Stuart Little

Curling up together on the couch for a read aloud has always been a favorite pastime in our family. We've sat on the magic reading carpet and let our imaginations take us to the past and the future. We have talked to animals and travelled the world through the pages of our books.

When I had two little girls and one on the way, I read often. I was too tired and too big to get up and do much else.

As I approached my due date, we happened to be reading the classic, Stuart Little. The book is far different than the movie.

One of my favorite parts of the story is when Mrs. Little delivers--not a typical baby--but a mouse. The doctor tells Mr. and Mrs. Little that this happens from time to time, although it is rare.

As I read this part of the story with great emotion, I looked down and saw my youngest daughter staring intently at my swollen belly.

"Now, you KNOW that I am not going to deliver a mouse, right? That is only in the storybook."

My daughter twisted a strand of her hair slowly as she continue to concentrate on my waistline. "Well, it COULD be a mouse!"

I am not sure if she was disappointed when she came to the hospital soon afterward, and held her baby sister for the first time. Her new sister was not a mouse.