Kids change you!

I am not sure about you, but having kids has definitely changed Dave and me.  As a coach, my players said I had gotten a lot nicer since having kids (they tried to backtrack when I then added that they were saying I used to be mean...), and I have seen some changes in Dave too, like his number one priority in life isn't farming.   

I have always been an avid reader, my family always read and most of my childhood memories I can recall my parents reading.  I love to read, always have and I wanted that love instilled in my children.  Dave was never a fan of reading, though I don't think he was just ever exposed to things that interested him.  So while pregnant with David, I had Dave read to my stomach so the baby could hear his voice more often.  I am sure Dave thought I was crazy, but he dutifully did it almost every night (if I wasn't already asleep by the time he got done on the farm).  Then pregnant with Ethan, we figured since we read to David every night, Ethan was getting exposed to our reading then.  Same with Claire as we still read to the boys each night.  And Dave, well, I have had to purchase books for him that he wanted to read...so I think now we can safely say he enjoys reading (thanks kids)!

With David, it was easy, he loved to have a book in his hand, and often chose reading to playing with toys, and has easily learned how to read.  With Ethan it has been more gradual, I would have to wrestle him and hold him down on my lap with one arm/hand, while quickly turning the pages of a book and saying one or two words to describe the picture, before I could actually start to "read" the books.  It was a challenge to get him to want to look at a book and sit still long enough.  Even seeing his daddy read daily did nothing to get Ethan interested at first, but gradually (6 challenging months later) he has come to enjoy it. 

Fast forward to yesterday, after lunch we went upstairs to get the two youngest ready for a nap.  The three kids and I on my bed, surrounded by books, reading.  Claire napping in David's lap while he read to her (which is his new favorite pastime), and Ethan snuggling up to me with books about trucks and farm animals.  We were like that for over an hour.  It was a dream come true for this former reading specialist and a heart-warming scene to cherish and remember as a mommy!