big deal to her, and after she made a list of all the decorations she would need, she made these balloons and sign, then hung them on the wall. I did help her on this one---I spelled balloon aloud, then she wrote it out, I gave her tape, and I told her that, no, I would not blow up actual balloons, so she should just draw some and it would work out just fine.

Directions for the microwave:



We've got a nasty cold here, and I had the worst of it today. To feel better, I pulled out a wonderful heat wrap that I bought from my yoga instructor ages ago and warmed it up in the microwave. EJ was intrigued when she saw me wearing it, but concerned later when she saw me go to reheat it. Exact quote: "Mom, you can't put hats in the microwave to dry them!" Hmmm....interesting. Within the two minutes it took for my flannel heat wrap to get cozy warm, the kiddo ran to her table, crafted this sign, grabbed a sticker (since I wasn't free to give her tape), and posted this under the microwave. "See, Mom, this microwave is for FOOD. FOOD ONLE (i.e., ONLY). You can put your clothes in the oven if you need to heat them, okay?"