Wanted: Guest Readers

Over the last week or so, I have had several visitors in my house. My grandpa Marvin came for a short overnight visit and then my dad's friend Bob stayed with us for two nights as he was in town for some meetings at work. Each of them "volunteered" to read my bedtime stories to me. I found this to be a real treat and enjoyed every minute of these "guest reader" nights. Mom and dad seemed to enjoy these nights as well as they just sat on the nearby couch and looked relaxed and amused.

Grandpa Marvin and Bob didn't really know exactly what they were getting into, as you see, there are additional surprise talents and traits that one should generally possess when reading books to this Peanut. I must say that Grandpa Marvin and Bob were excellent guest readers and I would love them to return to read more books to me anytime.

For all of you who may be planning a visit to the Fletcher household, here is a list of "guest reader" suggested talents and traits so that you may be properly prepared for your Peanut reading session in advance.

1. Reader must possess lots of patience to endure numerous instances of story stopping and starting to include identification of buttons and pockets on the reader's shirt, identification of reader's glasses (if applicable), identification of reader's watch or jewelry (if any) as well as identification of reader's various body parts such as hair, ears, nose, eyes, toes or feet.
2. Reader must be prepared to perform loud and realistic imitations of the following animals and vehicles: cow, horse, sheep, goat, frog, pig, duck, fire engine, train and car. Additionally, reader should be familiar with Mr. Brown and all the wonderful sounds that Mr. Brown can do.

3. Reader must know to gather all necessary accessories to accompany the reading session to include my coveted Choo-Choo blanket, knitted blanket (lovingly referred to as "hole"), a cup of milk as well as Neigh-Neigh and my cloud blanket. These last two items are not always required but will be requested on an as-needed basis.
4. Reader must enjoy cuddling, hugging and blowing of kisses.

So there you go! No applications are necessary as I love and accept everyone and I look forward to seeing you very soon. Oh, by the way, the last reader requirement is that you MUST have a picture taken with me! See the attached pictures of my two favorite guest readers, Grandpa Marvin and Bob.

Monkey Fever

I love Curious George! It has become a daily morning ritual to plop on the couch after breakfast and get my 30 minute daily dose of George cartoons. He is a very funny monkey and I get very tickled watching him do crazy things and get into trouble. I especially love one episode where George tries to build a fence to keep some cows from eating away a wildflower patch. Mom and dad have yet to figure out why I find this particular episode so amusing, but it makes me giggle and laugh everytime I see it. I get very excited, laugh, point at George and yell "GEORGE" throughout. I just love that little monkey!

In addition to my 30 minute cartoon fix, I also LOVE my Curious George books. I now have about 5 George books and I like mom and dad and anyone else to read these stories over and over. There is a book about a visit to the fire station, a visit to the ballpark and a visit to the train station, etc. Might I mention that these are not particularly short books either (20 pages or more, but including pictures) so a reading session can take close to 20-30 minutes if I request a reading of ALL my George books (which I often do). Nevertheless, I love reading so it is all good.

Mom and dad are thrilled that I have taken such an interest in books and reading, but I heard Mom mention the other day that it might be time for some additional and DIFFERENT George books to read. The last few times we have read these stories, mom seems to not even have to look at the book. She has such a good memory for an old gal....or perhaps these stories are indelibly printed in her brain matter from so many repeats. No matter, I love each story as if I am hearing it for the first time every time.

Here is a treat for you other George fans out there. This is a picture from last Halloween where I dressed up as a monkey myself and carried around my baby monkey as an accessory for extra cuteness. Perhaps this is where my love of monkeys and my love of George originated.

More cheese, please!

So, mom says it had to happen sooner or later. Yes, that is right; we finally went to Chuck E. Cheese. It was a very strangely chilly day last week, so we decided to meet one of dad's friends there with her children for some indoor activity. I sensed A LOT of apprehension and fear from my mom and dad as we approached the door of the building and the horror was evident in their faces as we entered the place. However, after we all three had our hands stamped with a number that glows under UV light (this was so that no one other than my mom or dad could leave the joint with me), it actually turned out to be lots of fun.

There was actually an area of little rides and toys that were just the right size for me and I had an absolute ball, if I must say so. There was a car and a truck that you could get on and ride and a Peanut sized telphone game and a version of "whack a mole" that I took great pleasure in playing with. Although I do enjoy a good viewing of Barney the purple dinosaur at times, the Barney themed ride sort of freaked me out so I stayed away from it.

Needless to say, we DID NOT eat the pizza, but we did order a drink and that made mom happy as they had caffeine free diet coke (you know it is a secret addiction of hers).

I have a feeling we will go to Chuck E. Cheese again one of these days on a poor weather day; however, I think that mom and dad are grateful for our excellent California weather so that maybe that day will not be so soon.

See the attached picture of me on my favorite ride at Chuck E. Cheese. There was a man and a dog in this car and I loved sitting with them and fastening my seat belt. What fun!