Our bedtime reading ritual has become a little crowded now that our 22 month old wants to stay awake past the end of the dinner hour.
She adores her sisters and wants to do everything they do including; using the electric toothbrush to clean her teeth the way big kids do with “PASTE!! PASTE!! MORE PASTE PEEZE! MAMA MORE! PASTE! MORE MAMA! PASTE!”
So following a thorough Windexing of the bathroom mirror, polishing of the faucet and wiping of the countertop, sink, cupboards and sides of the bath and toilet to remove the ridiculous amount of paste she has sprayed from crusting over, it’s time for bedtime reading and fifteen minutes past her actual bedtime. Oh and the doorknob.
The baby used to be quite regimented in her routine. She would gather her handful of books; Lily’s Chocolate Heart, Where The Wind Blows (part of a box set but for some reason the whistling wind is the only one she selects. I guess because it leaves her pondering life’s bigger questions, unlike When The Sun Shines which obviously offers none of those philosophical almost two year old stumpers), Elmo’s book about Love and Moo Moo Peekaboo. She would waddle up to her chair, call out, “Mommy, books, rock” and I’m pretty sure something more on the paste-front which I would ignore and we would settle in for our rockin’ reading adventure. Not anymore. She now races down the hall, still to brush with as much paste as her tiny hands can squeeze directly into her mouth but then dashes into her sister’s room, hops up onto the bed and waits for the night’s reading.
The problem is, I now have two kids who want to read to us (not really a problem, it just cuts into my champagne and foie gras time) and now a third who wants to throw board books while shouting things about where to hide hearts and how much Elmo loves everyone while the wind brings her a sense of peace as she pauses to reflect on the calming effect that books has over her before pursuing the cow hiding behind the barn fence.
Hanna begins her guided reading book from school.
Chloe interrupts: Heart. Chicket heart. Chicket. Hot. Yum. Done.
She tosses the book on the floor.
Ellie impatiently begins her book because if the other two are reading, why should she have to wait.
Hanna giggles at Chloe and starts her paragraph from the beginning.
Chloe: Moo. Oink. Peek. Done.
This time, she throws the book at a sibling or a parent, whoever is closest and least able to react quickly to a board book to the face. She really can’t be blamed for the injury. We were fairly warned when she muttered “done.”
Ellie: The beautiful bee drives his family…(this is not even close to what the book actually says but one thing I’ve found is Ellie will look at a word that starts with “f” and say whatever first pops into her head—I think this style falls under the category of somebody-better-pay-attention-to-me-right-effing-now reading.
Chloe: Wind. Ahhh. Wind. Hmmm.
And immediately falls asleep.
