Reading

Gioia loves, loves, loves to read. In the morning, after she finishes her milk, she immediately signs "down" and "book." If you ask her to go get a book from her room, she will bring one of her favorites:

What Do You Say?
Where is Baby's Belly Button?
And the whole Baby Be of Use series*

She doesn't have the patience for longer books yet. We keep trying to foist them on her, with a false cheerfulness. Hey! Let's try this one! What do you think? Because frankly, reading the same books OVER and OVER is ... ummm ... tedious. But she is not fooled. Oh no. Get away from me with your Guji Guji and your Mister Seahorse, she says. Now let's do the belly button book again, Mom.

OK baby. Let's do.

*I bought these books as a joke, especially the Baby Mix Me a Drink book, but she adores them. Perhaps they are the right size, the right, length, the right amount of pictures. So now she knows how to balance my checkbook and to make me a margarita.