Vivian loves books

Vivian loves to read. She often will come up to me, hand me a book and then plop down in my lap to be read to. I love this a lot. Tonight she was taking books off the shelf before bed but she kept pulling down ones she doesn't really like, or Stella's books so I decided to create a low shelf with all of her favorites. Goodnight Gorilla, lots of flap books, Goodnight Moon, an Elmo book that plays music, a few Maisy story books and others. Then I went and sat in the rocking chair and told her to pick some out for tonight. The first thing she grabbed was Maisy's Bedtime which she studied for a few moments before putting it back on the shelf and reaching for another. For some reason, the only Maisy story book she is into is Maisy's Morning on the Farm. She is totally consistent in the books she likes and the ones that she doesn't. And if I try to read her a book that isn't on her preferred list, she vehemently states, "No!" and slams it shut. There was something so great about just watching her examine the book, realize it wasn't one she likes that much and put it back on the shelf. And then she chose Goodnight Gorilla and so we put it in tonight's rotation just like we do almost every night. I told her to chose three others and she did so bringing them to me one at a time. After the third she climbed right up into my lap. I have no idea if she really understood and was following my directions or if she was just ready to read finally. But either way, it was super cool. And I was so happy to then sit with her and read. I love being a mom. And the small moments really are the big moments.