Busy, Busy July

Yay for July! July is such a great month, the month that really makes me think "summer".  There's always plenty going on, right from the start with Fourth of July celebrations. Add in a sprinkling of trips to the beach, cookouts, bonfires, tending to the garden, afternoons at the playground or in the pool, and it just seems to speed by.  We also have the added fun of two pretty big July birthdays in our family.  Both my actual first born and practice first born (aka little sister), are July babies, so we really get to pack in some celebrating this month! Clearly there are lots of places where a July book theme could take me, but to me no summer is complete with some time at the beach.

Here are a few of the beach and ocean themed books we will be reading this month:

Beachy Book #shelfie

"Theo at the Beach" by Jaclyn Crupi:

Theo is an adorable little puppy who has lost his sense of smell.  He decides to take a trip to the beach, hoping that some of the seaside scents will awaken his sense of smell again!  As readers follow Theo on his adventure at the beach, they will find that the book includes a few rub and sniff scented illustrations. We have two Theo books in our library, and E is currently loving them! He loves sniffing each page to see if he can find a scent, and its pretty adorable to watch! The stories are cute, however I do wish a few more scent pages were included.  It is a fun book to read when talking about the senses, especially soon after a trip to the beach, when your child has a fresh memory of what sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings they had while at the beach!  If you love Theo, he also has a trip to the park book, as well as a trip to the grocery store!

Sadly, this is only a smelling book, no taste samples included

"Penguin on Vacation" by Salina Yoon:

Salina Yoon's Penguin books are some of our favorites, and following Penguin on all of his adventures is fun! This time, Penguin decides that he needs a break from the cold and snow of his home (who can blame him?), and sets off on a little vacation.  He hits the beach and makes a new friend who shows him how much fun the beach can be.  When Penguin is ready to leave, he is sad that his friend can't join him. But Penguin soon learns he isn't the only one who needs a vacation.

Don't we all, Penguin. Don't we all...

"Duck & Goose Go to the Beach" by Tad Hills

Yet another adorable Duck and Goose tale (tail?).  Duck and Goose are happy in their meadow, until one day when Duck decides they should go on an adventure, see something different.  Goose needs a bit of convincing, but reluctantly follows his friend.  Lots of exciting new sights await them, the biggest being the ocean.  Suddenly, Duck isn't feeling quite as adventurous, although Goose is quite excited!  Although they both end up enjoying part of their adventures, they agree that home in the meadow is where they are happiest.

Meeting the locals is always...interesting...

"Under the Sea" by Redd Byrd:

This simple, interactive book is fun for toddlers.  It features three spinning pieces with different sea creatures.  Each page has a few different questions about the animals and your little one can answer the question by turning the piece to show the correct creature under the question.  The cover of the book clearly says 2+, and I'd agree.  E just turned 2 at the beginning of the month, and we haven't really used the book in it's intended way yet.  There isn't really a story outside of the questions, but this book really is great for practice with identifying traits and asking questions.  The illustrations are bright and colorful, and easily lend themselves to more questions you can make up on your own. 

2 out of 3, not too bad...

Whatever fun summer experiences you and your children have this summer, I hope you are able to find a fun book or two that relates.  The best part of reading these beachy stories was asking E if he remembered our recent beach trip and seeing him smile and nod yes.  I can't  wait until he is smiling and talking about it too!

April and Easter Book Shelf

Somehow this first week of April has flown right by.  It was a yucky, rainy week and I'm not feeling in the most spring-y mood, so I've been dragging my feet a bit when it comes to thinking about fun spring things for my book highlight. We also started out the month with a little tummy bug for E, who thankfully recovered quickly, and just in time to enjoy some extra time with his Daddy home on vacation! With those little distractions I am just getting the shelf changed over to highlight some of our Easter books now.  Hopefully I can get my act together and do a better highlight into our next set of books and activities.

E's Easter #shelfie

What we are reading this month:

"The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams:


We have three different versions of this classic!  I truly love this timeless story of a special and loved little bunny and his journey to becoming "real".  It makes me a tiny but emotional to remember the special things that were real to me throughout childhood.  It also causes me to pause and think about the beloved friends that are "real" to my little ones.  

Our three copies of "The Veleveteen Rabbit" include the original, a board book, and an abridged picture book. 

Fun to compare:  The scene where the Velveteen Rabbit becomes Real

"Duck and Goose: Here Comes the Easter Bunny" by Tad Hills:

Another adventure with Duck and Goose that is silly fun for toddlers.  Duck and Goose search for a place to hide in order to catch a glimpse of the Easter Bunny.  They check out lots of silly places, but end up falling asleep before they see the  mysterious bunny!

What came first--the duck, the goose, or the egg?

"Disney Bunnies: All Ears" by Calliope Glass

A quick, fun, interactive toddler read.  With attached flexible, furry ears, to help Thumper express how he is feeling, this book is a cute way to talk about some basic emotions.  Of course, E loves any book with an interactive component.

Hello there, Fuzzy Ears

"Where are Baby's Easter Eggs?" by Karen Katz

This bright and cheery book is perfect for spring and would be so cute in a little one's Easter basket.  It is part of the popular series of Baby's lift the flap while searching adventures.  This time we get to help Baby look for Easter eggs, but find some fun spring surprises along the way!

Kinda jealous that Baby found a garden with gingham and polka dotted flowers...

 
My goal this week is to do some quick, cute Easter crafts or activities and get a blog up, so stay tuned for that!  And I am excited to share our Easter basket books once that silly bunny delivers them! Cya then!

February Book Picks

Ah, February, the month of all things sweet. Lots of hugs and kisses, love, friendship, and sweet treats (extra for me since it's my birthday month)! This month I highlighted a few books that fit these themes for our monthly book shelf. Plus I've included a super quick and easy fun Valentine's Day craft. It's "sleep deprived mom of 2 under 2" tested and approved, so you know it will be low effort but still cute! Oh man, I could say a lot about that sleep deprived thing right now...the 4 month sleep regression is alive and well in this house, let me tell you! Good thing Miss C is super cute and cuddly...although I do appreciate her cute-and-cuddliness way more at times that don't fall between the hours of 11pm and 5 am. Anyhow, enough of my complaining, let's get down to business!

#shelfie

Here's what we are reading this month:

"Love is a Truck" and "Love is a Tutu" by Amy Novesky:

I first spotted these two books a few months ago, back before Christmas.  I was tempted, but I resisted the urge to buy them around the holidays, knowing they would make the perfect gifts for E and C to "give" each other. Not that either of them is even remotely aware of getting or giving gifts, but it's a great excuse to buy a couple cute books never to early to foster a little sibling love right?

"Love is a Truck" and "Love is a Tutu" show the many faces that love can take on. From a toddler's loving obsession with a favorite toy, pastime, or category, all the way to the unique love with have with a special person. These books just hit home so easily when you are living in toddler land. I mean, the little boy who loves all things trucks is just so spot on my son. He is always pushing a truck, riding a truck, collecting his truck puzzle pieces, reading truck books, zooming and vrooming.  I love how these books made me think about all the little "loves" that our kiddos take on as they grow, and how silly they can be sometimes. Seriously, over the past two weeks, E's favorite "toy" has been a handful of pencils-he certainly would be saying "Love is a pencil" right now, if he could form sentences, that is! Plus, the bright, bold, tricolor illustrations are totally awesome as well, and make these books easy to spot on the shelf!

You make my heart go Vroom Vroom!

You love me?! I love you tutu!

"Three Little Words" by Clemency Pearce:

This adorably illustrated picture book explores three special little words, and all the instances where hearing them makes you feel so much better! Friendly little forest animals experience some common negative experiences that preschoolers may also go through...losing a race, scary dreams, meeting new friends...and find that hearing "I love you!" from a family member can make those yucky feelings disappear!  The final pages turn it around and give little ones a chance to think about how they can make someone else's yucky feelings disappear...I'll give you a hint-it's by saying "four little words". Any book that gives toddlers and preschoolers the opportunity to explore their feelings and help open up discussion about them is certainly a great resource, and this book could definitely do that!

A Perfect Cuddle Bedtime Story

"Duck and Goose: Goose Needs a Hug" by Tad Hills:

Well, with my over tired Mommy brain, I pulled out the "wrong" Duck and Goose book...I was totally thinking of "Duck and Goose: How Are You Feeling?" for Valentine's Day, but this one works too!  I actually forgot about a bunch of our love themed books while I was planning out which books to feature this month, oops!  Anyways, we love all the "Duck and Goose" books! Duck, Goose, and their friends are lovable in the same way my toddler is lately-adorable, silly, a little bossy at times, and occasionally misunderstood!  In this story, Goose is feeling a little sad.  His friends want to cheer him up, and try lots of different things,  Eventually they find out just what Goose needs, simply by listening to what he has to say! A perfect lesson for littles (and a reminder for moms and dads too), that sometimes the best way to help someone out is by hearing what they have to say! This book works pretty well in combination with "Three Little Words" to get kiddos talking about their own feelings, and feelings that others have too!

A glass of wine?

**Bonus** Busy Mommy Craft-Conversation Heart inspired garland:

So I love Pinterest as much as the next girl. And I've actually made my share of Pinterest projects that have turned out pretty good (and a few fails too). However, sometimes I want to just do a craft that can be completed in less than one nap time (the dishes aren't going to do themselves, and all that), with materials that I already have laying around.

E's shelf garland relocated to a toddler safe zone.
He doesn't always approve of my Mom crafts, obviously.

 Enter the Busy Mommy Craft. As easy as one, two, three (four):

1.  Using construction paper or scrapbook paper, cut out some simple heart shapes.
2. Write love themed sayings on each heart.  You could choose your favorite traditional Conversation Heart sayings, or make up your own! You could even have your little ones help by making up their own creative phrases. If you need some inspiration, check out this Smithsonian article that details the history of this favorite candy, and is sprinkled with favorite sayings both old and new.
3. If you have a hole punch, use that to create holes on each side of your heart, about 1/3 of the way down from the top. 
4. Using a length of wide ribbon or tulle, thread through the two holes in each heart. You can adjust the spacing of the hearts after they are all strung on, and to fit how you like them in the space of your choosing.