thank you notes

eva writes thank you notes for fun all the time lately. this started (before i got sick) when she'd ask what i was typing as i wrote an email. i'd explain that i was writing to tell our friends thank you for the food, or thank you for visiting, etc. now it's a full-fledged obsession.

there are two styles: the first is on the computer. she'll either tell me what to type and then type her own name, or she'll insist on typing it all herself, and asks me to spell the words she can't spell (which is, obviously, pretty much all of them beyond "hi", "love", and "eva", i'd guess. though she likes to figure out the first letter herself and type that, like "g j" for grandma janet).

in the second style, she "writes" notes on paper with a marker or pen while narrating aloud what she is writing. i rarely catch those verbatim, but in the first example below to auntie juile, i happened to have my computer open so i caught the whole thing. her writing consists of zig-zag scribbles, but they move from left to right across the page in tidy little rows, and there are even spaces between "words". she doesn't really draw representative pictures, but man, is she itching to write!

in the photo: i gave her the magazine subscription cards to put in the recycling for me, and said she could play with them first if she wanted. she worked diligently, then returned clutching all six cards, with "words" written across the blank lines (where your address info would go). she listed: this one is for jenny's baby luce, this one is for my cousin katherine, this one is for sarah fiona's mama, ... and she kept saying "i wrote notes for all the people who i love." she noted, "for the people who live too far away, we can post it to them." post. you know, at the post office. her new favorite place.

writing and emailing or posting thank-you notes. who knew it would be her favorite pasttime? just goes to show, modeling works!

a few examples from the past two weeks:

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prompted by seeing the envelope that julie's valentines gifts came in, she began to write on it. as she "wrote", she narrated the following (exactly her words, she didn't know i was listening and typing):

auntie julie,
i'm so happy for you to give me presents for valentines day. thank you, auntie julie. i miss you. i hope you were here to play with me. auntie julie, to eva. i miss you soooo much. dear auntie julie, auntie julie...

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wendy and ella and dash,

thank you for welcoming me. thank you for giving me the balloons. i had fun playing with you. i drew a picture of dash.

love,
eva

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(typed herself:)

tttttthank you
love eva

wvaaaaaaaaaaabsdemvgfvbbvhrea wx ertydbgmc/
("thank you for the food it was delicious.")

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auntie lora and grandma,

thanks for showing us the pictures. i saw the light and the
refrigerator. thank you.

happy valentine's day. i love you.
from eva

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piper,

thank you for the play dough. i'm playing with it. i'm making a
strawberry out of it. that was nice of you to give us play dough.

happy valentine's day!
eav

(name typed herself. before she learned about "backspace".)

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and off topic, a bonus evaism:

she was just pretending to "read" the back of her probiotic yogurt drink package, and i dont' know what it said, but she kept saying over and over (trailing her finger across like she was pointing out each word), "it says 'necessities of life and of the world.'"

what?

where the heck did she come up with that? sometimes when i can't think how she knows something, i realize it's from one of her books (like harry the dirty dog goes down a "coal chute", or the "plaster cast" comment she made about something wrapped around her calf which came from when curious george breaks his leg.)

all i can think of is that the TV has been on a lot lately where it is otherwise off during her waking hours. maybe it's a commercial or something? she is a sponge and picks up every little thing.

oh, after she was done saying "necessities of life and of the world", she announced, "hey guys, did you know that 'oh holy gosh' starts with 'o'?" thanks eva, yes i did know that. oh holy gosh, indeed. crazy kid.

update: below is a portion of the letter she wrote to gram the next day.