Every once in a while, we get this little pamphlet in the mail from the state that discusses whatever developmental stage Westley is going through.
I don't know why, but I really enjoy getting mail from Washington State about my kid. Maybe it's because these little pamphlets say things like, "By now, your baby will probably be crawling/acting shy around strangers/abusing the cat/whatever." And then I get to go, Why yes! He is doing all of those things!
It's ego-boosting in a "this-doesn't-really-have-much-to-do-with-me-directly-but-I'll-take-the-credit" sort of way.
So this most recent installment is about being 2 1/2, which, first of all, let me just say, Excuse me? I have a 2-1/2-year-old? Could he be growing any faster? Slow down, little man!
Apparently, one of the big focuses of 2-1/2-year-olds is reading. "Read to your child," the pamphlet advises. "Make it fun!"
The State of Washington clearly has no idea what goes on in my house.
Let me explain something. There are books everywhere around these parts. Partly because we don't have enough bookshelves, but mostly because Westley loves books. Loves reading, being read to, all of it. It's kind of nuts.
If I had to estimate, I'd say that between us, Rob and I probably read to Westley a minimum of an hour and a half a day. Which feels like a lot of reading. The amazing thing is that Westley is attentive almost the entire time. Of course, it's the same few books over and over again for days at a time - which I suppose makes it even more noteworthy that Westley sits, rapt, with a "What's gonna happen?" look on his face while I read a story he's already heard twice that day.
I don't know where Westley's interest in books and reading came from. I certainly didn't do anything on purpose to "make it fun," as my little pamphlet suggests. For a while, reading was a big Daddy-and-Westley thing, but now it seems to have become an everyone-and-Westley thing. Which is fabulous! Westley's learning tons of new words, and becoming more of a storyteller in his own right every day. I guess I just got very, very lucky on this front: Westley apparently came into the world believing that reading is awesome. And may it ever be so.
Now if only the state could tell me where I'm supposed to store all of these books that my toddler loves so dearly.
