Spelling and innocent looks

Our playroom is a "catch all". Probably the saddest addition to this room is a 100 year old antique sleigh bed that is propped behind the sofa. Its a full size, we will never use it again because it can't withstand children jumping on it, and I have no illusions about being able to prevent four toddlers from jumping on beds.

Case in point:



Beside a Chippendale ball and claw sofa (that has seen better days) that for now is the playroom sofa, are the mattresses that were once on said sleigh bed. I was trying to photograph Lucas looking all innocent sitting on the bed, when Matilda flipped off the sofa to the mattresses to join us. I should sale the sleigh bed, but I don't want to have people calling about it, don't want to deal with bargain hunters trying to lower the price, and don't have the truck to haul it away. Hence the room being our "catch all". In the spring of next year we hope to finish the remodel of this room and do away with the sleigh bed, the aging sofa, and a few other things. Perhaps by then we can have a nicer sofa, and not worry so much about washing sweet potato off of it, of fishing gold fish crackers out of the cushions.

Matilda's hair is finally long enough for pig tails. Here is both of us sporting them.



She is spelling up a storm. My aunt gave Lucas and Tilly a drawing board that has large alphabet letters on it, and when you press them it says what the letter is and what sound it makes. I gave it to them last week. Its for a 4-5 year old, as you can also practice writing the letters beneath them. Well, Tilly played with it a week solid, and now she asks me constantly how to spell words, and when she sees one of her alphabet blocks she will point to it, accurately identify what letter it is, then tell me what sound it makes "K. K is for "kah". And on top of that, she can spell hers and Lucas' name. She recites as if preparing for a spelling bee. "Tilly. T-i-l-l-y. Tilly". She was asking me today how to spell "Cat", "Dog", "Elvis" (one of our outdoor cats names), "mommy" and "Dada". She can spell "Cat", too.

I asked Lucas how to spell his name, and he stared at me for a moment and then said "Cake". :-) A boy after my own heart!