Thursday, July 20, 2006
Story Time!
One thing Aubrey is definitely NOT lacking is toys... she has blocks (in several different forms), a spider that sings the alphabet, as well as a caterpillar that plays Bach, Beethoven, AND Vivaldi. I'd be willing to bet that I can hum the tune that comes out of any of her toys, from the circus-like music that comes out of her jump-r-oo to the banjo riff that seems to go off anytime someone even steps close to her Leap Frog table. It can be a little overwhelming to hear the constant barrage of noise and sometimes I wonder if I'm setting her up for a serious ADD problem.... or more likely, I'm just getting old and from this point forwatd I'll want to turn the volume on everything down.Despite the hoopla that has long since taken over our living room, Aubrey has developed a strong attachment to her own bedroom. Oh, she has a few bins full of toys in there too, but she's been bypassing them all to focus on her bookshelves. At first I couldn't believe it... a child more interested in books than bells and whistles?? But honestly, it is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. Every visit to her bedroom follows the same routine.
Aubrey stands up at her crib, then walks (by herself) over to the bookshelves. Then starting with the smallest books, she'll fling each one off the shelf into a pile behind her. She will stop at certain books... and it is ALWAYS the same books. Let's see... Goodnight Moon, My First Word Book, Pajama Time, the former pop-up Duck Wants to Swim and Who Do You Love? When she comes across one of the above titles, she'll hold it out to me, give a little grunt that I'm sure will turn into, "Mommy, will you please read this to me?" any day now and crawl over to my lap. Then I read the story while Aubrey turns the pages. The "story" can last anywhere from .5-20 seconds depending on her mood. Then she'll choose another of her five favorites and the pattern repeats...
I absolutely love that Aubrey is fascinated with books, even though I do secretly hope her selection choice will expand one day soon. Maybe a little Shel Silverstein or Kevin Henkes (truly enjoyable for both kids AND parents)? Some of my most vivid memories when I was young were being at the library and reading books. I lost count of how many times I read and reread The Little House on the Prairie books and those written by Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume (I just couldn't get enough of Ramona Quimby). It sounds pretty hokey, but I really did get lost in the characters and stories until I practically thought I WAS Laura Ingalls. There was just something magical about reading as a kid that can't really be put into words. However it is described I hope Aubrey experiences it and that her fondness for books continues... long past Good Night Moon.
You know Eli still does this very thing and has done it for a year now- I thought about stopping him and then realized they are only kids once and will only get this much joy out of throwing the books off the shelf for a short while- I think it does encourage a love of books and it's a ton of fun, we'd read very briefly throughout the process as well! He won't go to college throwing books on the floor- and if he does, well then we have a problem I guess!
Aubrey is great- I miss you guys.