Letters to Mrs. and Santa Claus and other works

My kids know about Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy. Weird, this knowledge hasn't relieved us of the obligation to play along. So we do: waking up in the middle of the night to put trinkets under pillows and filling cheesy basket with plastic grass that gets all over the house and the dogs try to eat. Ah well, they're only young for such a short time.

They also have this burning desire to tell others about their knowledge (my apologies again to neighbor G and daughter S!). They've been told that they aren't to tell. Maddie, being very clever, figured out a way to tell without really telling. Maddie asks the leading question, "Do you believe in Santa." And then it deteriorates from there.

Maya dictated this note to Makenna and they left it on our pillow last night:

Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus are the best parents I ever had. I love them so much. I love them.

Surely a little flattery this close to Christmas never hurt.

Maddie wrote this phonetic poem. See if you can decipher it. I'm quite skilled at figuring out her "spelling" and can read it without skipping a beat which I try so hard to do because I want to encourage this as much as possible. This is such hard work for her that I fear if I falter while reading it she'll become discouraged. Occasionally, if the mood is right, I'll pick one "rule" that we've been working on to remind her of (for example, "Don't forget the "e" on here to make it look right."). This is such a huge deal that she's even attempting and hearing the sounds in these words.

So Christmas is coming sunoo.
I am so itgsitidid.
And so that is so.
Ho Ho.
Christmas is coming sunoo and a Christmas prde.
I am so itgsiidid that Christmas is hrera.