We have our bedtime routine with the kids down solid. We get the kids down around the same time each night, and each night, we follow the same routine: exercise, bath, lotion, read a few books, pray, potty one last time, and then head to bed.

It hasn’t always been like that; it changes as the kids change in age and personal desires. We just started reading the boys books before bed, for example. Before that, we would just give them milk, let them putz around until they are so sleepy, and then put in their cribs.

To us, they were just getting excited with the stories and read-along that it wasn’t really winding them down. Now that they are a little older, the understand that bedtime is approaching and that they need to quietly sit and listen.

Serena helps us with putting them to sleep, too. She likes moving the book around to show the boys the pictures. She loves putting them to sleep, probably because it means it’s time for her bubble bath and reading time with mommy and daddy.

It’s the cutest thing because she has her teddy bears sitting next to her like an audience for her and there is a specific order in which she reads the books; not sure why, but we can’t deviate or it’s game over!

Anyway, we try to limit to three books per night, but we usually get suckered in to reading more.

Here are our top 5 bedtime stories for our kids.

Goodnight Mr Darcy, Kate Coombs

Edgar Gets ready for Bed, Jennifer Adams

Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Eileen Christelow

Ladybug Girl Says Good Night, David Somar and Jacky Davis

What do you guys read before bedtime?