Favorite CDs

Eddy loves to listen to CDs at night. His current night favorite is Pop Pop's Teeny Tunes which has fun kids songs plus character songs. Last night Eddy came out to the living room and said, "I need you to come stay with me," thinking it was one of his bed time tricks I told him, "No you don't go back to bed." "Yes, I do! Just like the song says 'please stay with me until I go to sleep!'" the rest of the words continue on "if you're near then I won't make a peep. You don't need a rocking chair, I just want to know you're there. Won't you please stay with me 'til I go to sleep." How can you argue with logic like that?

During his "school time" we have been listening to Patch the Pirate Praises 2. On Friday he was coloring away and singing "Responsibility is the way to get things done"--not bad for a four year old;-) I am so thankful for these songs that are teaching him character and a love of music! Of course after we had listened to Coldheartica a green bazillion times, we weren't quite so thankful for that particular CD;-) but it sure is fun to listen to the stories and talk about them and sing the songs together!

Thanks for Thanksgiving

If you haven't heard, I LOVE FALL!!!!!! and along with Fall I love Thanksgiving and all the details--Pilgrims, Indians, feasts, turkey and all (I mean ALL) the trimmings, pumpkin & pecan pies, traditions, etc, etc. . . The other day we found a great book at the library: Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes and illustrated by Doris Barrette. This book is about Fall, thankfulness, and family and is perfect for little ones because the pictures are sharp and vibrant with not too many words on a page. Even older kids will enjoy it because the pictures are so FUN with lots of detail and crazy action happening. My favorite part of the book is the very last page which is "a place to write our thankful thoughts year after year. . ." I can't wait to add this book to our personal library and include it as part of our Thanksgiving traditions!

cute board books

Eddy loves animals so I'm always looking for cute little animal books for him. I like the shorter ones because after we've read them a few times he can sit and "read" them himself!

We found two board books at the library that are too cute!

Mommies Say Shhh! by Patricia Polacco
This is an adorable book about a farm and the all the sounds the animals make. I especially like it because bunnies are included with their sound--gotta read it to find out!

Babies on the Go by Linda Ashman and illustrated by Jane Dyer
This book has the cutest illustrations of mommy animals and how they carry their babies. The last page shows all the mommies and babies for an animal review. When we were reading there was a picture of an animal that I didn't recognize but Eddy did--it was a baby anteater!

The Pumpkin Patch Parable

The Pumpkin Patch Parable
by Liz Curtis Higgs
illustrated by Nancy Munger

This is a great book about a farmer who is planting his pumpkin patch. The story also includes verses which show God's working in our lives in comparison to how the farmer is growing his garden. This story got a thumbs up from both Mommy & Eddy!

Recipe for toasted pumpkin seeds
--perfect for little ones who love to help out in the kitchen!

Cut a medium sized circle into the top of your pumpkin and take off the top.

Put your hand inside the pumpkin and feel the slime! Then start scooping out all the pulp and seeds.

Separate the seeds and the pulp. The pulp goes in the trash and the seeds get rinsed well with water. Pat them dry.

Put the seeds into a bowl and pour enough oil over them to just coat them.

Spread the oil covered seeds in a single layer onto a baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with salt.

Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes or until nice and crunchy.

Enjoy this special fall pumpkin treat!

--recipe by Sheri Crowder

The Apple Pie Tree

Apple Pie recipe from another great Fall Apple book but which seems too large to load onto Blogger:

Arnold's Apple Pie Recipe

Step 1: Bottom crust: Measure 1 and 3/4 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon salt into a mixing bowl. Cut in 1/3 cup butter and mix. Sprinkle 1/3 cup ice water on top of the mixture, and mix until you can make a ball of dough. Cut the ball in half. Take one half and roll it out on a piece of wax paper to form a circle 1/8-inch thick. Smooth it into a 9-inch pie pan, and trim the edges.

Step 2: Apples: Peel and slice 6 to 8 apples, removing the seeds and centers of the apples. Put the slices into the pie pan. Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples.

Step 3: Top crust: Roll out the other half of the dough as before. Smooth it over the apples. Pinch downa the edge, and trim off the extra dough. Poke a few tiny holes in the top of the dough.

Step 4: Bake for 50 minutes at 425.

from The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

How it all began. . .

We love books in our house!!!!!! The other day at the library we picked up some books on tape and Eddy has been listening to them while looking at the books at bed time. He loves "reading" his books so much that I wanted to find a way to share his favorite books with others and maybe even get your favorite book thoughts too! We look forward to reading with you!