Friday Favorites...summer children's books!

Welcome, FRIDAY!  It's The Hubs' birthday today, so this post will be short in sweet.  Coffee & a family breakfast out are calling my name.

This edition of Friday Favorites will be about sharing my favorite children's books for summer!  Dane will be 20 months at the end of the month and one of his most favorite activities ever is listening to stories.  #raisingareader 

I started reading to him at a very young age & he just loves it.  Being a former kindergarten teacher, I know firsthand the importance of early literacy encouraged at home.  I am SO thankful that he loves books & can only hope that his love for reading grows.  I think the teacher heart in me also loves organized books, so all of his books are organized in themes based on the seasons.  Don't judge.  We are loving his summer books right now & I just added a few new ones to his bookshelves!  

ONE.  Sea Rex by Molly Idle

I read through this book while at Barnes & Noble the other day and had it ready to purchase when Dane threw a colossal fit upon being removed from the train table.  #toddlerprobs  So, I abandoned the book & purchased it on Amazon that night!  This is an adorable story with great illustrations.  It is about a dinosaur at the beach and learning the rules for swimming: wear sunblock, don't swim after eating, always jump in feet first, etc.  I think it will be one we can read again and again every summer because it is fun & also has great lessons for beginning swimmers. 

TWO.  Baby Loves Summer by Karen Katz

Oh gosh.  We own about 10 of Karen Katz' board books.  Great for infants/young toddlers, they are "lift the flap" books with different fun themes & colorful illustrations.  The summer themed one is perfect for right now and Dane will point out things like "towel" and "hat" that he notices we take to the pool also.  

THREE.  The Boy And The Ocean by Max Lucado 

The Boy And The Ocean is a Christian themed children's story with some of the most beautiful illustrations I have ever seen.  It is pretty lengthy, so geared toward older toddlers+ but tells the story of a boy and his dad near the ocean, with his dad explaining that God's love for us is deep and never-ending, much like the ocean.  We will definitely be keeping this book around for awhile.  

FOUR.  Hello by Highlights 

We all remember the Highlights magazines as kids, right?  They were always in my doctor's office & at the library.  One of Dane's Christmas gifts this year was a subscription to Highlights for babies/toddlers called Hello.  They are short books and include poems, a short story, hidden pictures to look for and other fun things!  The Hello books recently have all been spring/summer themed so it was the perfect edition to his summer bookshelf.  They are also easy to hold for little hands & can be thrown in a diaper bag for road trips!  

FIVE.  Hooray for Hat by Brian Won

I saved the best for last.  Dane requests that we read "Hoo Hoo Hat" at least 10 times.  An hour.  No joke. Sometimes it is the first word he says when waking up in the morning.  When I think of summer, I think of the zoo and this adorable book is about various zoo animals who are feeling grumpy and eventually cheer each other up by giving their friends a hat.  The text is simple and the animals are fun to identify.  I think it is so important to teach our children the importance of helping others and this book definitely helps teach that.  Add this to your summer bookshelf today!  

And there you have it.  What are your favorite summer children's books?  I would love to hear & add them to my list!  Happy Reading!

What's in my pool bag?

When I was growing up, my brother & I spent every single day at the pool.  My mom was a teacher which meant summers off, & our summer days were like Groundhog's Day.  Wake-up.  Eat breakfast. Watch tv while my mom did chores (I'm sure we helped at some point), pack up and go to the pool.  Stay all day.  Come home when my Dad got off work.  Eat dinner.  Catch lightning bugs.  Go to bed.   Repeat.
Pure bliss.

My mom always had a huge pool bag that was the equivalent to Mary Poppins' magic bag.  Need rings to throw?  Right here.  Want a snack?  Check this pouch.  Cheeks getting burnt?  10 types of sunscreen within arms reach.

Now that Dane is older and our pool days are getting longer, I knew I had to find the perfect pool bag for us.  I sit mine right on our lockers by the garage door & it is always packed & ready to go.  When we come in for the day, I usually clean out any leftover snacks & take out the towels (I don't wash every day, more like every other day) and replace them with new ones right away.  We have more beach towels than I have socks, so our supply is pretty stellar.   The pool bag is then restocked & ready to head out the door!

Below is everything I have in mine:

1) Thirty-One thermal tote.  I purchased this awhile ago and I don't think it is even technically a beach bag, but I use it as one.  It's huge, it zips & it's thermal so it will keep any snacks/drinks you have cold!

2) Land's End towel.  Otherwise known as the best pool towel ever.  I have two - both gifts from my sister's in law.  They are BIG & fluffy and cover a whole chair which is key in laying out (not that I lay out anymore, but still).  Plus the embroidery is a plus!  (All of these items are sitting on Dane's child-size towel which I always have in the bag as well.)

3) Thirty-One zipper pouch.  I bought this when I got tired of my sunscreens being all over the place.  Small zipper pouch that holds a lot!

4) Old Navy child's beach bag.  This was also a gift from a sister-in-law (I seriously am 3/3 on sister-in-law quality) and it fits inside my big bag.  Inside are all of Dane's pool necessities: toys, swim diapers, beach hats, snacks, & a change of clothes.  You never know when a toddler will go rogue on you & you have to bounce fast.  A change of clothes + a regular diaper are key.  I wasn't nearly as prepared this summer for pool toys & one minute in the baby pool with other kids clearly made me make a mandatory trip to Wal-Mart for more toys.  I mean, doesn't every kid need 4 types of water guns?!  Yikes.  Back in my pool days we had these fancy toys called quarters (sometimes pennies too) that my mom would throw in and we would fish out.  Ahhh, the good 'ol days.

5) The product of my Wal-Mart run.  $3 fishing net and plastic fish.  Actually pretty cute and I guess encourages good hand-eye coordination, plus fine motor skills - so I'll approve!

6) Plastic bags.  Probably the most important component of my pool bag.  When were going through the adoption process, I had several baby showers to help prepare.  One of the best pieces of advice I got from a friend was to "keep a lot of Kroger sacks in the house."  I thought it was strange at first, but I use them every day (sorry Earth!)  I keep a stash in my car and in my pool bag too.  They are perfect for wet clothes, dirty diapers, any lunch trash, etc.  Thank you friend for that advice - long live Kroger sacks!

And that is pretty much it.   All of these items surprisingly fit well in my bag, which I love!  I wish there was a 7) that included trashy magazines and/or books, but I have come to terms that those days are over.  And I am ok with that!  

What all do you have in your pool bag that I should add to mine?  Please share!

And, Happy Pool Days.