I didn’t intend to share children’s books two weeks in a row, but this post is too cute not to share.

One of my favorite parts of the day is listening to (sometimes paparazzi-stalking through the monitor) Hubby reading bedtime stories to Munchkin.  Our unofficial routine is for Hubby to handle bath and story time before I take over for the end of Munchkin’s bedtime routine.  I love that they get that one-on-one time at the end of the day.  (Munchkin much prefers Daddy for bath and story time; he’d play for hours if he could, but if I’m ever in charge, he just wants to rush through and get to bed.  Funny kid!)

Sometimes on the weekends, we’ll do family bath or story time.  This past weekend, we had Mémé and Far Far up for dinner.  We were a little later starting bedtime, so we decided to skip bath and have an abbreviated story time.  Usually, Hubby will read practically all of Munchkin’s books, but that night we opted for a “top four.”  These are the books Hubby chose.  😉

1. Llama Llama Hoppity-Hop

This book was gifted to us when Munchkin was first born.  It was a quick favorite and another one that was quickly committed to memory.  I would often go through the motions of the entire book, but even before Munchkin could clap his hands together, he would get excited about the last page.

Hubby’s Favorite Part:  When we read “Big hug now,” Munchkin gets a huge smile on his face and runs over for a hug.  It’s adorable!

2.  Barnyard Dance

Another Boynton favorite, this was actually part of Munchkin’s first Valentine’s Day gift.  We already had a couple of Boynton’s books and Munchkin seemed to enjoy books about animals, so this seemed to be a good pick.  He often claps and stamps at the beginning, but for some reason, he started adding his own motion to the end.

Hubby’s Favorite Part:  When we read “we’ll be back,” Munchkin waves and says, “Bye Bye.”  This was the first time I had seen him do this (I think it had been awhile since I’d read that book to him), and my heart melted a little.

3.  On the Night You Were Born

When my sister was pregnant with my niece, the teachers at the school where she taught threw her a book shower.  The media specialist did a reading of this book.  I hadn’t heard it before, but I instantly loved it.  I knew I wanted to give it to Munchkin for his first birthday since we didn’t have it, yet.  It quickly became one of Hubby’s favorites.  (Hubby liked it so much that we picked out another Nancy Tillman book for part of Munchkin’s Christmas gift).  This one is now on the nightly wind-down rotation (along with number four)!

Hubby’s Favorite Part: it’s such a sweet way to tell Munchkin how special he is.

4.  Who Loves Colton

Ah, Pinterest!  You get me every time with your great ideas and homemade gifts.  I first saw pins for personalized board books before Munchkin was even born.  For his first Christmas, when he was 3 months old, we knew he didn’t need a lot of gifts.  We decided this would be a perfect gift, and we decided to write a story about all of his family members.  We came up with a rhyming verse, and picked out pictures of our family.  It is definitely well loved, but Pint Size Productions did a great job with a quality product.

Hubby’s Favorite Part: The whole thing!  This is always the last book Hubby reads to Munchkin.

Happy Reading!