So much.

The other day, I posted about how I was inspired by Pinterest and wanted to create a print for Lovie's room from a quote from my favorite book of hers. It's the first book I purchased for her and it was bought just an hour or so after finding out she was going to be a girl.

Here's a post from my pregnancy blog regarding the book:

8/26/2009: After the beautiful appointment yesterday, Daddy and I went to register - or at least start to register. It was actually a lot of fun because it was a brand new experience for us both to be surrounded by everything baby.

After an hour or so we gave up (for now) and handed in the zapper (which your dad thoroughly enjoyed managing), I bought a book to start reading to you, and we headed out to dinner. The book is one that I'm sure we'll spend many times reading together because it truly is a wonderful story: I Love You So... by Marianne Richmond.

I'm not going to lie: by the end of the story, I was in tears. I had a real hard time finishing the story and one day you'll understand. They were good tears, my sweet baby girl. Wonderful tears. Because the fact is that while we haven't yet met in person quite yet, I really do love you so...

All my love,
Momma

Sappy, yes? YES!

But that's me, I guess.

Anyway, I'm not even sure how many times I've read this book.

circa April 2010

But it's definitely so many times that I've memorized it and Lovie's been bringing the book to me to read since before she was a year old (though this video is from a couple weeks after turning 1):

She's "read" it on her own many times, and now... now she will actually ask me to read specifically that book to her. She doesn't just bring the book to me like she did when she was first starting to walk (and talk- kinda)!

I'm guessing this isn't a big deal to most folks, but to me it's huge. Since she was a month old or so, we've established a bedtime routine that always included reading books because reading to a child, even an itty bitty baby, to me, is SO important. I couldn't tell you WHY exactly I feel so strongly about it, but I do. I digress though, sorry. Well, about a month ago, she started to fight the bedtime routine and I was at a loss for several days until finally I thought to see if she was wanting some sort of change. So I started to ask her to pick out a book instead of just reading. This helped matters immensely.

For the past week or two, she always asks for the Choo-Choo book (a Thomas the Train book that plays sounds when you press a button). But she also always tries stalling going to bed and will start pulling out several other books so in order to control that a bit (mean mommy), I ask her to pick out another book to let daddy read (when/if he's there) or for me to read. And the other day? When I asked her what other book she wanted me to read after the Choo-Choo book?? She says to me, "So much."

But she said it in a way that sounded like one word: "Somuch."

I didn't pick it up right away and thought that she was saying "Thomas" for the Choo-Choo book again and said, "Thomas? You want me to read the Choo Choo book again?"

"No," she said. "Somuch."

I sat there and looked at her and tried really hard to think about what she was saying.  And as I thought about it and said nothing, she went to get the I Love You So... book.

"So much?" I repeated with much enthusiasm as I was smacked in the face with what she was saying.

A big smile invaded Lovie's face. "Somuch," she repeated, handing me the book.

I nearly cried. Sincerely, I nearly cried.

"I love you," I said, picking her up. "How much?"

"So much," we said at the same time.

"How much is so?" I said.
"Way, way" we both said as I nearly died, "more than you know."  (her "more than you know" came out as a "eh-ah-eh-oh")