Last Glimpses of Summer

Summer has now officially ended, but the munchkins are holding on to all they can of it. They stay busy outside for hours every chance they get. Netty finds straggling berries in my parents' strawberry plants almost every day, and she helps herself and Atticus to them. Any berry ranging from bright red to barely-turning-orange green, is snatched up in little fingers and ends up as a stain on kiddy lips. The porch and patio are filled with bright chalk scribbles. Plastic pails of pebbles line the shed, and the little plastic shovels litter the lawn. And the metal fire engine is in a new spot in the backyard every day. All signs that even though the calendar says that summer is over, the kids are not quite ready to say goodbye to their summer games.

Our Must-Have Book List for Parents of Toddlers

Both of my children love reading stories. Reading has become a nightly ritual, usually with HoneyGram and Papa. Like all toddlers, they want to read the same books over and over. Here are some of the books that my tots can't get enough of and that I don't dread reading over and over:

Whose Nose and Toes? by John Butler

This used to be about the only book the kids wanted to read. It has adorable illustrations of baby animals, and it only shows their nose and toes so you have to guess what animal it is. Then when you turn the page, it shows the whole animal. At the end, it has a page of all the animals on it, and the kids love to point when we tell them to find certain ones. They also make all the sounds.

Little People Let's Go to the Farm by Fisher Price

This book is fun for the kids because every page has several flaps to lift. It teaches baby animals names, animal sounds, colors, shapes, and counting. Both of the kids will sit quietly with this book for several minutes. It's a great one for church.

The Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Netty is in a huge Berenstain Bear phase, and I love it. These were always my favorite books when I was growing up, and it's fun to read them with her. She picks one that is her favorite for a few days, and we read it over and over. Luckily, in a few days (when I've had about all I can take of Messy Room or Slumber Party), I know she'll be ready for a different one.

The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

Or really most Dr. Seuss books. This particular book was the first book that I could read (or perhaps I just had it memorized). Atticus loves it more than any other. The great thing about Dr. Seuss is that there aren't may words on a page, so you can get through them quickly. We also sometimes do funny voices or read them really fast (the faster the better because the kids think it's funny). My personal favorite is Fox in Socks, which was Netty's favorite a while back, because the tongue twisters are fun once you get the hang of them. The best Fox in Socks reader is my brother Justin. Voices and speed--it's incredible.

Bonus: Atticus "reading" The Foot Book. He says, "Feet, feet, feet."

Early Mornings

Problem: Netty is a morning person. I am not. I don't know that Atticus necessarily is either.

Netty's Solution: Escape from her room, jump in bed with Atticus, and wake him up to play.

My Solution: Send them up to HoneyGram, who is also a morning person.

Washing hands

Putting on HoneyGram's makeup

 Who says boys can't wear makeup too?

Making HoneyGram's bed

Netty loves things to be organized in rows, so that is how she put HoneyGram's throw pillows on the bed. Notice the one that she decided needed to go on Papa's side.

Puddle Jumping

I grew up in Washington. Fear of the rain is not tolerated there. I think I've probably used an umbrella three times in my life (that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but hardly). And every time there is a great downpour (Utah has some pretty good ones from time to time), I can't help but run in it. Now Netty has suddenly discovered puddle jumping.

A couple of weeks ago we had one such downpour, and the gutter at the end of the driveway looked like a river. Netty couldn't wait to get out there in it. She was adamant that she didn't want to get her clothes wet, so we put her swim suit on, and of course her red boots. Anything that Netty does Atticus has to do also, and it wasn't long until we were all out there.