Five Books I Love to Read to My Boys

My boys love to read, Boden especially. We can sit & read book after book all day long! I sat down to write a post about some of their favorite books to read…but that would have been a really long post & contain way too many books! I thought that I would share my favorite books to read to them instead.

I believe that my love for reading comes from being read to a lot as a child. My mom always read to us & bought us the best books! I hope my boys love reading as much as I do, which is why I am always adding new books to their collection. I don’t believe you can have too many books! Here are the top five books I like to read to them:

The Wonderful Things You Will Be as you can see, our copy of this book is quite loved! My mom bought this book for the boys when I was very early in my pregnancy with them. I think it was one of the first gifts they had ever received! I love the rhyming in this story, the message that you can be whatever you want to be & the illustrations.

I Love You the Purplest this book was a gift to the boys from my cousin. I had never heard of it before, but it has become so important to me. I can never get through this book without tearing up & getting emotional. It’s relatable to me because it is about a mother & her two boys. It definitely pulls at my heart strings.

Made for Me I bought this book for Sean to read to the boys (which he does) but I like reading it to them, too! It is nice to have a book from a dads perspective, because a lot of books are about moms and their children. This book takes you on a journey through the day-to-day with a dad and his child. Perfect for dads to read to boys or girls.

Mama, Do You Love Me? and Love You Forever these are two books that I remember from my childhood because my mom read them to me when I was young. Mama, Do You Love Me? is a story about how a parents love is unconditional & wholehearted. Love You Forever is another book that makes me emotional when I read it. It’s a beautiful story that illustrates parenthood & shows the incredible bond between a mother & her child.

Do you have any of these books in your collection? What are your favorite books to read to your kids?

xoxo

Toddler Diaper Bag

Now that the boys are getting older, I haven’t been needing to take a diaper bag with me everywhere I go. I’m so happy that I can use a normal purse again! That being said, I never want to be stuck without diapers or an extra change of clothes. So, I put together a bag that I can just keep in my car that has everything we need while we are out and about, just incase. I replenish items as I need them, but I always try to keep this in the car.

I used the Freshly Picked backpack diaper bag for the first year, which was great! It went everywhere with me, including back & forth between the house & car. But now that the twins are bigger, I decided to switch it up a bit with a different bag. When I saw this Mickey & Minnie diaper bag from Petunia Picklebottom, I knew I had to have it! :) It’s also fun for the boys because they like to point at the characters & say their names.

I love that this bag has two main compartments. The bottom part of the bag completely opens up & is insulated so it can be used as a cooler. I just cleaned out my diaper bag, so what better time to share what I keep in it?! Here is how I pack my bag for two toddlers!

Upper compartment:

Changing pads // the back mesh pocket holds the changing pad that came with the diaper bag + disposable changing pads. I like to use these disposable changing pads when I am somewhere particularly gross…like a public restroom. I like that I can just throw the pad away so that I am not putting a dirty pad back in my bag.

Dry Wet bags // I use these Jujube dry wet bags to keep items together & organized. I love these bags! They come with removable straps so I can use them as a purse if I want, I can also put any soiled or wet clothes in them to keep them away from other items in my bag & then when we get home, I can just throw the whole thing in the wash.

1. The larger bag has two outfits (one for each baby) & contains two pairs of pants + two shirts + two pairs of socks.

2. The medium sized bag is a “first aid” bag. I keep nail clippers, children’s Tylenol + syringes, hand sanitizer, travel sized aqauphor, bandaids & Neosporin. (I keep this in the back mesh pocket with the changing pads).

3. The smallest bag is my “mommy bag”. This is where I keep my lipstick, chapped stick, tide to-go pen, hand sanitizer, medicine for mom + dad, hair ties, etc. (This lives in the front zipper pocket)

Snacks // because this bag stays in the car, I only keep pouches so food doesn’t go stale. I will try to bring fresh snacks with us when we go anywhere, but love to have these as backups in the bag.

Sunglasses // I use the side bottle pouch for the boys’ sunglasses. (This bag only has one bottle pouch that fits inside the main compartment & the boys don’t take bottles anymore except at bedtime).

Bottom compartment:

Diapers + Wipes // one regular pack of wipes, one travel pack & six diapers.

Hand sanitizing wipes // I love these wipes from Babyganics. I use them to clean surfaces as well as to clean our hands when we aren’t able to wash them.

Wash it Later bags // we haven’t had to use these since the boys’ “blow out” days, but I don’t want to be without them! These bags allow you to pre-soak your stained clothes so they don’t get ruined before you can get home to wash them. Just add water.

Hand & Face wipes // perfect for messy eaters!

Dirty diaper disposal bag dispenser + extra rolls // because, 😷🤢

Toys // we have made the mistake too many times of not having toys with us. Sometimes, they just need something to keep their attention and play with. The toys we bring change from time to time, right now they each have a set of toy keys .

Water bottle spouts // these are awesome! I don’t like to keep sippy cups in my bag since it stays in the car. These adapters will fit onto (most) water bottles & turn them into a sippy. They are great for if we are ever in a pinch & need to use a normal water bottle. The boys also like to use them at home!

There you have it! Our diaper bag for two toddlers :) of course, we adjust depending on where we are going and for how long, but generally…this is it! You have to carry so many more things when you have kids! 🤪 What do you keep in your bag?

*Some links in this post are affiliate links.

16 Month Update

The twins are 16 months old! I’m constantly amazed at how much they are learning & growing. I love to watch their little minds in action! They are learning more words & are bouncing off the walls. Boden can say & identify Mickey (Mouse) which I think is the word I’m most proud of! ;)

Wyatt loves to play with blocks, wash his hands (which is the cutest, ever) & be outside. Miesha is still his favorite & I call him my little sweetheart because he is just so lovey towards his mama!

Boden loves books. I think we read the same three books 100 times a day ;) just about the only time I can get him to sit in my lap is if we are reading a book. I’ll take those cuddles anytime I can get them!

Some activities we’ve been doing lately are finger painting, washing our hands (Wyatt’s favorite), learning to hold a marker + color, going up & down the stairs, wagon rides & of course…playing! The boys usually play well together, but also fight. Which is a somewhat new development. The first picture below was taken right before Boden pulled Wyatt’s hair!

They enjoy playing with their trucks, cars, helicopters…anything that moves! The sounds they make while playing with these toys are too cute…it sounds like a whoooooshing noise.

We’ve been trying to stay busy at home while we are in quarantine. This past weekend, Sean got our backyard cleaned up so we can play outside once the weather gets nicer! The boys (especially Wyatt) love to be outside & explore. He’s always been our little adventurer.

Stay safe & stay healthy!

xoxo