Hi there! 1st, congratulations on your lil pea pod! Some of my favorite people in the world are first time, expectant parents and first time home buyers- such a thrilling time!

2nd, you're in the Atlanta area, correct? Well, you must make a trip to Little Shop of Stories in Decatur. It is a super, fabulous, fun independent children's book store. They sell some young adult and adult books, too. I hope you're able to check it out. They. are. amazing.

Have a great day!
-Emily

http://www.littleshopofstories.com/

I love all those books! Megan

Totally not wierd! It's at the very least a beautiful story to tell your baby later in life.

Believe it or not, TJ Maxx and Marshalls are a great source for board books. It's not just for home decor! My husband would read Cordoroy to my belly when I was pregnant with our first little boy. Not silly at all...it's very sweet. You two are going to be fabulous parents!

Love you Forever is one of my all-time favorites - So sweet that you are reading to him!

Ah I love If You Give A Mouse A Cookie! I forgot about that one! We picked up a bunch of books but I am admittedly not very good at reading to the baby. Whoops, hope that doesn't mess my kid up for kindergarten...

You're not crazy- I did a lot of the same. One of my favorite children's books is Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury - I've never been able to read it all the way through without tearing up.

Love that you got books for the little guy!! Great investment and I don't think it's ever too early to start reading!! :)

I second the Maxx and Marshalls book recommendation. Also, once the kiddo is two and tearing through books at bedtime, the library becomes a much more economical choice! ;)

Though, I have to say, I have hid "I love you forever" at the back of my closet. If burning books weren't morally wrong, I'd do that. It's just too much. I choke up when I read it. It's also creepy. Sorry - is that horrible to say? But, I mean, we want to let our kids be more independent, right?

But we're ALL about the "If you give" books in our house. Especially If you give a pig a pancake!

I think reading to him is the cutest idea ever. These books really are classics. Happy Easter weekend!

When I was pregnant with my oldest child I moved back into my parent's house. My youngest sister was six at the time. When Elena was big and easy to notice when she intentionally moved in my belly it was fun to watch her move toward my sister's voice. After she was born and my sister was allowed to visit, she so obviously recognized her aunt's voice. It was really precious! So I say read, read, read. Your little mister is going to hear it, and love that rhythm and the voices that produce it.

Good choices! My kids loved If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. :) And it's a fave with my preschool class, too.
Scored some hotel silver this week at Queen of Hearts -- woo hoo!
Happy Easter, Michelle ~ so glad you're giving yourself a little break. :)
xo Heidi

LOVE YOU FOREVER is so incredibly sad! I love it, but I used to cry every time I read it.
Sandra Boynton board books are so much fun. My oldest had Moo Bah La La La memorized at two!

I have 4 kids and we have always been voracious readers so we have A LOT of books. In fact, we have 3 of the 4 books in your picture! My favorite is Love You Forever. I can't count how many times I have read that book to my kids but I still cannot get through it without crying!!

Michelle, I want to cry right now :( Going on a bear hunt was read and reread soo many times to my first child! She's 10 now and still remembers it : ) What a great memory!!!! I can totally say as my personal opinion they can hear you! I listened to classical music every night around 8pm to relax and calm my body down and soothe the baby. I would read out loud too! This is sooo freaky that you posted this. I played classical music in my daughter's room when she was born for nap time. During the day we danced around the house to Bach for Breakfast (a cd that is still for sale!),Beethoven at Bedtime, a gentle prelude to sleep cd, and I always had classical music playing while I was pregnant while decorating the nursery, doing dishes and even in my car. I just love it and still do! Now comes the cool part. My husband would come home from work every night, hold our daughter on his chest and dance around the living room with her to the same classical music from newborn on. We bought a piano from a friend because we thought it would be a great influence on our baby. She was around 4 or 5 months that he would place her on his lap and tap on the keys to let her hear the sounds it created. He had to buy Piano for dummies because he had no clue how to play! lol! He learned quickly because they provided stickers for correct placement on the keys. Traditional songs are what he played for her. Row,row,row your boat.twinkle,twinkle,mary had a little lamb and a bunch more like that. She grew strong enough to tap on her own eventually and loved it. She got so excited when she heard the sound she created all by herself! I want to say she was around 3 or 4 years old when she would play on her own!!! She could play what daddy played by listening to the music. I am completely serious here. As she grew older each year she was able to hear a song on the radio and then go to the piano and find the keys to mimic the song-on. her. own. She is able to hear music and recreate it on our piano. It's the most amazing thing I have ever seen or heard. Nine years later I finally signed her up for piano lessons. Her teacher said she is just shocked at how quickly our daughter picks up on each lesson and that she the teacher, is so happy Thea loves classical because most kids her age want to play modern music. Ha! I say! i think we may have a little something to do with that!!! Maybe I'm wrong?! Lessons started in Sept of 2011 and in March 2012 they are already working on theme songs from Disney movies. She's learning how to play A dream is wish your heart makes -from Cinderella, for my birthday, in June. Seriously??!! I am not bragging. I am just telling you straight from my heart that I do believe they can hear from that early on and exposure can play a huge part in development. She is now ten and still plays classical cd's on her radio to fall asleep :)

I want to share a really cool site with you and David. It's called http://www.babybeat.com/. You can rent your own doppler to hear your peapod. These are so amazing!! I couldn't stand waiting for each visit to hear the movement and heartbeat, so I rented my own unit! It was worth every penny! It works much better when you are further along though and the baby is bigger. You'll hear the "gallop" sound for yourself at any time of the day or night!!!!
I'm so happy for you :) It felt great to revisit those memories and share them. Can't wait to see what you bought!
jennpellegrino@rcn.com

It's totally silly, but I can't wait till I'm expecting our first. Ever since I heard it, I've always wanted to sing Michael Buble's "I just haven't met you yet" to my baby. It sounds like he wrote it for his future child.

So, I think its adorable that you're reading to yours!