My, oh my. I was so so eager to post once a month last year. And I kinda did. Some of the posts were really just forcefully pushed out of my brain for the sake of posting that month, but some actually had a lot of value.
I just scrolled through my blog and it actually put a little smile on my face. I just love the aesthetic and the ideas I shared. And it was also like a reminder from my past self to my present self: about recipes, shops, photos, the snow globe vibe... All of it.
Blogging is kinda my thing. I just don't do it enough. This is my first blogpost of 2021. This year is already 2 months old (Get yourself together, "Mommy Mery"!).
So for my first blogpost of 2021, I thought it would be fitting to share a recap of what we've been reading with our now 22 month old. Her second birthday is right around the corner... (I'm not crying, you are crying...!)
Our favorite books for January, February and March
Baby loves Winter! by Karen Katz
Karen Katz has saved the day in our household so many times. Even though I'm personally not a big fan of the illustrations, my daughter whole- heartedly LOVES them. And the flaps. Lifting the flaps makes it so much easier for her to get through a book. I've already written about her love for "Where is Baby's belly button?" in the past and it has just grown since then.
Baby loves Winter obviously explores the cold season incorporating snowflakes, snowmen and animals hiding in the white fluff.
You can find a thrifted copy of this book here
(Just giving you an example where to find it. I don't benefit at all from this.)
Babies in the Snow by Ginger Swift
Another book with flaps. This one is very sturdy, chunky and easy to hold and lift the flaps for little hands.
We started reading the books from this series when our daughter was around 8 months old. Her first Ginger Swift book was "Babies in the forest" and well after a year she still enjoys it. Babies in the Snow, you guessed it, is about baby animals who live in the colder regions. We meet the typical polar bear and snow hares, as well as caribous, musk ox and ermines.
Click here for a thrifted copy
(Just giving you an example where to find it. I don't benefit at all from this.)
Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk
A very special Valentine by Christine Tagg
Let's get into the Valentine's Day fun. So cute! We started reading these mid January and I returned them to the library the week after Valentine's Day.
A very special Valentine is written in rhymes about a bunny that's looking for a gift for his bunny girlfriend. It doesn't have thick cardboard pages but includes some flaps to lift. And glitter. I mean...What's not to like?
Where is Baby's Valentine? by Karen Katz
Karen Katz strikes again. Told you we're obsessed with her over here. If you weren't able to guess it yet, the baby in this book is looking for their special Valentine's Day gift/card for their mommy.
It's a lot of reds and pinks, bears, candy... You name it! VDay Galore!
You already know where to look for it, right?
At our library they have multiple copies of this book because it's so popular.
If you'll be my Valentine by Cynthia Rylant
Where are Baby's Easter Eggs? by Karen Katz
Three months, three Karen Katz books. Can't help it. Looking for Easter Eggs makes so much more sense than looking for your Vday gift though. So good job on this one, Karen.
Yes, the baby is looking for Easter Eggs and finds Easter related things along the way.
We thrifted this book at our local thrift store and it was like new. This makes me wonder, if kids just eventually get sick and tired of looking for what Karen is hiding. Or maybe it's so good the family had multiples of them because they were gifted... I'd definitely gift a Karen Katz book to any 1-2 year old, based on my experience.
Little Chick (Finger Puppet book) by Amelia Anderson
I'm not a big fan of puppets but these Finger Puppet books make it pretty easy to stage a play.
We have three more of those!
Little chick hatches out of an egg and goes on a little adventure before it gets lonely and wants somebody to play with.
It's more of a spring themed book to me, since it doesn't have a direct Easter relation. It still made it into her Easter themed book basket. She also has a bunny finger puppet book in there that doesn't mention Easter or being the Easter bunny. It doesn't have to be a direct match, just work with what you have :)
Peppa Pig and the Easter Rainbow
We read this book at least once a day, since I put it into the basket. Meaning we usually read it like three times a day.
Peppa and her brother George go on an Easter egg hunt and discover that they found eggs in all the colors of the rainbow. This book helps practice color recognition and talking about family members, as well as encouraging interest in weather education.
We also found this at our local thrift store as good as new for literally a tenth of the original price.
This concludes my little book tips post. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe you'll include one or two of those in your season themed reading.
Obviously none of those are "must reads" or "must haves" - is anybody else kinda over these terms?
We came across most of these books by chance, as they were gifted, we found them at the thrift store or borrowed them from the library.
This has been my mantra for slow and mindful living and parenting:
Work with what you have and what is easily accessible to you.
There is a lot more than you might realize at first.
Thank you for visiting my blog!
Mery
