🌞 Books for Happy Mornings & Good Nights 🌝

Hello and Happy Monday, my friends! Today I'd like to talk a little about favorite children's books - in particular, ones that celebrate a happy day and/or a good night!

We certainly enjoy books of all kinds and at any time of day, but Little Bear himself has what he calls his "sunny stories" and "bed stories." :) Before he settles for sleep, he insists on at least THREE bed stories ... and in the morning, before we head downstairs to get the day going, he requests time spent in the rocking chair by the window, talking about the day, "snugging" and looking at a couple of favorite books ...

So I decided to make up special baskets to go along with these special times of the day! I took advantage of a sale at Michaels, and picked up two similar-sized and shaped baskets - one in a light shade and one in dark. Then I picked up some wide ribbon for a bit of embellishment. 

Sunrise colors for the day basket and a sparkly indigo for the evening bin. The baskets are not too big and have handles so it's easy enough to tote them from room to room. (Little Bear still sleeps in a toddler bed in our master bedroom but we're working on transitioning him to the nursery down the hall. Taking the books back and forth helps bridge the gap a little!)

One of the things I love best about Little Bear's nursery (seen in depth here in this post) is the direction it faces - it catches the sunrise every morning and on warm evenings I love to sit in that same window and watch the birds in the spruce hedge along the property line - cardinals flitting in and out as dusk approaches, mourning doves cooing from the rooftop ...

Mornings are especially nice though - even Archie loves that window!

 Ok, here are the books tucked in those baskets ...

Happy Morning Books:

The Baby's Good Morning Book

Hey! Wake Up!

Peek-a-Boo

Give Me Grace

All Creatures Great and Small

Little Owl's Day

Humphrey's Corner

Oh, What a Busy Day!

Good Morning Sun

Little Golden Books Classics: Three Best Loved Tales (Play with Me, So Big, The Boy with a Drum) 

Playtime

I Can Help

🌞

Good Night Books:

The Baby's Bedtime Book

Humphrey's Bedtime

Good Night, Fairies

Steam Train, Dream Train

How Many Kisses Good Night

Pajama Time!

Owl Babies

Sleepy Time

Little Owl's Night

🌝

I'd love to hear about your favorite books for bedtime and morning time! Please leave a comment below if you have the time. I need more books like I need rocks in my pockets, but I am always on the lookout for new favorites. :)

So this post was first in what I hope will be a series of posts talking about our favorite children's books for different activities and themes. I am currently going through a rather ginormous stash of storage boxes in the basement which hold mostly craft supplies and assorted children's books. These bins have not been unpacked in the four years we've lived here! And they're taking up a rather large portion of the mudroom ... and would-be home office ... and ahem even a corner of the laundry alcove!

I'm not going to set a posting schedule because goodness knows I won't stick to it, but as I go through these boxes and find old gems and organize them into a better storage system, I will share on occasion as I can. I'm thinking of upcoming themes like:

❤ books about nature

❤ counting +/or alphabet books

❤ funny books

❤ farm books

❤ books embracing faith

❤ books exploring world cultures

❤ books about handling fears

❤ poetry books

❤ books about enjoying different foods

Etc.!

I think this will be fun and I hope you do, too! If you have an idea for a theme, let me know. It's possible I might have a giveaway at some point during the series as well ... so stay tuned!

For now though I'll wrap up. My littlest man is itchy for some late afternoon reading ... this is our time for truck books and tea! And books about boats, trains, planes ... any old vehicles, really. We have QUITE the collection of those kinds of books as you can probably imagine!

So please take care and I will be back just as soon as I can. I am thisclose to finalizing that Office Hours Agenda pdf to share with you all - hopefully that will be my next post ...

Ok friends, I'm off! See you here again sometime soon ...

A Nursery for Little Bear (At last!)

We're so excited that Little Bear's nursery is finally ready for him! (And vice versa!) So I thought you all might like a little tour?

When we bought this house last spring we knew immediately that this small sunny bedroom would be the nursery - it has some neat features that are perfect for a young child, and the wall color was just right, too! But up till now it has served mostly as a "storage zone" ... for reasons having to do with time, energy and a little one who still wakes through the night. But the time has come for him to sleep in his own room (or so we hope) so we got this room all cleaned and prepared ... and finally, a few days ago we moved in his crib.

And so far so good!

So here's Little Bear sitting smack dab in the middle of his room. I'm taking this picture from the doorway.

(It's a small room but I'm going to give you all the angles!)

 

Stepping into the room and looking to the left ...

A wonderful built-in desk for someday ... but for the time being, a spot for special books (including parenting books), toys and Mama's coffee cup, etc. (The top shelf holds special hats and shoes!)

I might be sprinkling this post with a few pictures of Little Bear ... just so you know. :)

 

So this is the same crib that all our boys have slept in - I'd say it's served us well! It still has its soft green flannel sheet but with warmer weather upon us, I'll be switching to this cute cotton print very soon:

Along the north wall there are bookcases for displaying wooden toys and more books ...

I can't tell you how happy I am to see these toys played with again! (Not to mention how glad I am we saved them!) The baby doll on the top shelf was given to a nearly 2 year-old Crackerjack when I was expecting Earlybird. My mum knitted his hat and scarf.

 Still more favorite books line the windowsills (which at present, need to be propped open). Owl Babies is definitely Little Bear's favorite book so far. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Baby Beluga and The Very Hungry Caterpillar run a close second, third, fourth.

A basket of binkies and "chew toys" as we call them. Little Bear is cutting some serious teeth these days!

This rocker is one of a pair (its twin is in our master bedroom). They are the most comfortable rockers, and once belonged to my grandparents. On the back of the chair is a knitted blanket made by my mother for Little Bear. (Started by me then abandoned, lol.) These were the nursery colors I picked out long before we found our new home. So you see how well the colors matched up!

My favorite kind of selfie. :)

The other bookcase ...

 Bird puppets, wooden elements, BOOKS and a sweet rabbit (led) candle. A shower gift from my godmother, Kathy.

 As I sit in the rocker just this very minute, this is what I see ... such a lovely day.

Ok, other side of the room ...

 

The handsome cherry hutch was a gift from dear friends whose children had outgrown it. It's a very comfortable spot to change Little Bear and has wonderful storage.

 Nursery essentials ... diapers, wipes, soothing lotion, herbal salves and a comb for unruly toddler hair.

The cubbies hold a few meaningful items ... a cross-stich birth announcement made by Bill's mom, the What to Expect books, a baptism frame (yet to be filled) a picture book that Earlybird and I picked out for the baby and an "engineer bear," a gift from Little Bear's Papa (my dad). More special books and blankets on the very top shelf.

Now this ...

 

This is what convinced us immediately, that this had to be the nursery! This is a loft bed, just the right size for a young child ... for sleeping eventually, but wonderful for cuddling and reading and puppet plays, too.

 I don't have any linens for it yet ... I am still trying to find a resource for special-sized sheets.  

Lovely baby quilt handmade for Little Bear by Bill's godmother, Anne.

 Won't this be fun? :)

Little Bear's first nap in his new room ...

There is nothing so precious as a sleeping baby!

Well my friends, I hope you've enoyed this tour of Little Bear's nursery. Since I took these pictures, Bill has installed some nice room-darkening shades and hopefully those will also contribute to better sleep for LB ... and for us all!

And here's hoping you are all doing well, and enjoying your week so far. I thank you for stopping by and will look forward to see you all again very soon!

*❤*