A couple Livi-isms, a short vid, and fave bilingual children’s books

 

Singing

“Mama, may I have this dance?”

“I don’t like Ursula. She’s not my favorite.” (At random, multiple times throughout the day)

“Can I have coffee? I’m two.” (I told her she couldn’t have coffee until she’s 21)

A short video of her singing:

 

“I want to read Margarita.”

Book  1 of 1

Livi is used to hearing Spanish with my family, and since we’re no longer geographically close to my nana who was teaching her everyday phrases, numbers and words en español, I’ve been trying to fill the gap by speaking it more often at home. We’ll count and say the Spanish words for basic things, and I’ve been reading some bilingual books to her. She’s fallen in love with reading, and some of my favorite parts of the day are when we’re snuggled up in her beanbag chair reading book after book after book. 

Some of Livi’s favorite Spanish/English books:

My Way/Mi Manera: A cute story about two different girls who are best friends. Nana ordered this one for her, and it’s her favorite by a landslide.

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. 

Animales.

Something about hearing a combination of the two languages is fun for her, because she’ll request them over and over again. I love hearing Tom read these books to her, too, because he minored in Italian and has an awesome Italian accent while he reads Spanish (just like how I sounded extremely Mexican while trying to use Italian phrases on our trip to Italy). 

I’m excited to expand our bilingual book collection, but the above three are our current favorites.

Any great Spanish/English books you can recommend?

Some more of her favorite books:

Press Here. This book is interactive, and the pages reflect what you do to the dots on the page (by tapping them, clapping, shaking the book, tilting it). 

Olivia. She always says, “That’s me, Olivia!” and loves her Olivia books. I like reading them to her, too, because I like Olivia: she’s smart, spunky, and kind-hearted. 

The Very Busy Spider (or anything Eric Carle). 

Romeo and Juliet. This book is all about counting, but she loves the illustrations of the different characters.

Angelina Ballerina.


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27 Comments

  1. Sara @ LovingOnTheRun on April 25, 2014 at 7:49 pm

    Awww love the video of Liv singing! So sweet 🙂

  2. Megan on April 25, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    There are few things cuter than little girls singing “Let It Go.” 🙂 I have a video of me playing guitar and singing that song with my three year old niece, and it’s one I’ll love having forever. <3

  3. Becki @ Bites 'n Brews on April 25, 2014 at 8:12 pm

    She is devastatingly adorable!

  4. Traci on April 25, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    I have no suggestions, but the Olivia books are so great! I’m glad they are popular in a bunch of different languages.

  5. Christine@ Apple of My Eye on April 25, 2014 at 8:47 pm

    I think it’s SO great that you’re introducing her to Spanish at a young age! I was born in Norway (my mom is Japanese) and grew up speaking it till I was around 4, when I switched primarily to English at preschool. I can understand it pretty well, but my speaking abilities aren’t where I wish they were! Learn it young and it sticks with you, though :).

    Love the Livi-isms!

  6. Christa on April 25, 2014 at 8:55 pm

    Soo pardo, soo pardo qui ves ahi. Love this one

  7. char eats greens on April 25, 2014 at 10:00 pm

    Love that you have bilingual books for her! This is my mission, but with french books! We have one Baby Einstein book that has 5 diff languages (french and spanish being 2), but I need to expand on this asap!! I love the Sandra Boynton books, too! Although some are pretty dumb (sorry!), the majority are really cute!

  8. Mary Ellen on April 25, 2014 at 10:06 pm

    Livi is absolutely adorable! My daughter loved “The Tortilla Quilt” when she was a little girl. Also, it’s not bilingual but I highly recommend “The Three Little Javalinas”!

  9. Mari on April 25, 2014 at 11:23 pm

    That video of your daughter singing is so sweet!!

  10. Jess on April 26, 2014 at 12:43 am

    We have actually been struggling to find decent bilingual resources for our girls so this will be aweesome!

  11. Katie @ Talk Less, Say More on April 26, 2014 at 7:44 am

    Better get that girl some singing lessons! Do I spot a future pop star? 😉

    • Fitnessista on April 26, 2014 at 5:56 pm

      broadway would be ok with me 😉 haha

  12. jodie on April 26, 2014 at 9:23 am

    Cute video. She is growing so fast.

  13. Ilane @cultiv8health on April 26, 2014 at 10:53 am

    I cannot believe how big Liv is! Thanks for posting the video.

  14. Kaylee on April 26, 2014 at 11:44 am

    She’s so cute!!

  15. Livi on April 26, 2014 at 11:50 am

    She’s going to be bilingual by the age of 3! That’s awesome!

  16. Alexis on April 26, 2014 at 12:11 pm

    Little toddler babbling is the cutest!! It’s definitely a mama-earned talent to understand:) I especially love how she throws her arms out to show emphasis… a broadway star in the making!

    • Fitnessista on April 26, 2014 at 5:54 pm

      hahah right? i was like how did you learn that?

  17. Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs on April 26, 2014 at 3:47 pm

    Liv is too darn cute! 🙂

  18. Cassie on April 26, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    Cute! We are very into Disney princess books over here. What bean bag chair do you have that you both sit in? I’m on the hunt for a good one. ..

    • Fitnessista on April 26, 2014 at 5:53 pm

      my mom got it for her for her bday at bed bath and beyond. you pick the fabric and they fill it for you! liv LOVES it

  19. Meg @ A Dash of Meg on April 26, 2014 at 5:02 pm

    THANK YOU FOR THE VIDEO 😀 i was so looking forward to it

  20. Tracy on April 27, 2014 at 2:16 pm

    Love the video! Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Who is poor Ursula who has fallen from Liv’s favor? Ha ha!

    • Fitnessista on April 27, 2014 at 7:19 pm

      haha! it’s ursula from the little mermaid. we took her on the ride in california adventure and she did NOT LIKE the ursula part. ever since then, she’ll randomly say, “i don’t like ursula. she’s scary.”

  21. Giselle@myhealthyhappyhome on April 27, 2014 at 11:44 pm

    So cute! I had my son in a Spanish class for awhile a few months back and he LOVED it! He has a Spanish CD with kids Spanish songs on it and asks for it every time we are in the car. He loves Skippy Jon Jones which has a little Spanish in it in a funny way 🙂 Oh and Dora!

  22. Molly on May 3, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    I am studying to add a reading teacher license to my other teaching license (teach Language Arts) and one of my textbooks recommends “There is a Wocket in My Pocket” and “The Hungry Thing” for helping to promote early literacy.

  23. queenoffitness on May 6, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    hey gina
    i know this is an older post BUT on friday our home & school peeps were setting up the scholastic book fair at one of my school buildings. i perused the selection. they have a book called “maria had a little llama” (like mary had a little lamb) it was bilingual! just thought i’d pass the word on.

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