Three years later and she still loves Eric Carle’s classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar:


February 2008

“Reading” us her version of the book (such a fun coloring book!)

“This is a picture of me sleeping peacefully,” says the toddler upon seeing a photo of herself asleep. I love looking at her when she’s sleeping because she looks so radically different without any emotion on her face.

I love this shot of her, taken at my parents house last week, asleep amongst the comfy pillows next to a stack of books.

Our whole family loves reading before bed. (Truthfully, the parents enjoy it a little bit more than is good for us, as we tend to stay up way too late reading just about every night.)

By far the easiest way to put the toddler to bed is to read her out.

Here are some of the wonderful books we’ve been reading before bed:

• The Fire Cat
• Frog and Toad Series
• Little Bear Series
• Owl Moon
• Ox-Cart Man
• Piggins Series
• Winnie the Pooh and Some Bees Series

I’ve added these books, plus several others, to a new section in our left-hand sidebar on the right titled, “favorite family reads,” and will try to update this regularly as we discover new books to share with you. We so enjoy them all and highly recommend you pop over to your local library to pick them up.

Reading together before bed is, by far, the easiest way to put her to sleep.

Please join us for story time!

Miss Leyba loves reading her books aloud! Not only does she like to sit in our laps for story time, but she frequently reads aloud to herself (and to anyone else who will listen!). She is especially partial to reading in bed, something David and I are quite fond of too.

Since we read to her every day, and often read the same books over and over again at her request, she has several favorites memorized (such as Goodnight Moon, The Hungry Caterpillar, and I’m as Quick as a Cricket); here are two others for your enjoyment.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Video: Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? from Carrie on Vimeo.

Where’s Spot?

Video: Where is Spot? from Carrie on Vimeo.

We could read and discuss books all day.

Oh, yeah, we frequently do.

What books are you enjoying right now?

Dear Miss Leyba,

Today you turn 3 months old or 13 weeks or 1/4 of a year! I wanted to throw you a birthday party since a bunch of friends were coming over anyway, but Daddy put his foot down. He’s so practical. I guess we’ll have to wait until January to really celebrate! (I’m already thinking about party themes! Just you wait.)

You’ve had such a big month. You can do all sorts of new things like roll from your back to your side to your tummy; have raspberry (zerbert) conversations with us (sometimes from across the room!); grasp everything (hair, noses, clothing, toys); and chewing on your fist (or mama’s shoulder or hand) is THE thing to do. You also love to drool. And be read to. And make funny faces together. You get so excited when I sign and sing to you. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is a big hit in our house right now.

Your personality is really starting to come through now that you are trying to communicate with us. You smile frequently and just started to really laugh (especially when I blow on your tummy or give you tons of kisses). You still are often serious, especially when we are out and about; then you quietly watch intently. You show your frustration now, most frequently when you are trying to crawl but can’t quite get it. I hate to say it, but that frustrated whimper of yours is so sweet.

I think you are so fun, engaging, and darling. Next to your dad, you are my very favorite person. I can’t get enough of you. I feel so lucky to be home with you every single day. And I love knowing and feel so thankful for the fact that I won’t be going back to work anytime soon. I am all yours, sweetie. I am truly blessed.

I love you so much.

Love, Mama

Someone already loves books and our daily read aloud time.

Another shot for our reading together series.

She LOVES sleeping in the above position and frequently wiggles her way down until she’s lying this way! She also likes sleeping on her side with her head way back behind her (I’ll have to try to get a picture of that) and in the classic propped up on both hands position:

While she certainly is awake more now than when she first arrived, she still sleeps a good chunk of the day (and night). When she’s awake and over tired, she makes this little, quiet, high pitched sigh signaling “I’m just so tired, but I can’t fall asleep.” It’s so darling and cute that my heart melts every time I hear it. When she makes that sound I know that a couple of minutes walking around the room or suckling at my breast will put her fast asleep.

(Note that I’ve also started adding a few photos here and there to our flickr page.)