Lilli's Library List

These past few posts have been really lazy, I'll admit.  We're still recovering from the reverse potty training that kept us up for almost two weeks.  We're slowly making our way back to daytime progress and leaving the night training for another time.  The sleep deficit is still lingering in our lives and so we're caught in a slow climb back to normality.

No matter how tired we become, those twenty plus books get very old after about the 100th read.  So a trip to the library was in order.  Thankfully, Dave came with us and so the usual chaotic trip was reasonably quiet.  Though, I'm pretty sure Lilli froze one of the Library's computer games. So here are a few of our favorites from our last trip:

• Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas
• Curious George and the Pizza by Margret Rey and Alan J. Shalleck
• How do dinosaurs eat their food? by Jane Yolen
• I don't want a cool cat! by Emma Dodd
• Jazzamatazz! by Stephanie Calmenson
• Olivia and the missing toy by Ian Falconer
• The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog! by Mo Willems
• A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman
• What's the magic word? by Kelly DiPucchio
• Roly Poly Pangolin by Anna Dewdney
• The Yawn Heard 'Round the World by Scott Thomas

I just noticed how many of these books have either question or exclamation marks.  We must have been feeling excited yet confused.

"Song of the Entry" 

Butterfly Boucher by Keeing Warm

Lilli's Library List

I braved this trip to the library alone.  Our books were seriously overdue and it had to be done with or with out a second pair of hands/eyes.  The last trip we got some great books and a couple amazing DVD's.  Scholastic's Weston Woods collection is a cartoon version of her favorite stories.  Complete with  a read along option, she couldn't get enough.  So we horded them for way longer than our allotted time and probably racked up some fees.  I think it was worth it.

This trip we left with 17 books and three DVD's.  The DVD's are two Scholastics and one Sesame Street video she pulled off of the shelf when I wasn't looking.  We tend to go with some of our favorite authors, but we're venturing out into new territories.  Recently, Lilli has started to enjoy the beginner reader books like the Biscuit series by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. Of our 17 choices so far, we found some great books.  Here are a few:

• Naked Mole Gets Dressed by Mo Willems 
• The Napping House by Audrey Wood
• How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? by Jane Yolen
• Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London
• Pretzel by Margaret and H. A. Rey
• Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep by Jane Yolen
• Curious George Rides a Bike by  H. A. Rey
• Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
• If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff
• Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! by Mo Willems 

"Song of the Entry" 

Hideaway by Karen O and the Kids

Lilli's Library List

Another successful trip to the library! It's a two man job these days.  The two of us hunts for books with Lilli as long as her attention span holds.  Then once she is ready to give up the search, one of us has the duty of keeping her at a respectful volume in the play area until it's time to leave.  Meanwhile, the other continues the search for the best books. We usually try to get one to three night time books to help her unwind at the end of the day.  The quiet and relaxing tone usually helps her get into the mindset and now she can recognize words that she associates with sleep.  In most cases, we never know how good some of these books will be until we sit down to read them.  Sometimes we get a winner, other times we're stuck with one that makes little to no sense.  Here are a few from this week's list:

• Curious George Takes a Job by H. A. Rey
• Froggy goes to Bed by Jonathan London
• Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London
• Gerald McBoing Boing by Dr. Seuss
• A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein
• I Love My New Toy! by Mo Williems
• Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber
• Tick Tock by David Williams (Lilli's pick) 
• When the Moon Fell Down by Linda Smith
• No Roses for Harry by Gene Zion

"Song of the Entry"
Dream Song by Alberto Arcangeli

Reading is cool

Since becoming a mom, sometimes I worry about whether I'll be able to reconnect with the "real" world. A place where there are no dirty diapers, you don't have to clean up everyone else's mess after lunch, and you have a full conversation about the news and what's going on in the world without someone calling your name over and over until your head explodes.  To be honest, I have probably read or watched the news less than once a week since I left my full-time job. Sadly, I don't really know what has been happening in the "real world" for quite some time.

We don't watch much television anymore, when I get the chance I'd prefer my viewing time to be more entertaining than informational.  When I get a few minutes to catch up on things online, it's usually on facebook or reading up on parent related issues.  I'll admit that I do read celebrity gossip, it's one of my guilty pleasures. I have read three non-baby books since Lilli was born, all three were during her nursing months when I had 20-30 minutes of quiet time a few times a day.  Luckily, I had them on my iPhone, for those long and restless nights in the dark.  Now, I read about 10-20 books a day.  Not one of them is longer than 20 pages.  All of them have more colorful pictures than words.

On the other hand, I have noticed when reading aloud, I am more confident and stumble far less than I always have in the past.  I can imagine more about a story, the character's, their voices and personalities. Maybe I've become more child-like from reading so many children's books.  It's almost like my imagination was turned back on.  My presentation skills have improved too, but in a more creative way than in a professional one. I'm pretty confident my public speaking skills have improved dramatically.

In an effort to continue my life long commitment to knowledge and education, this most recent trip to the library, I picked up a book called "Motherhood is the New MBA" by Shari Storm.  I have only read about 2 paragraphs comparison to the 15 full books I've already read of Lilli's library picks. Only two weeks until I need to renew it and I only get two renewals.  I hope it's enough time to at least get half way through.  I hope that I'm able to take something away from the motherhood experience that will make me a better professional in the future.  Even if I am lacking insight from current events from a three year span of history, maybe I'll still be able catch up and say I gained more knowledge than I lost.

"Song of the Entry"
Generator ^ First Floor by Freelance Whales

Lilli's Library List

Such a huge part our our day is devoted to reading.  We spend hours just looking through board books and naming every single object on every single page or her 30-45 minute story time before each rest (nap and bedtime). Lilli has an insatiable appetite for reading books.  "Lilli's Library List" will be a few of her favorite books from our most recent trip to the library. It's a great way to keep track of her favorites and her reading progress. So here we go:

• The Boy Who Thought He was a Teddy Bear by Jeanne Willis and Susan Varley
• Sweet Dreams Lullaby by Betsy Snyder
• What Will Fat Cat Sit On? by Jan Thomas
• Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
• Oswald by Dan Yaccarino
• If You're Happy and You Know It! (a sing-along) by Jane Cabrera
• Yes, Please! No Thank You! by Valerie Wheeler
• Round Is a Mooncake by Roseanne Thong
• Scrambled Eggs Super! by Dr. Seuss
• If I Ran the Circus by Dr. Seuss
• The Sneeches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

If you think of some other suggestions, all three of us would be very grateful. 

"Song of the Entry"

Keeping Warm by Butterfly Boucher