Like Father, Like Son

We've recently put more emphasis on reading before Max goes to bed at night. We've tried this several times in the past, but his attention span was too short and instead he expressed interest in just going to bed or playing with toys.

After winding down with "Watch Cars" or "Watch Choo Choo" (Thomas & Friends) together, we brush teeth and then snuggle in a comfy chair to read for a while. He has a few favorite books, especially Goodnight Moon and Rainbow Fish. I've tried to introduce a few new stories, but he's really into the familiarity of what he already knows. Totally normal toddler behavior, but it gets a little old to read the same stories every night. Several times in a row.

So the other night we pulled down a few new books from his shelf and tried to introduce some fresh stories into the mix. While I was getting ready for bed, Alex coaxed him into letting Dada read his favorite book as a child, Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Now it is ALL ABOUT "Purple Crayon". On the way home from school yesterday Max couldn't fall asleep as usual, because he was too excited about going home to read "Purple Crayon".
Last night, we couldn't move on to Rainbow Fish until we had read "Purple Crayon" at least twice.

I've tried to introduce a book or two or three about becoming a big brother, but those seem to be even less interesting to him. Not sure if that's an indication that he doesn't want to share his mommy and daddy, or that the books just don't hold his attention well enough.

Guess we'll find out soon enough. Not sure if I'm more freaked out about Gummi's expected arrival in 9 weeks or the fact that his due date is two days after Christmas (so let this be a warning: Christmas is only 9 weeks away...)