My husband's favorite Disney movie is Aladdin. When I say favorite, I mean "memorized all the lines and could say them backwords from the last line--to the opening credits." If Aladdin is on TV, I will literally say "go", and Chris will say every line before it comes up.
He's amazing like that. He memorized the lines back in the day when our parent hooked up cassette recorders before we fell asleep. They might have secretly hoped that we would become incredible readers as the sound piped through our tiny ears. (Sigh...Zoe will never get the pleasure of rewinding a cassette tape--she'll have an ipod?).

I was shopping the other day and I found this treasure:

It was only $1 in the grocery store. I was so excited! I brought it home and put it in our room hoping that Chris would notice.
Now here's what I realized from this little experiment: Guys do not think the way girls think.
I mean, duh, right? Well, several days later, he hadn't even noticed the book yet. Clearly we were not on the same page.

Here is what was in my imagination:

Chris sits with Zoe in her little pajamas, cuddles her and says: "You are a princess, just like this princess! I am going to read you daddy's favorite story...just you and me! I know all the lines in this book because I learned them when I was a littttttle boy...just like you!" Then he would open the book page by page....and Zoe would giggle at the princess pictures... They would cuddle through the story and she would know all the lines that he knows...

Here's what Chris actually said when I pointed out that I had bought the book for Zoe and him:
"Isn't that a little OLD for her?"
Me (slightly offended): Ummm, yeah, but you can start now and eventually she'll get it.
Him: I guess...
Me (really offended): I thought you would love this! (huff) Don't you get it? It's a daddy-daughter thing! It's SPECIAL. This is how you are going to BOND! Can't you imagine it?
Him: Okay, not following. How does this Jasmine book mean we will have a special bond?
Me: (eye roll) OBVIOUSLY, you are going to read it to her everyday, and she is going to feel like a princess when you read it. She will be in her jammies and she will hug you tight when she gets to the scary parts...and it will be turning dusk outside, she will be getting sleepy and you will tuck her in to princess dreams and tell her that you love her!
Him: Wow. There is a lot going on in your brain right now.
Me: sigh.
Him: I guess I can do this.... (Now that I have just described in graphic detail how to create a father-daughter bond)
Me: Oh gosh.

Its been awhile since I've written on here but Zoe is really getting to that age where we should start reading to her books. Its kind of embarressing that I have a degree in English and my certificate in Early Childhood Education and we don't even read everyday. I was talking to the therapist at my work and she has a nine month old. I asked her if she was reading to her daughter and she looked at me like I was crazy: "Of course! Everyday!"
What do you mean, of course?! I keep thinking. Here I know all about "exposure to print" (when babies/toddlers understand what a book is and can orientate a book in the correct way) and I have attempted only like twice to read to her. Ah, well, everything in its time right?

Soon enough I will be sitting Chris and Zoe down in the twilight with a sparkly Jasmine book.....