The Key to a Good Mailman joke...

...is the delivery.

February 4: National Thank a Mail Carrier Day 

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." We've all heard the saying. Today is a day to thank those who brave the elements to deliver us our cards, letters, and yes, even our bills.

Middle and I decided to make a card for our postal carrier. We actually got a head start on it by doing the work on the 3rd so that we'd have it ready and on the mailbox whenever our carrier came through. Some days he's really early and others he's later in the evening, so we didn't want to miss him on the big day.

Momma started by drawing out the card while Middle napped.

Then Middle got out his crayons and added the splash of color.

He looks like he's concentrating so hard 😂

Once he decided he was done, he was totally excited to show off his work to Momma and Papa.

We put the card in a safe place until the next morning. It was the day after a big snow and ice storm so much of the city was closed down. We weren't sure if the mail would actually run, but we decided to put the card out on the mailbox anyways.

Low and Behold, our carrier did arrive! He was too quick for me to grab my camera, but Middle was able to wave to him from the front window as he saw our card. Papa was outside shoveling the walk when he came through. He told Papa he appreciated the card very much and was going to take it back to the post office. Apparently, the carriers have a board where they hang all the cards and nice letters they receive and he was going to add ours! 

While we didn't take any pictures, we did celebrate our holiday on the 3rd in addition to prepping our card.

January 3: National Read Aloud Day

Middle has quite the impressive library of books already. A lot of Thomas the Tank Engine, a lot of Dr. Seuss, and a bunch of others. He's got a small bookcase in his room, a bin in his toy organizer in the play room, and some stashed away in his Thomas toy bin.

Every night before bed, we read The Goodnight Train by June Sobel. Its a cute little book with great illustrations. Although I know the words by heart now, I always seem to notice something new on the pages each time. Middle loves to count the sheep and owls and repeats the train sounds as we read.

So for Middle, reading aloud isn't new but to make the day special, I set aside extra time and let him bring me as many books as he wanted to read together. Of course, he picked out every single Thomas book he had and cuddled up next to me on the couch. Even Little sat down to listen from his pack n' play. I love that Middle gets so into reading his books and I really hope it's a habit that stays with him as he gets older.