Josh Renaud's weblog detailing the exploits of his family in Ferguson, MO, USA. Starring Yoli, Jadzia, Ludi, Josie, and Joseph Renaud.
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So here’s a cute photo of Ludi reading to “little” Joseph.
How’s about we play a little game?
What do you think she’s saying to him? Add your funny caption idea in the comments.
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The World Series is in full force! The girls have been following excitedly (except when the games are actually on at night. They would rather watch “Angelina Ballerina” instead) and I have been hard at work at the Post-Dispatch.
I have prior experience working at the P-D during the World Series and the Super Bowl. October becomes a fun yet frenetic and fatiguing month.
The girls know nothing of this of course. All they know is that they see less of their Pap{a’} (since he comes home very late and takes naps to make up for it), and that the Cardinals might be champions!
So what about those masks? Well, they are called “Face Cards” and they were created by some of my colleagues at the P-D. Numerous players are available, and you can download them “from stltoday.com”:http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/html_f13566f0-fa04-11e0-ba07-001a4bcf6878.html. Yoli and the girls cut them out and assembled them. The only modification they made was to glue the papers to cardboard cereal boxes for reinforcement before cutting them out.
Check out this combined story-telling effort by Jadzia and Ludi. Jadzia wrote the words, Ludi drew the pictures.
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(here’s a transcript in case you can’t read it: “Fruits girls mistakes. She ate too many cherys so she turnd red. She ate too many plums so she turned purple. She ate too many rasberys so she turned pink.”)
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Yoli called all of us in to eat lunch Saturday, and I went to find the girls. And lo and behold, they were neatly arrayed behind three play desks they had created. Jadzia was playing store/restaurant, and the others were just singing along with music on their play computers. Keep reading to see a really short video.
Ludi: “…let’s have a surprise party for Pap{a’}!”
Jadzia: “Shhhhh….”
[much whispering ensues].
Ludi: “Pap{a’}, did you hear what we’re talking about?”
Me: “Maybe!”
Jadzia and Ludi together: “Forget! Forget!”
Josie: “Daddy, it tastes like grass!”
Me: “Don’t eat it!”
Josie: “It’s spicy!”
Josie: “What’s your name?”
Me: “Pap{a’}.”
Josie: “Not Pap{a’}. Daddy! … What’s MY name?”
Me: “Josie Joy.”
Josie: “Not Josie Joy. Beauty and the Beast!”
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Last Thursday Jadzia kick-started kindergarten. This week Ludi proceeded to preschool.
Ludi has the same teacher her older sister had last year, which is great. She already knows Ms. Katie and likes her a lot. Ludi is a very friendly, happy girl, so I think she is going to have a blast with all the kids in her new class.
Keep reading for a quick video of Ludi after her first day of preschool:
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Ludi turned four years old a couple weeks ago. We had a simple party with the family and one of her friends. They all had a blast. Here are some photos from her special day:
Continue reading “The big four”
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It has come to my attention that I neglected to write an update here regarding a post I made last year.
In 2010, I wrote that I hoped to someday read The Hobbit to the girls. As it turns out, I read it to them before that year was finished!
When it comes to long books like The Hobbit, Jadzia is definitely the one who will sit and listen. Ludi tunes out after a while if the story is long and there aren’t pictures on every page. Part of that is age and part is personality. Then again, I think Ludi took more away from The Hobbit. She still occasionally asks me about BIlbo or Gollum.
We often have to do a lot of explaining or summarizing. After hearing a chapter, Jadzia has been known to ask, “So, what happened?”
Here are some of the long books the girls (primarily Jadzia) have read over the last year:
* The Hobbit
* Charlotte’s Web
* The Wizard of Oz
* Little House in the Big Woods
* Little House on the Prairie
* Farmer Boy
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
* American Girls: Felicity (series)
* American Girls: Kirsten (series)
* American Girls: Josefina (series)
We are currently in the middle of Swiss Family Robinson and we have also started the AG Kaya books. Swiss Family is interesting. It’s an old book, and not originally in English, so much of the syntax and word choice sounds funny to my ears. It also doesn’t have a plot. It’s like a series of obstacles, projects, and discoveries by the family. Despite this, Jadzia remains interested. I suppose we have the movie (which *does* have a plot) to thank for sparking this interest.
Yoli, reporting on events around naptime this afternoon:
Right before getting into bed, Jadzia told Yoli that “I’m a kangaroo wolf.” She was hopping and growling.
Later, after the girls woke up, Yoli saw Ludi standing still.
Jadzia was tucking a cat beanie baby into Ludi’s waistband. Jadzia told her, “I’m going to put this in your pouch.”
Then Jadzia became like a movie director:
“Now you need to hop. You are a kangaroo.”
“And also growl. You are a wolf, too. Put your hands up like claws. Good, good.”
Yoli reports that Ludi’s acting was very good.
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For our three girls, tangles are a terror.
My girls have beautiful, long, straight, dark hair. But their hair tends to get very tangly. Ludi’s hair is the worst of the bunch, and that is primarily because she gets a lot of food and other substances in it.
When it comes time for combing, you can count on the crying.
… Until this week!