Bookworm

I love being a mom. I love it. Every single day, I love it. Yes, we have difficult days and tiring days and days that I could use a glass of wine at 2 p.m., but at the end of every day, when I'm rocking my baby before he goes to bed, I feel so blessed to be his mommy and realize over and over again how much I love being a mom. (Thanks, I just needed to share that.)

For several months now, Cooper and I have been "reading" a book or two each night before he goes to bed. Usually I hold the boardbook, Cooper flips the pages, and I just read whichever page we land on, which means that sometimes the Hungry Caterpillar eats through all the candy before he breaks out of his cocoon. But no matter what order we read a story, Cooper sits on my lap and enjoys the book.

Well, all day today Cooper carried around his little Tale of Peter Rabbit book--it was next to him when he ate lunch; he held it when getting his diaper changed; he even juggled it when drinking his milk--so I thought tonight we would read this treasured book before going to bed. Well, I was wrong. Cooper did not want me to even touch his Peter Rabbit book. So I grabbed his Noah's Ark book from the pile next to us, thinking we could read that one...no, no, Cooper waved that one away. I grabbed the next book, one about a puppy, but Cooper waved away that one, too. However, this whole time he kept reaching for the pile of books like he knew which one he wanted to read, I just hadn't picked it up yet. So, the third book I picked up was his airplane book. As soon as it was in my hand, Cooper laid against my chest, tightened his grip on his blankie and his Peter Rabbit book, and settled in for the airplane story. How did he know that book was in the pile? The way his little brain works just amazes me!

We read that airplane book over and over tonight. Each time I reached the end of the book, Cooper would turn the pages back to the beginning and settle back in for another round. And, he actually sat and listened to me read, totally taking in the pictures and the words I was reading. The book doesn't really even have a "story," it's just about different types of airplanes, with great colorful illustrations.

It was time for me to put him in bed, so off he went with his blankie and his treasured Tale of Peter Rabbit, which he still wouldn't let me touch. After he had been asleep for about an hour, I went to check on him and see if he ever let go of his book. This is what I saw in his crib--too cute, so I had to take a picture. (Yes, the flash was really bright, but luckily he didn't even stir!) It was like he had fallen asleep reading and the book just slid off his chest.

My cute little bookworm.