Baby B's Love of Reading

Hubby T and I were both big readers as kids. We still read a lot. No matter how tired I am, I can't fall asleep without spending a couple minutes reading. My mom is a librarian. Hubby T's mom is a preschool teacher. Literacy, I suppose you could say, is in our blood.

And I am very please to report that it seems to be in Baby B's blood too!! We have been reading to him for most of his life, but in the last month or so he has become much more engaged with all the books around him. The majority of his books are in his room. For awhile now, one of his favorite activities has been to pull them all out one by one. Some get more attention from him than others before being tossed to the side. They make quite a mess, but I try to stay positive about a mess of books. There are much worse things in the world. And in case you look at the picture below and think, oh that's not so bad, don't be fooled. There was already a whole bin of books dumped out behind the camera before he got to that bin.



After Christmas we rearranged our downstairs furniture and now there's a bookshelf in our family room, where Baby B spends most of his time. We piled a bunch of his books on a shelf that he can reach, in hopes that he will focus on taking those books down and not our books. (We're successful about 70% of the time, so far.)



I wish that words could help you see what I see when Baby B is "playing" with books. (I have no pictures to help because every time the camera comes out, he loses all interest in the books.) He will pick one up and forcefully hand it to us with an expectant expression that says, very matter of factly, "Read this to me now please." Oftentimes he is sitting on his knees, bouncing up and down, again, very expectant. He has a few favorite books, which he will sit through without any trouble. Many times he even laughs when we start reading. My son laughs with delight at reading. How lucky am I?!

I find all this absolutely amazing. His little brain has developed enough to have favorite books and to remember certain parts of the books. Is this normal for all kids his age? I have no idea. But I will still celebrate and encourage it. Baby B's growth continues to be a mysterious and awe-inspiring thing to me. I can only hope that this love of books continues to grow as he grows.