Serenity’s favorite activity by far is reading. Eric and I have been reading to her since before she was born =) At first I loved it because it gave me something to say to her besides, “I love you baby” and “you’re sooo cute.” =) I still say that a lot but the books give me some more variety. But then she started to pay attention to the books! Early on, Peek-a-Who was a special favorite. We read it so often, and then one day we discovered she’d stop crying just to listen to it. All we had to say was “Peeka…whooo!” and she’d instantly be quiet and look for the book. Another early favorite was Ten in the Bed. I read that like it’s a little song, and I think she likes the rhythm. She’d sit and listen to these books, and Squishy Turtle (which makes fun noises) and Bear Hunt several times in a row. At around seven months she started turning the pages! That was wonderful because we could tell that she found different things interesting, based on how long she paused to look at it! She was really paying attention to all that reading! By about month nine she was starting to get good at walking on her own, so she could go to her books whenever she wanted. She will pull every book off her shelf or out of the basket, and sit and flip through them, even by herself! Sometimes now at eleven months she’ll bring us books to read. And she now asks for some by name! She’ll say “happy” for her Happy Baby Faces book, “Boo Boo” and “bubble” for the book Boo Boo (which is about a gosling named BooBoo that swallows a bubble) She says “turtle” for her diving book, and many others! Enjoy the list of her favorite books! I hope you find some to enjoy yourselves! Top Ten (This used to be top ten, but then I couldn't narrow it that much =)
1.) Peek-a Who? (This was her first favorite! When she cried we could recite it and it would soothe her)
2.) Barnyard Dance ( This is her current favorite. She dances, she claps, she smiles every time! She looks for her Daddy so she can watch him dance!)
3.) Squishy Turtle (We’ve read this so often. It was involved in so many stages of her growth. It was one of the first things she reached for and held on her own, and it was the first book we realized she had memorized because she went and found it when I recited a line from it. )
4.) Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late (This has become our nighttime ritual. Daddy uses funny voices and she always smiles when the pigeon starts to talk)
5.) Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaur (She LOVES the hot and cold page. We could tell she was really paying attention, because even when she was flipping pages like crazy she’d pause and really stare at that page.)
6.) Tumble Bumble
7.) That’s Not My Dragon (First book she turned pages for!)
8.) We’re Going On A Bear Hunt
9.) Diving For Colors in Hawaii (She said turtle! One of her first very clear words. And she loves to sit and flip through this one on her own, the pages are easy to grab)
10.) Boo Boo (She asks for Boo Boo by name, and she says bubble!)
11.) Jamberry (There’s just something about this book that’s fascinating. It doesn’t really make much sense but she would sit and listen to it so many times in a row. I don’t know if it’s the sound of it or the pictures, but she likes it!)
12.) Who Loves You Baby? (She likes to look at and lick the mirrors)
13.) Pajama Time
14.) Jungle Rumble (She loves to push the sound button all by herself! And she’ll roar!)
15.) Ten in the Bed
16.) Can You Cuddle Like A Koala (She smiles when you hold on tight! And she learned the word splash from this =)
17.) Mirror Me
18.) Olivia’s Opposites (She loved up! and down! And even though she likes this book a lot, the quiet and loud page made her cry twice… But it didn’t stop her from flipping the book back to the beginning to read it again!)
19.) Biscuit and the Bunny (woof woof… hop hop. Yes, Serenity thinks bunnies say hop hop =)
20.) But Not The Hippopotamus
21.) Gossie (Serenity thinks Gossie is a duck…she quacks a lot for this book)
22.) Red Hat, Green Hat (HAT!)
