I love reading. That might be an understatement, I read everything I can. I am that person that will sit at the breakfast table and read everything on the cereal box, and try to read every sign on a road trip. I love words and the stories that they weave together. I come from a family of readers, and have many fond memories of my parents reading to me, or sitting in the living room while everyone reads their own book. I usually have multiple books on the go in both hardcopy and e-book format, and my book choice is at eclectic as my music choices.

I hope that my kids love to read. We have been reading to both girls since they were newborns. Capri does not sit still very long, so usually we don’t get through an entire book – which is sad because those board books are not very long. I hope that this changes. I want to read The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and the Anne of Green Gables books to my girls (amongst many other books), I want them to beg me to read them just one more chapter before bed. I can’t wait to catch them reading with a flashlight under their covers, or see that they have fallen asleep with a book across their face.

As we were driving around town the other day to get coffee Capri had my PlayBook in the back seat and was watching Curious George on it, and I thought to myself that I need to get some more audiobooks for our car trips.

I joke a lot with Stefan that having kids has made him a reader, since their books have lots of pictures and are short enough for him to make it through. He just laughs and points out that even though he is not a reader he has read The Lord of the Rings and I have not. But I love seeing him read to the girls.

Reading helps grow your child’s imagination, and allows them to experience things and places that they might never know about. I hope that my kids like to read everything from fairy tales to books on leadership. I think it is important to read everything you can – okay, so I might have to try and read LOTR.

I cannot wait for the day that Capri and Payson sit through an entire book, and even more for the day we begin our first chapter book together.

So read to your kids, help them grow their imagination and to learn about new places and different people. Let them read biographies and historical accounts of amazing events, or a book full of beautiful poems. And read books yourself, because we should never stop learning and expanding our minds.