junie and jakie

there are two new family members who will be making an appearance, occasionally, here. well, not literally appearing. because, you see, they are fictional. last year we stumbled upon the book, rattletrap car, at the library. and i think i'm correct in saying that this is probably kai's favorite book. he now owns a copy. although he has not been reading this book much for months, the two main characters, junie and jakie, are in his thoughts. often.

out of this book, a ritual was born. before falling asleep, he asks andy or me to tell him a junie and jakie story. when this bedtime ritual started kai would ask: "tell me a junie and jakie story." then andy or i would create in our foggy, over-tired, parent brain a brief story. trying not to fall asleep ourselves. soon, kai started to add on to his request and ask something like: "tell me a story when junie and jakie ride a train." so we would tell a story with this theme.

now, kai asks something along this magnitude: "tell me a story when junie and jakie ride on train #8888 to grandpa's house. they get off and see a lion, and jakie's leg gets bitten. and the lion gets picked up by a backhoe." ohh, okay. well you pretty much just told this (very interesting) story. but, we tell the story back to him, adding on some (interesting) stuff.

it's so adorable because he tells us to tell a story after he has created the story himself. of course, without realizing he has already made up a story.

the other day i asked how old junie and jakie are. he said 4. so they're twins i asked?? no, he replied. interesting since they are brother and sister.

okay. so what i'm telling you is that junie and jakie will be here occasionally. whether just mentioning them, or re-telling a story that has been told in this household.