Favorite fun preschool aged books.

Our oldest, Norah, is four, and reading with her has been so great. I usually read a few books with her before her rest time (after Lucy and Ellory are down), so it's just me and her, and it's one of my most favorite parts of the day. It's so fun to be able to read longer, more advanced books now that she's a bit older. Also, my life is so great now that Norah is in preschool because do you know what that means? Scholastic book orders! It's like Christmas comes to me monthly now when I get those amazing fliers in her take home folder. Here are some of our favorite preschool aged books!

Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller- My MIL recently gave this to Norah and it is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend it! It's about a girl who spills grape juice all over her dress and everyone laughs, and this other girl isn't sure what to do. She tries to say something comforting to her, but she still runs away embarrassed, and then she talks about different things that kindness might be. I really love it because it talks about how being kind is hard sometimes and sometimes you don't know exactly how to be kind, which isn't always talked about. There are many books about kindness, but this book is so real about it and talks about how. It ends with saying that maybe all she can do is something small (she draws her a picture of purple violets in art class), but that's okay because all the kind acts that people do can add up to something big.

Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman- A silly book about vegetables wearing different kinds of underwear and how everyone wears it. Norah thinks it's hilarious!

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn- A warm story about a raccoon who doesn't want to go to school, but his mom kisses his hand and said her love will always stay with him. We started reading this to Norah before she started preschool, and it's an encouraging story about how our love will always stay with them, even while away at school.

Mama's Many Hats by Lorie Erhard- I was gifted this book at one of my baby showers by a friend (because her aunt wrote it!), and it's one of my all time favorites. I love it so much, and Norah has really enjoyed it too. It's a Christian book (with a applicable verse on each page), about the many different hats a mom wears, like a chef, nurse, sheriff, coach, etc. but the most important is the jewel of being a child of God!

Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale- A story about a shark who loves school a bit too much and gets overly excited, so he has to learn how to "stay cool." He comes up with rhymes to say to himself to help him learn self-control. It's very entertaining!

Press Here by Herve Tullet- Norah got this as a birthday gift a couple years ago, and it's been fun to read now that she's a bit older and can interact with it more. Each page gives you instruction on what you need to do- push the dot, shake the page, etc. and there's a fun surprise when you see what happens every time!

What A Wonderful World! by Suzanne Chiew- This has been one of our favorite finds recently at our local library- a story about a mama bear and cub who go on adventures and see many beautiful sites and share their thankfulness to God for His glory and creation.

Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora- A book about a girl and her mom walking to visit her abuela (grandma), and they meet many different people in their community along the way and say hello to them in their native language. I love that you learn ways to say hello in many languages!

God's Great Big Love by Marcia Sherriff- This book is special because it was written by a Des Moines local, from the church we went to when we lived there, and she actually came to the school I taught at and did a read aloud and talked to the kids about being an author. It was neat! This is a special rhyming book about how much He loves and cares for us, filled with Scripture, spiritual truths, and neat pictures of creation. 

A Little Book About Safety by Samantha Kurtzman-Counter- This is one we recently got from Norah's Scholastic book order, and I like that it talks about safety in a gentle way, yet gives clear and important guidelines to stay safe, such as checking first with your safe adult, trusting your "uh-oh feeling," knowing what to do if you get lost, etc.

When We're Together by Claire Freedman- A story about a rabbit family and the adventures they take together during the day, but it's always better when they do them together!

I Stink! by Kate and Jim McMullan- A funny story about a garbage truck and all the things he does at night while we are sleeping, like collecting lots of different types of stinky trash. This was a huge favorite when I taught preschool too, and they also have lots of other fun books in this series also!

Just Really Joseph by Kayla Craig- One of my friends wrote this! This is a great Christian story involving topics of family and adoption about two brothers who have different skin colors.

Rawr! by Todd H. Doodler- This was another favorite when I taught preschool that is now fun to read to my girls, about a dinosaur and how lots of people are afraid of him but they don't need to be, and how he's too big for lots of things at school but he's really nice.

Side By Side by Rachel Bright- A cute story about finding friendship.

The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright- A mouse is feeling insecure, so he feels he needs to learn how to roar like a lion, but when he finally gets the bravery to go talk to him, the lion is actually afraid of the mouse! They become friends and learn there's a little lion and mouse inside everyone.

Be Fair and Share! by Maria Maysen- Cubby is excited for his friend Monkey to come play, but struggles to share once he arrives- a very practical and real life example of learning how to share!

Give Thanks for Each Day by Steve Metzger- A cute story about the many different things we can be thankful for.

Dog on a Frog? by Kes Gray- This is another recent one we got from Norah's Scholastic order. It's a silly rhyming book about a frog who doesn't want to sit on a log, and who doesn't want dogs to sit on frogs, so he changes the rules. Norah thinks it's fun to find the funniest rhymes- our favorites are poodles sit on noodles and cheetahs sit on fajitas.

Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson- This one would be good for a bit younger ages too, but it's a fun story about a bear finding different colors. There are some other fun ones in this series too!

Our favorite Christian board books for younger kids.

Kids books are one of my most favorite things. I love reading to our girls and hope they grow up to treasure and enjoy reading. We give them a book for each birthday and Christmas too! Recently, I tried to include more Christian books into our collection to be speaking Truth into them as we read too! Here are some of our favorite Christian board books.

I Prayed For You by Jean Fischer- This one has been on rotation a lot. A super cute book about a mama bear praying for her cub through different situations as he's growing. I love how this incorporates prayer into many aspects of daily life and is a good model of praying continually.

Thank You, God, For Mommy by Amy Parker- This would be a great Mother's Day gift, about all the wonderful things his mama does for him and how she cares for him well and trusts in Him.

God Loves Daddy and Me by Bonnie Rickner Jensen- This one, on the opposite end, would be a great Father's Day gift- a neat story about the fun things they do together and how God loves them through all things, through the fun and even in mistakes.

God Loves the World by Gary Bower- This is one we just got the girls for Christmas and I love it- a great book that shows how everyone- all ages, races, abilities, etc.- are loved and created by Him.

Found (Psalm 23) by Sally Lloyd-Jones- This book is based off of Psalm 23, written for kids (great for even younger ages!). She also has a new one out based off The Lord's Prayer that's good too called Loved. 

How Much Does God Love You? by Michelle Medlock Adams- A fun rhyming book about His everlasting love for us, more than anything else.

God Made You Just Right by Jill Roman Lord- This one is another favorite, about how God made you perfectly and uniquely and you are special just the way you are, because He wanted you to be exactly you!

If Jesus Lived Inside My Heart by Jill Roman Lord- I love this one too, about different things we can do to show His love and that He is living in us.

God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren- A warm story about the bear cub's birth and how her parents are so thankful for her.

Thank You, God by P.K. Hallinan- A fun story about the many different things we can be thankful for.

Love One Another by Mike Berenstain- I grew up reading The Berenstain Bears, so this was a special one that my mom gave the girls, about different things we can do to show love to each other.

God Bless Our Bedtime Prayers by Hannah Hall- There is a whole series of "God Bless" books, and all of them look really good! I like this book because it talks about trusting God through all parts of our days, and also includes Scripture on each page that correlates to the scene.

With Love, From Me To You by Mary Manz Simon- A rhyming book where they're on a train and going out to share His love with others through doing kind things.

Bedtime Blessings by Marianne Richmond- A rhyming wind down to the day, appreciating all His blessings to us.

Our favorite/frequently used toddler and preschool items.

Hello! Hope you are having a great summer and enjoying some family time outside. (And now that I'm finally getting this published, summer is over. Oops.) I thought I would do a little update/refresher on some of our favorite and most frequently used kids items right now. Here goes! (Not a sponsored post, just things that we like.) In case you were wondering, Norah is 3.5 and Lucy and Ellory are 17 months.

Bumkins Bibs- These are my favorite bibs. They are soft, stay on well, the pocket on the bottom catches a surprising amount of food, and the best part is they are so easy to throw in the wash afterwards. Sometimes I just feed my girls in their diaper if it's super messy, but when we use bibs, we always use these.

The First Years Insulated Hard Spout Sippy Cup- These are my favorite sippy cups for older kids. Lucy and Ellory are still using a soft spout cup; Norah has been using these for a long time. They have lasted forever despite being dropped a lot, wash in the dishwasher well, and don't leak. (Norah is able to drink from a regular cup, but I still like her to use a sippy cup when she gets her drink out independently because she still spills fairly easily.)

Step2 Naturally Playful Sand Table- We've had this table for three summers now and love it. Just last week the string on the sides of the lid (that attach underneath to keep it on), got really worn out and snapped, but it's easily replaceable and pretty good for lasting that long with tiny hands pulling on it often. I love that it's above ground, so they are standing and don't get as dirty as they would if they were sitting in it. It's sturdy enough that it stays in one place during storms and such (and the lid is nice for keeping animals/bugs/water out), but light enough to move around to where the shade is. We've gotten tons of use out of this!

Step2 Duck Pond Water Table- We've had this for three summers as well and loved it. It's a great option for when you don't want to get the whole pool out. Lucy and Ellory basically love just filling up small buckets and dumping the water out of it onto the ground. Keeps them entertained for a long time!

Trek Precaliber Girls 12 inch bike- Norah got this for her 3rd birthday and she loves to ride it. We've practiced a couple times with the training wheels off, but she has a ways to go with that yet. Next summer probably! She rides bike almost every time we go outside.

YBike Pewi Elite Bike Walking Ride On Toy- Lucy and Ellory love these little bikes. Norah had gotten one for Christmas awhile back, and I found another one on our local swap site for $5 last year! They can be used as a walker from the front and then ride on it on the back later.

Little Tikes Gas N Go Mower- We got this when Norah went through a phase where she was obsessed with people mowing their lawn. It still gets a lot of use and one of the three girls is usually pushing it when we're outside!

Swing N Slide Child Swing- I don't know is this is the exact one we have, but it's very similar. We have two of these on our swing set!

Fawn Design Blush Original Diaper Bag- I got this for Christmas and it's been my favorite diaper bag so far! It has held up so nicely and is the perfect size, and I love that it has backpack and messenger straps. I would highly recommend it!

American Girl Bitty Baby Doll- We technically have four Bitty Baby dolls, but they are used all the time! Lucy and Ellory love to carry them around, and Norah loves to play with them and all the accessories. My mom gave each of the girls one for their first birthday, plus Norah got another one when I was pregnant, so she could practice having her own twins. 

Baby Jogger City Select Double Stroller with Second Seat- This stroller is expensive, but oh how I love it. I use it all the time. Basically every single day. One of my favorite baby items by far.

Baby Jogger Glider Board- This is perfect for Norah. She was old enough/didn't want to sit in the stroller enough to make getting a triple stroller worth it, so this is the best alternative! It clips to the back bottom stroller bar and she can stand on it and hold into the handle bar with me. We use it regularly!

Halo Sleepsack- I didn't discover these until Norah was about one, and wish I had sooner. Norah wore them until she moved into her big girl bed, and Lucy and Ellory have worn then since birth. Such a nice way to ensure that they are warm enough, yet also safe without a blanket accidentally covering their face.

Keen Sandals- These sandals are expensive, but worth it. (And really, what shoe is cheap? Baby shoes are all really expensive I think for how fast their feet grow and how short they wear them.) My MIL has given these to my girls as a birthday gift the last two years, and they wear them almost everyday (when the weather is nice). They wear really well, they actually stay on their feet, and I love that it's closed so they don't scrape their little toes. I've had other moms ask me about them at the park! I also like that they have holes so their feet don't get so hot, yet they aren't big enough for wood chips to get stuck in them at the park. The slight downfall is that they get smelly if they wear them when it's really hot, but I just throw them in the wash and they are good as new. 

It's the little things.

We reopened our sandbox again this spring/summer (it feels like we missed spring since winter was so long and this weekend was over 100 degrees!) and it's been so fun! All the girls love it. It's especially fun because it's Lucy and Ellory's first time playing in it- they are the perfect height/age for it. I know it will be used a lot this summer! And how cute are their hats?! It's these moments in the little things that I want to store away and remember forever.

What a fun morning! Also, to make mom life easier, I purposely just put them in a onesie because I knew they would get dirty and need to be changed after, and I also moved it into the shade so I didn't have to put sunscreen on. They were busy with it for a full half hour- wins all around!

(We have the Step 2 Naturally Playful Sand Table and I love it. We've had it for 3 summers now and it's still in good condition. I love having a standing table vs. one on the ground because then they don't get as dirty because they aren't sitting in it, and it keeps animals out too. It has a nice lid too that has elastic ties to hold it down, and it's never blown off during a storm or anything.)