Favorite Children's Books {8}

Time for another edition of our favorite children's books! 

These books by Andrea Beaty are just the best. After reading the others, we checked out Rosie Revere Engineer and we loved it, too! Rosie follows her dream of becoming an engineer.

The underpants books continue in our house. This one was just as funny as the previous ones we read. If your kids like underwear jokes, check this one out! 

All of the "bear" books are great. Bear has a great group of friends and these books show them loving each other, learning things about each other and more. We love these! 

Incredible books for learning about animals. So many facts about commonly discussed animals as well as animals we don't know much about. These are probably a bit advanced for Mason but we've enjoyed them nonetheless and think they will be great to check out again in a few years. 

  

Simple and sweet. 

In honor of Black History Month, we've been scouring the library for books with main characters that are of color. Here are a couple that we have liked! 

Mason LOVED this one especially because the little boy goes to the barbershop for his first haircut. It was fun! 

Oh man, an incredible book based on a true story of the youngest protester arrested. This was eye opening and Mason asked so many questions after this! 

Steal Away Home by Billy Coffey {A Book Review}

Steal Away Home by Billy Coffey was my first book by Billy Coffey but he has reeled me in for sure! To be completely honest, as I read this book, I could not figure out if I actually liked the book or not. Let me explain. 

First of all, the book is based in the sport of baseball and while it is not necessarily technical about baseball, I think it would be enjoyed most by someone who does know about and care about baseball. The book is split into the tops and bottoms of innings in a baseball game and the story bounces back and forth between present day and several different "ages" in the past. At first, that was difficult for me to keep up with but as I learned more about the characters, it wasn't hard to follow at all. By the middle to end of the book, I began to enjoy this back and forth more and truly enjoyed it. 

The main character is Owen, a baseball player raised in Appalachia who makes it into college and eventually the MLB to play baseball. The present day story is of him being called up from Double A to a major league game and the innings of that particular baseball game are the setting. 

The past of the story is related to him in high school and college as he discovers who he is, what's important to him, etc. He is a part of town that is divided and he meets someone who is "from the other side of the tracks." Their relationship is secret and as it develops, so much changes. This story is complex on so many levels and therefore difficult to explain. 

I feel like the main premise if of two main characters trying to discover who they are and what they need in life while things are constantly changing. The family dynamics are interesting and also difficult to read about at times. I loved this story. I loved the ending even though it took a while to get there. I love the way Billy Coffey developed the characters. I'll be reading more Coffey books in the future! 

Thanks BookLook Bloggers for the free copy! 

Mason {4 years, 3 months}

When Matt was getting pictures of Maddox, of course he needed to get some of Mason, too! 

Mason's personality and intelligence is exploding right now! He's learning so much, growing so much and he's becoming just the kindest human being. I love him so much! 

Maddox {20ish Months}

Well, I had every intention of writing an 18 month post about Maddox. Yeah, that would have been in December and that didn't happen. So here were are and he's almost 21 months old and I'm doing it. haha! 

These last few months have been so much fun! Maddox is learning so much, saying so many words, and is into everything!!! 

You can see in these first few pictures that he has a scraped up eye. Yeah, he fell down the steps.😑

Then, his eye cleared up and Matt was able to get outside with him during a beautiful day to snap a few more shots. 

Well, first he got some inside. Man, I love this blue-eyed boy! 

Maddox is very quick to let you know how he feels about something with a scream. If he gets hurt, he runs immediately to Mom or Dad for comfort. He has gotten a little tougher recently when he and Mason have a tiff. 

Speaking of Mason, they fight as much as they get along but their times together have gotten so much sweeter in the last few months. The other day, Mason left for several hours with a friend and Maddox cried off and on the whole time. He loves his brother. 

Maddox continues to be a great sleeper. He naps 2-3 hours each afternoon and sleeps 7p-7a each night. He loves his buds and his thumb. 

  

Maddox is a pretty good eater and likes most things that we give him. He is quick to let us know if he'd prefer not to eat it. Unfortunately, that, at times, involves tossing it on the floor. Yeah, not my favorite. 

  

Look at those eyes!

Maddox loves going to church, MOPS, AWANA and storytime as well as anything else we do. He loves to check people out, wave hi/bye and play with others. 

Maddox loves playing outside and has been known to eat dirt when allowed. Or heck, who am I kidding, even when we don't want him to. 😂

We have enjoyed the last 20+ months with this little guy! He's the best!