Ringin Around

D has gotten into "Ring Around the Rosie" lately. I think they do this at my babysitters - and every once in a while he requests that we join hands with him and do this over and over...and over in our living room.

If you're like me, you have vague recollection of hearing someone tell you that this nursery rhyme is actually a horrifying fable about what happened during the Great Plague.

Here's the description I've found online (from Wikipedia):
Many have associated the poem with the Great Plague which happened in England in 1665, or with earlier outbreaks of the Black Death in England. Interpreters of the rhyme before World War II make no mention of this;[12] by 1951, however, it seems to have become well established as an explanation for the form of the rhyme that had become standard in the United Kingdom. Peter and Iona Opie remark: "The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, posies of herbs were carried as protection and to ward off the smell of the disease. Sneezing or coughing was a final fatal symptom, and 'all fall down' was exactly what happened."[13][14] The line Ashes, Ashes in alternative versions of the rhyme is claimed to refer variously to cremation of the bodies, the burning of victims' houses, or blackening of their skin, and the theory has been adapted to be applied to other versions of the rhyme.[15] In its various forms, the interpretation has entered into popular culture and has been used elsewhere to make oblique reference to the plague.[16]

However - according to the internet rumor-squasher, Snopes.com this is absolutely not true...you can read about it here.

I don't know what I believe. I'm sure there's something to the rumors. However on Snopes you'll see they'll say that they say that this nursery rhyme would've had to carry over 5 centuries without anyone writing it down if this were true. So, I'm a skeptic. Maybe it's because my husband is a huge conspiracy theorist. I wish people would just leave well-enough alone with children's play. But I DO know the translation of the children's French song "Alouette" - which roughly is:
Little skylark, lovely little skylark
Little lark, I'll pluck your feathers off
I’ll pluck the feathers off your head
I’ll pluck the feathers off your head
Off your head - off your head
Little lark, little lark
O-o-o-o-oh

So - I'm a little disturbed already. But I'll keep dancing in circles with D as long as he wants me to. :)

Special Care, Reunited!

It's been 2.5 years since D was born at 34 weeks and spent a week in the Special Care Nursery at Delnor Hospital.
It seems like yesterday somedays, and others it feels like a hazy far away memory. It doesn't stop me from tearing up thinking about it...and missing that tiny baby that now is a walking, talking (occasionally talking-back) toddler.

Every summer, the Delnor Special Care Nursery has a reunion - a big festive event in the grounds out front of the hospital. The first year (when D was only about 7 months old) we forgot about it and missed it :(. But for the past two years we've attended and were so impressed with the day.

This year was the 17th Annual Reunion - and was a hit immediately with D as there was a PIRATE theme! He's so in to pirates these days that it seemed to be a perfect fit.
They go all out - moon bounces, inflatable obstacle courses, pony rides, crafts, games and ice cream from Coldstone Creamery.

Here's a few shots of D at this year's reunion...enjoying every minute.
Pony Ride!

Inflatable Obstacle Course

D behind the camera - helping me take a picture of his sand art.

Hitting the ice cream - hard.

Walking out with his gear!

I so appreciate this event every year. While we haven't run into my two favorite nurses that helped D become the strong boy he is...there's something so amazing about having a celebration outside the window of my hospital room where D came into the world 2.5 years ago.

Clinton Gregory

Another cute book I have to share with all of you! I was going to spare the blogosphere my latest favorite find, but being in the library today coming across so many "duds" before finding a few to check out, I figured sometimes it's nice to have one to search for.

And so you get CLINTON GREGORY. Or more formally, Clinton Gregory's Secret by Bruce Whatley.


This book starts out in a little boy's (Clinton Gregory's) room. Mentioning that he has a secret, or more likely at least 7 secrets from last week alone. His room is very bright and colorful and there are lots of toys and figures in the illustration that you'll go back to see!
The first "secret" is that on Monday night, Clinton Gregory wrestled a dragon. But the dragon was actually a friend of his. Each night of the week it's something different, from dining with giants to playing catch with a magic seahorse. If you simply go back to that first page - you'll notice that Clinton Gregory sleeps with a stuffed dragon, has a book on giants, and a bedspread with seahorses, etc.

I love this book. I love the imagination that it took to create. I love that it feels like each night I'm glimpsing into Clinton Gregory's life via my two year old who lays awake singing songs with his "guys" that he's brought to bed. Tonight they were pirates - other nights they are performers - and sometimes they're simply the superheroes that they are. Either way - D has his own adventures with them. Though he's still too young really to be imagining scenarios as vividly as he does, he's doing it. He's going on an adventure every night in his mind - and like our new friend Clinton Gregory, it's all sparked by the things that are around him.

This is a great book. Boy or girl, this deserves to be on your to-find list on your next trip to the library.

Cousins

D's so lucky to have a few cousins very close to him in age. I liked having cousins my age when I was younger - and I think he will too.
Here's some recent pictures of him and his close-in-age cousins (withing about a year of him) - having fun. It's already been a fun start to the summer, I can't wait to see what else is in store!

Boot Camp?

I'm considering it for D! But it's not what you think...

As you may or may not know - D still has no interest in potty training. This is fine but we know he's ready to start getting serious as he's been waking up dry from naps and overnight - and tells me when he's pooped and needs a diaper change. These are signs. I love that diapers keep him a bit of a baby in my eyes - but I would also love to save the money on diapers and have him take the next steps in growing up.

I've heard of Potty Boot Camp before. I've heard about friends/acquaintances/strangers who've used it and it gets a lot of good reviews from people. I hadn't thought about it in awhile because D was so stubborn and I'm intent on letting him do things on his own time. But I think in this case he might need a little push to get started. Then at a play date a week or so ago TWO moms said it worked like magic on their 2 year old daughters - and it sparked my interest again.


This book was written by a mom (and doctor?) who had tried multiple methods of potty training with no success - but combined several and found it to be amazing and show results the first day - and full results for some people within 2-3 days! It's sold tons of copies and I might be willing to give it a shot. I like the idea that the majority is done in a hard-working day or two, as I have to make sure I get my point across on my days I have D at home, as my babysitter doesn't have a ton of time to mess around with running him to the toilet every 45 minutes.

Anywho - here's the website www.thepottybootcamp.com so see what you think...

It would be later in the summer before I did it - so I'm deciding if it's worth a shot...