Library Day

Today we headed out for our weekly trek to the library. We have fallen into a routine that runs basically like this:

Return our old books, checking them off the printout. (Since we get on average about 15 books, we have to stay organized or those fines can really add up.)

Head to the non-fiction section first. The only part Elianna is interested in right now is the animal section. She yells "Eeew, gross!" every time at the bug section, then moves on.

Check out the "New Books" shelf. I'm not sure what makes these books inherently cooler than all the other books, but Elianna always ends up with 2 or 3 "new releases."

Pull up a chair to the picture books. This is where we hunker down, park Selah's stroller next to the board books and let her go to town, and read, read, read... We keep the ones that look cool, as well as the random ones Elianna throws in the basket when I'm not looking. (One day I found a book called "Black Cowboy, Wild Horses" in the stroller. My daughter is just so into diversity! Okay, she probably just liked the horses, one of her latest crazes.) We try to keep the librarian from banning us by putting away the ones we don't like rather than leaving them scattered all over.

Last, I let her pick out 2 videotapes, and then begin negotiations as to which one she can watch before nap.

Check everything out. Elianna hands the books, one at a time, to be checked out. (Fortunately, our small-town library is, for the most part, very patient with her idiosyncrasies.)

Finally, we load everything into the stroller, say our good-byes, and head to McDonald's for an ice cream. (It's a cheap date so far, since we all three split one hot fudge sundae. An afternoon out for only $1.06 with tax!) By now, it's close to nap time so we head home, read a few books, watch a video and hit the sack. (Well, they hit the sack, and I make dinner.)

Elianna just LOVES us to read to her, and after hearing a book only a couple times can tell you what will happen or sometimes even recite much of it back to you. She also tries to read to Selah, although she gets frustrated when Selah crawls away or tries to eat the book. Chad and I both love to read, and we believe it is very important to instill a love for the written word in children as young as possible!