Swinging Revisited

So we've been taking D to some of the same parks, obviously, since he was born. One of which is Wheeler Park in Geneva - a big, beautiful park with a huge playground, great walking trails and of course, swings.
Just thought you might want to see D's progression in the swings from Spring to Spring...at ages about 7 months, 18 months, and now 2.5!



They aren't my favorite pictures of all time - but you can see how big my baby is getting, he's a little boy now...I can't believe it!

Another Classic

It's NOT rare that I love a children's book. However it IS rare that I find a book that I love so much that I wish I'd known it when I was a kid.
Since this book was published in 2008...it's too bad for the 4 year old me.

Mary Had a Little Lamp

You read it right...LAMP.



Yes - this ADORABLE book by Jack Lechner, and illustrated by one of my favorite children's book artists Bob Staake, is a hoot from the word go. It's rhyming and follows the rhyming pattern and ideas of the nursery rhyme we all know and love.

The first page:
Mary had a little lamp,
the bendy, gooseneck kind.
And every where that Mary went
she dragged the lamp behind.

Another children's book blogger I've recently discovered had this to say - which I think is incredibly fitting:
How fun are these couplets going to be to read aloud with kids? They strike just the right note of rhythm and humor. This is a book that, as soon as I had finished it, I wanted to read it again. I can totally picture kids walking around quoting from it, in sing-song voices.

Mary drags this desk lamp with her everywhere - she even "took the lamp to school one day" as the original Mary did with her wooly friend. She takes it all kinds of places, but then eventually leaves it home from summer camp - - but you won't be disappointed in how Mary grows up and moves on at the end.

This is a NO DUH addition to our HUGE Amazon.com wish list - I highly suggest you add it to yours. D loves it - he loves the rhymes and even thinks it's laugh out loud funny. But I can see this as a hit with older kids too - especially with a back of the book that continues the "cute" theme with reviews from other nursery rhyme celebrities.

Love. I wonder how many times you can renew something from my library...

Reach High, Think Big, Work Hard, Have Fun

Well - just when you think D couldn't love anything more than "guys" - he has a new and probably more passionate obsession.

D loves TV - - there's no mistake about that. He will sit and watch cartoons as long as we'll let him. This can be a blessing and a curse simultaneously. But he's developed a LOVE for one show in particular, IMAGINATION MOVERS on Disney Channel.

I actually don't mind them. It's a group of 4 guys from New Orleans who sing, dance and solve problems...or should I say "idea emergencies". For some reason D can't get enough. We didn't go to the live concert when they were in Chicago because it was so expensive - but this was probably the biggest mistake of our lives. We DVR'd the Disney Channel's airing of a 30 minute segment of the concert - and we watch it on repeat. Literally. D also understands that we have episodes on our DVR and OnDemand - so we cannot tell him it's not on. He literally has had multiple times outs for temper tantrums when he had to be cut off from watching too many episodes in a sitting.

I like these guys though - I like their story. You can read about them or watch videos on YouTube of them being interviewed. They're family men, all but 1 has kids - and old friends that did this as a group idea. And the kicker is, they're extremely talented musicians. Dain has even said if you changed the words to the songs - they'd probably be a popular/respected group.

Here's the part of each show where they start solving the problem of the day. It's their "brainstorming" song. We listen to in on my iPod, sing it in the tub, and dance along when it's on screen. The best part is the end - Reach High, Think Big, Work Hard, Have Fun. D can do the motions - and even says it over and over like a mantra sometimes when trying to fall asleep.



As much as I like them and I like that D likes them - I can't justify letting him watch episodes all day every day...which is what he'd love to do.

Thank you Easter Bunny, bawk bawk

We survived Easter. D loved it even more than last year - which I expected - but there are some things that he will understand more I think next year.
1. He wouldn't sit on an Easter Bunny's lap. Or really get near them.
2. He wanted to DRINK the egg dye instead of put eggs in it.
3. He liked picking up one egg at an egg hunt - but was pretty much done with it after one or two.
4. He didn't really understand the Easter Bunny bringing presents still - but that didn't stop us from getting him a gift :)

Here's some photos of the Easter weekend festivities:

One of our coloring activities

Coloring eggs

Getting ready for an egg hunt

Looking at what might be inside

One of my favorite pictures of all time - I don't know why I love it but I do - exhaustion before the hunt even started

Easter morning - THE BATCAVE! - the best present ever!

Finding an egg at Grandma Denise's on Easter

With cousin Haven on Easter - looking cute!

MarchED for Babies

A HUGE thank you to everyone who supported my March for Babies this year. I raised a whopping $410 dollars (now that my change collection bins have been turned in).
I SO appreciate the support and generosity. It's such an honor to have been a part of the March of Dimes March for Babies this year.
It was a COLD and WINDY day - but we had a great time anyway!
Here's some photos from this year's walk. Looks like we're dressed for December - but it really was April :)




There was huge turnout and it was fun. I'm gearing up for March for Babies 2012!

Time Yet?

Is it time yet?
Time to potty train? D shows no interest!
Time to move to a big boy bed? D has been up in the night the past several nights regularly - I don't know that I want him wandering the halls.

So - it's not time for either - but maybe I should get on the move. D is 2 1/2 now. I feel like some of these things should be happening - but he appears to be in no hurry, so I guess neither am I.

Book Series - Colors!

I'm a sucker for a good children's book - as we all know. So when I run across a good SERIES of children's books...well just look out world!

Christianne C. Jones authored a series of books called "Know Your Colors". Each of the color books has a different color theme - as well as a cute theme for the book. We ran across these books at the library - started with Blue last week and ended up with Blue, Red, Yellow, Purple and Green today!

These are very cute books - as you can see - all organized a central theme for that color. Splish Splash and Blue was a huge hit with D. It's quick sentences - rhyming - and in the blue instance, all focused on a trip to the water park and everything that's blue there.

What I like even more is the add-ons in the book that you don't really realize until you have more than a few moments to get started that the books give a full page of information on colors/that particular color before the story starts.
ALSO - there's a seek-and-find on EVERY page - as there's a crayon in the title color hidden somewhere on each page. I find myself looking for it while we're reading the books, even though D isn't quite interested in that aspect yet. It will give the books another use/job for the child reading it - most likely getting them to spend more time with the story, even solo, which is a huge goal for parents and I would imagine authors as well.

I love these books. A few are available in paperback - the rest are kind-of expensive hardcover. However - if you have a local library like mine - these are a great way to introduce colors. I had planned to do one a week - but D loved them so much we'll just dive right in!

Just another positive review from the book lover!