OY! KRISTEN

Today I'm sharing a few children's books we've had on rotation lately! I absolutely love reading. You wouldn't know it in my current stage of life, because I feel like I don't have enough time for reading, even though I know it's on me to make more time for it. I've been doing a little better lately - I just finished reading Pride & Prejudice again and man, there's almost nothing better than that story. But I digress.

My mom told me when I was a little girl that she loved reading Nancy Drew books growing up. That really inspired me and I started reading the series, too, and that's what truly made me fall in love with reading. Such classic stories! I know my boys aren't old enough yet for those kinds of books but I truly believe that a love for stories and reading starts at this stage with focus from the parents - taking time to read to them every single night is one of our favorite family routines. I hope that my kids love reading as much as I do - it's helped me form my words and ability to communicate and understand so much of the world. It's helped me fall in love with writing! I hope that they find that same love for literature, as well. Everett is almost 4 years old and Daxton is almost 17 months old, and these are the books we've been reading lately with both of them.

1. Polar Bear Polar Bear, What do You Hear? - sound book
Daxton loves this book! He cracks me up the way he tries to make the sounds of the animals (he basically makes the same sound over and over and it's so funny). He's at the perfect age for all the Eric Carl books and this one is nice because it's a little larger than this one and this one (which are also so great!), and it also has the fun sound buttons for each animal! Also, this is a great price point for a gift!

2. Little Blue Truck's Springtime
Gosh, we are such fans of this Little Blue Truck Series (the original and Christmas version are so great!), and I was amped when I saw this one in stores. It's actually much less expensive to purchase here. I put this in Daxton's Easter basket this year and I have to say, the illustrations are ah-mazing. Like, so so beautiful. This book makes me happy to read, and Dax loves all the lift-flap options on each page. Less words, more colors, which is really perfect for his stage. Although Everett has been swiping this out of Dax's room and asking me to read it to him the past few nights... so it really makes all of us happy over here!

3. Winne the Pooh: Original Edition
We started reading Everett this series of "chapter books" a few months ago as part of his bedtime routine and he absolutely loves it! He feels so grown up, getting to read a big book, and he helps me fold over the pages when we stop for the night (I know - some of you might think that's a terrible habit, but I've been doing it basically my entire life and old habits die hard. And also, it's kind of fun teaching my son how to read books the way I did when I was young...) These sweet stories about the whole Hundred Acre wood gang are so classic and darling and funny, they are seriously still relevant to today! Except for the one part when Christopher Robin carries around a gun and shoots a balloon out of the sky. That probably wouldn't fly in this day and age of children's literature... but still! Such sweet stories. We are actually re-reading the first book again because Everett loves it so much. We still need to rent the movie, now that we've read the books. This is another set that makes such a beautiful gift - even a baby shower gift! These books are really pretty in person and you almost want to display them.

4. Little Excavator
Oh, boy books! We have exhausted our copies of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Mighty, Mighty Construction Site, so this book came along with a fresh take on the construction process and Everett loves it! I don't know what it is about boys and big trucks, but it is such a thing.

5. In New York
I've passed on my love for NYC to my sons, and Everett absolutely loves everything about that city! We have a few books about New York, and this one is his absolute favorite. It's not too detailed, but the illustrations are beautiful and we end up stopping a lot because he has so many questions. I should probably do a better job of having books about our own home town city (someone leave me a comment if you have any Atlanta-specific favorite kids books!), but this one is such a crowd pleaser and most nights he asks to read at least a page or two of this beloved read. And of course, this leads to him asking all the time when we are "going back to New York to stay in a hotel".

6. Dragons Love Tacos
Gosh, is there anyone who doesn't love this book? We usually tell this one in a Boston accent (I have no idea why??) and even though we got it years ago, it's seemed to resurface in popularity over the past few weeks in our house and we've been reading it a lot again. It's seriously so funny and the expressions on the characters faces are just priceless. Great for boys or girls! And taco lovers.

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One of my favorite things in the world is reading books with Everett before we put him to bed at night. He gets so snuggly and focused on the story - it's just the sweetest. I know that every parent must feel like this, but still, the whole parenthood thing somehow feels like a one-of-a-kind wonder when it happens to you. Most people read books with their kids at night, right? But it still feels like our own little ritual and I am just so grateful to have this meaningful experience with him, especially since my days as a mom of just 1 are numbered. I'm really trying to soak up our time together, just the two of us. Sharing my love for books with Everett has been a really special process, because I was a child who absolutely loved to read. It's been amazing to see how his appreciation for reading has grown as he's gotten older and his understanding for stories has expanded. Lately when we're reading, he points to the characters and laughs at the funny parts and imitates the sounds of the animals/cars/trains in the story. He's just the best.

I wanted to share a few of our favorite reads lately. I am always on the hunt for more story books, especially good ones that actually make me laugh, too. Because let's be honest, some kid's books are LAME. The following aren't. :)

1. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
This is such a great book for little boys. It goes through the process of each tractor on a job site, what they do and how they work, and then how they get ready for bed in the evening. It's so cute. Everett got this as a gift from his girl "friend" Finley and he has really gotten into it in the past few weeks. He even says, "goodnight, tractor!", "goodnight, dump truck!," and "goodnight, crane!" as each one goes to sleep in the story. It's sort of long though, so it took him a few months to actually finish the book. He would usually get bored halfway through, but not anymore!

2. Knuffle Bunny
This book legitimately makes me laugh out loud. Something about the illustrations of how the parents are depicted in the book is just so spot-on. This is a great one, especially for kids who have a special animal, doll or blanket that they carry around. This story has helped us teach Everett why it's important to take care of our "babies" (that's what he calls his stuffed animals) so that we don't lose them in public places. This was also a gift from his friend Evie - his friends really know how to pick cool books!

3. Dragons Love Tacos
I can't help it - every time I read this book to Everett, it just comes out in a Boston accent. And I do a terrible Boston accent, but still! Something about the main character of the story is just so Massachusetts to me. Bahahah so I end up reading this book and laughing through most of it because I'm a dweeb with a terrible accent and then Everett laughs at me and then we get hungry for tacos. Aside from all of that, the book itself is adorable.

4. Paddington at the Rainbow's End
Another gift! We just brought this one back for him from across the pond from his London pals Ella & Milo, and he's already asked for it every single night since then. He absolutely loves how Paddy walks through the village in his rain boots and coat, finding items that are different colors of the rainbow. It's such a sweet story, and he has a Paddington Bear that he clutches the whole time we read this one. So so good.

5. Peep!
This is an interesting book, because almost the only words used in the entire story are "peep!" It's about a baby duck growing up and how he goes from saying "peep!" to "quack!" But the thing about this book, is that Everett giggles so hard every time I say "peep!", which is obviously a lot in this one. It's not even a funny story, but by the end we are both practically on the floor from laughing and such silliness. It's really wonderful. But then we usually have to read another book to calm down, so it's not a closer, if you know what I mean.

There you have it! Just a few of our favorites lately. Like I mentioned before, I am always on the hunt for great books - any you can recommend? Leave in the comments below please, I know other parents out there would love to know, too!