New books from library

There's nothing quite like bringing a fresh stack of kids books home from the library. Natalie takes to it like a pig to shit. Only cuter.

All I've got to do is drop the books off up in "Granny's Room" on the second floor, and we've instantly got a measure of peace and quiet. Natalie runs up there, rifles through the bag, and leafs through them one by one. Full of glee. But then the tide turns. At some point in time, she decides that we actually need to read them to her. Graham's starting to appreciate the fresh ones too, after a long period of new book aversion (akin to new food aversion). For my part, given that I read the books every night, a new stack is like refreshing my life. I start to get excited about the uncharted stories towards the end of day at work.

Imagine how well this is gonna work when they start to read. We're not there just yet, although I half feel like we're neglecting Natalie by not pushing her to read more. Like a smart 5 year old really should be reading. But there's open warfare in pedagogical and child-rearing theory on the question of pushing kids, and Mary's both on the other side of the debate and more on top of it. Natalie will learn to read (or admit how much she knows already) soon enough, and our lives will be much easier. And then she won't be forced to memorize all her books.