lovely

why i enjoy reading joseph's books aloud to him (and sometimes forget i'm supposed to be reading them aloud and read them to myself silently until i realize he's squirming out of my lap):

"One day when the sun had come back over the Forest, bringing with it the scent of may, and all the streams of the Forest were tinkling happily to find themselves their own pretty shape again, and the little pools lay dreaming of the life they had seen and the big things they had done, and in the warmth and quiet of the Forest the cuckoo was trying over his voice carefully and listening to see if he liked it, and wood-pigeous were complaining gently to themselves in their lazy comfortable way that it was the other fellow's fault, but it didn't matter very much; on such a day as this Christopher Robin whistled in a special way he had, and Owl came flying out of the Hundred Acre Wood to see what was wanted." - christopher robin throws pooh a party by a.a. milne

"one; wakes up in the hay. two; say hello to the day. three; meet up with a moo. four; have so much to do. five; and more on the way. how many came out to play? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. here on the farm, it's a wonderful day!" - curious baby counting book (annnnd that was from memory)

"but the Big Strong Engine bellowed: 'i am a Freight Engine. i have just pulled a big train loaded with big machines over the mountain. these machines print books and newspapers for grown-ups to read. i am a very important engine indeed. i won't pull the likes of you!' and the Freight Engine puffed off indignantly to the roundhouse." - the little engine that could by watty piper

i'm also reading pride and prejudice, but mostly to myself unless jeremy allows me to read aloud to him. and i love it. i do. i just spent most of the post-joseph-bedtime time of this evening reading it. a favorite exerpt following a speech by mr. collins:

"and with a bow to mr. darcy, he concluded his speech, which had been spoken so loud as to be heard by half the room. many stared--many smiled; but no one looked more amused than mr. bennet himself, while his wife seriously commended mr. collins for having spoken so sensibly, and observed in a half-whisper to lady lucas, that he was a remarkably clever, good kind of young man."