my heart is melting

During my afternoon Starbucks run yesterday I happened to look to my right and was surprised to catch a glimpse of my favorite little blue monster peering at me from the milk and sugar counter...

I literally squealed. Outloud. To no one.

Best. Children's book. EVER.

Holy instant nostalgic heart pangs.

I brought a total of 2 stuffed animals with me to California; the rest having been donated to charity or to the toy box at my parents house (does anyone else have more anxiety about getting rid of old toys since watching Toy Story 1, 2 &3?). The first, the build-a-bear sent to me by one of my besties as encouragement to successfully participate in Penn State's Dance Marathon. It still serves to remind me of both the amazing friends I have as well as how great it was to dance in THON.  The second, Grover (who, by the way, was, is and always will be the best monster on Sesame Street).

I cannot tell you how many times I asked my dad to read this story to me as a kid. I can still hear his pretty impressive "Grover voice" animatedly telling the tale while I giggled and participated by turning the pages. I love reading this story to the little babescicles in my life, too. Without fail it manages to engage even the most ants-in-the-pants little kid and to hear them laughing along and asking to "read it again!" is such an awesome feeling.

I was giddy to share this news with my dad and we excitedly downloaded the App last night while relaxing in my kitchen. Then he, my mom and I sat and listened to the whole thing (all still able to quote most of it by memory). My dad even reached over at one point to turn the page on my phone (are you clutching your heart yet? because mine may burst). I grabbed my old copy off the bookshelf just to be sure it was the same and sure enough they did an amazing job keeping my loveable furry old Grover as charming as ever. I don't know who Melissa Schwartz is, but I owe her a plethora of gratitude for gifting me this little gem.

Screen shot of the App on my iPhone

(I'm giggling at my desk thinking of my dad saying this)

If I ever have kids, this is guaranteed to be in our rotation of bed time stories. I truly love this book!

Muchos kudos to Starbucks/iTunes. Forget "Pick of the Week". This is pretty much "Pick of the Year" for me.

In Gratitude,

Trish