Up to the Sky and Down Again

Anthony and I have been fans of "Guess How Much I Love You" by Sam McBratney since we were in dating in college. And we couldn't wait to share it with our children.

We have at least 3 copies, including a hardback, paperback, and boardbook. I think we first read it to each of the boys when they were just over a year old.

Now that Jacks and Cody are a bit older, they don't enjoy the book as much anymore (it doesn't have quite enough action for their tastes!). But we've incorporated the message of the story into our nighttime ritual.

Before they go to sleep, we say, "I love you up to the sky and down again ____ times." For a while, it was the biggest number they could think of, which for Cody was often 5. Anthony taught Jackson about googles, so then Jacks began saying "...googleplex times." I still maintain that's cheating. :)

But now, thanks to Cody, we have words filling in the blanks that aren't necessarily numbers. In fact, most often they aren't. Last night we had T-Rex, butterfly, and (my personal favorite), "I love you up to the sky and down again EYEBALL times."

I hope they never get too old for this part of bedtime, because I've become quite attached to it. And even if THEY do, I never will. They'll be 30 and I'll call them to tell them I love them up to the sky and down again TRASHCAN times.