January 9: Our Library Routine

I'm not sure that this is really a blog-worthy topic, but it's all I have for today.

I have been noticing lately how much Audrey is a creature of routine.  She loves to follow the same routines every day, and she loves when she knows exactly what is going to happen next.  I think it is a fairly normal and good thing for kids this age to like routines, but Audrey seems to have an exceptional appreciation for the expected routine.

Like today, at the library, I realized that we have a very set routine every time we go to the library. I never set out to make it a routine, but we just always do the same things every time, without even thinking about it.

First, we park in the garage under the library.  It is a little more expensive than parking on the street, but you never have to drive around looking for a spot.  Plus, if we park below the library, we get to take the elevator up to the library.  This is still a very fun thing for my girls.  Audrey always pushes the buttons in the elevator, and now Isla has decided that she too needs to push the buttons after Audrey pushes them.

Once in the library, we head to the book return slot.  Audrey and Isla take turns putting our books and movies down the slide.

Then we go to the children's section.  First we look at the books.  Audrey has started picking out her own books, and we usually get 4-5 books (though today we came home with 7).  After the books, we head to the movie section and pick out two movies.  Then, recently, we have been going to the audio CDs and picking out a Disney movie soundtrack. (We then listen to that CD in the van for the entire two weeks we have it checked out, and Mom and Dad are always ready to return it!).

While Audrey and I are picking everything out, Isla loves to just wander around the children's area, going up and down the aisles.  There are some toys that she sometimes plays with.  Today, she brought her baby doll and bottle, and she spent the whole time carrying her baby around and stopping to feed her in various places.  Sometimes Audrey plays with the puzzles or puppets or colors a picture.

I rarely browse the shelves looking for books for me, but I often have a book waiting on hold for me to pick up when we check out.  Our actual library doesn't have a great selection of books. But the system that our library is connected with has pretty much any book you could ever want, you just have to request it. 

Then we go back down the elevator and back to the car.  The whole process is about 45 minutes total.

And I usually (always) drive through McDonalds on the way home for a Diet Dr. Pepper. 

Such an exciting life we lead around here!  =)