Alex has really started to enjoy reading, to participate in the stories we read, and even to exhibit a preference for certain books over others. His two favorites right now are The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton and Old Hat, New Hat by the Bearnstains.
For The Going to Bed Book, Alex has learned to make the sign for "bath" when we get to the scrubbies on the page that says "to take a bath in one big tub/with soap all over, SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB!" He also makes a tooth brushing motion with one finger when we get to the "brush and brush and brush their teeth" line. So cute!
Old Hat, New Hat is a very recent addition to our repertoire, but he just goes gaga for it, and seeks it out to ask me to read it to him. The words are very simple, but the photos are very detailed and colorful and he giggles like mad as we read through it. The story depicts a young bear with an old raggedy hat spotting a haberdashery and going in to find a new hat. None of the new hats offered meet his exacting specifications, and after running the shopkeeper ragged he finally finds and leaves with the hat that is JUST RIGHT -- his own old hat! We talk about what is going on in the pictures, and when the bear walks into the store and points to his head as if to say "I want a new hat, please!" Alex points to his own head. The other milestone with this book is that it is a paper book rather than a board book, and Alex can now be trusted to page through it while sitting in my lap without destroying the pages.
I really hope we are teaching him to be a little reader!