Your baby can read!

Ok, so my baby can NOT, in fact, read yet. And even if she could, I’ll be honest, despite her clear early genius, I don’t think her comprehension levels would really be “all that” at 7 months. But that did not stop us from going to the National Book Festival on the mall recently.

The event was actually a bit different from what I pictured. Well, scratch that, I’m not exactly sure I had a clear picture. But whatever picture I had, this wasn’t so much it. But it was still fun. I think I had the concept that this would be like the library conferences my Mom used to go to – there’d be a big area with booths set up for different books / authors / publishers / reading related stuff with some book related giveaways (bookmarks, say) and places to buy books and get signatures. Maybe there was a part more like that, but the parts we saw were more big tents dedicated to different genres – a fiction tent, in which John Grisham was speaking (the place was packed to the gills and overflowing) when we arrived. I’d more put him under “mysteries/thrillers” (the next tent over), but who am I to judge?

Anyway, despite the fact that we’ve established my baby can not read we headed to the children’s and teens section for their next lecture by James Swanson. My mother in law noted later that she really loves having the baby with her as she feels like she can push her way to the front in these situations because clearly the baby needs to be there and we have to have seats because of the baby (who is not old enough for a seat and was in her stroller). I had not heard of James Swanson before, but after hearing him speak I have to say – I sort of want to go buy his book (well, maybe borrow it from the library cause that’s the kind of chick I am!). He wrote a book on Lincoln’s assassination and then developed a young adult version of it, which is what he was speaking about. Now I admit, maybe I just liked him because he shares my daughter (and Lincoln’s) birthday. (Hmm, or maybe I didn’t like him because every time he reference his shared birthday, he totally forgot to mention her! Well, one day he’ll surely realize her historical significance.)

The one unfortunate thing about the day was the weather was not very nice. It was actually OK, but a little chilly and overcast. After about an hour or two, my Mother in law got worried that it was too chilly for the baby and we should go. I didn’t want everyone to leave on our account – especially as she had on a long jumper and a sweater and I had a light blanket over her. But eventually I thought maybe, just maybe, my MIL was pushing so hard for the baby’s need to leave, as she really wanted to leave. Only took me how long to pick up on that one? Way to use our kid!

Dang, why didn’t I think of that?