Friday Faves: All for Fall

The September air is crisp; the yellow school bus just cruised by a little while ago; Maisy and I are both sporting our blue jeans today; and the leaves on one of our trees is even changing color.  Fall is coming.  As much as I enjoy summer, I really love the fall.

With a coupon for 30 percent off a kids' Halloween book in hand, Maisy and I trouped off to Barnes & Noble today to find a fall-flavored book. Here's what we agreed on:

1. Plumply Dumply Pumpkin by Mary Serfozo
I love this book!  The language is fabulous and so fun to read aloud.  It's chock full of catchy rhymes like "Peter's looking for a pumpkin, a perfect plumply dumply pumpkin" and "Helps his dad carve into place a simply dimply, dumply face."

For you teachers out there, this book provides plenty of pumpkin-themed examples of rhyming, alliteration, "juicy" word choice, synonyms, and antonyms.

Cute story, clever language, and colors that catch Maisy's eye: This one is a keeper!





Back to school means back to Sunday School and Wednesday night children's ministries as well.  Since I teach PreK-K Sunday School and K-2 Awana on Wednesdays, I thought I'd include a book with interesting game ideas for kids.

2. 180 Faith-Charged Games for Children's Ministry

One reason I like this book is the table of contents. The first 100ish games in the book are related to Bible stories, and the table of contents makes it super easy to see if what I'm teaching this week has a game to fit. In addition to the Bible story games, the book has icebreaker games, team-building Games, and more. Each game has an energy-meter, a Bible verse, brief discussion questions, and a list of the "power tools" needed for that game.

A word of caution: I don't have all of the "power tools" needed for all the games, and I doubt you do. Also, some of the games get pretty competitive for the little people I work with to be able to handle. That's where improvisation comes in. Switch up the power tools if you need to. Get rid of the competitive elements if you prefer. Make it work for you. Regardless, this book is a nice starting point for finding activities to go along with your message.

The Music of Babies

A faint, racing heartbeat.

The first sound I heard from my baby was nothing short of miraculous. A matter of weeks after I held the positive pregnancy test heralding newly created life, I heard the life-changing music of my baby's tiny beating heart. I marched to the drumbeat of that first sound for months while I waited for the next song.

Months later, after hours of shocking contractions and desperate pushing, I heard the most beautiful, relief-filled, pain-erasing notes. I heard my brand new baby, out in the big world, crying loudly: "I'm here! I'm yours! Cuddle me! Feed me! Love me!" And I did. I wrapped my arms around her as she wailed, and I communicated silently back: "I'm here. I'm yours. I'll always love you."

The first night, in spite of being awake for over two days, my husband and I stayed awake listening to the music of our baby. We were held captive by every sigh, every suck, every whimper. Her hiccups had us whispering to each other across the dark hospital room: "She's so sweet. She's so perfect." 

Over the first two months, she spoke to us in grunts and dolphin noises. Grunting may not sound very musical, but to me it was. My baby's grunts were at once funny and beautiful. They murmured: "I'm here. I'm yours. Cuddle me, feed me, love me." And I did.

In no time, the grunting ceased, and my baby began to coo. Cooing meant contentment, and she was a very contented baby. The little vowel sounds never ceased to make me smile. 

Quickly, it seemed, the vowels attached to consonants, and my daughter began to speak the babbling language of babies. Her cries began with an adorable "Boooo-waaaaaa" that, accompanied by an amazing pouty lip, had me hiding a smile as I comforted her baby woes. Around this time, she looked me in the eye and chattered, and I chattered back. She woke us early in the morning as she lay in bed, chatting happily to the stars and moon that hung above her crib. She was truly the world's cutest alarm clock.

Along with the babbling stream of ma's and ba's and ga's came other sounds. She pushed air out of her lips to make little raspberry noises. Scritching and scratching became common sounds in our home as she discovered the interesting textures all around her.

One early morning at the family cabin she woke us up with "THUMP -rattlerattlerattle... THUMP -rattlerattlerattle." She was having a grand time kicking the hollow-sounding bottom of the Pack-n-Play and hearing her baby doll rattle away in response. (When my husband took the doll away, she communicated with a truly pitiful "Booooo-waaaaa" that she didn't appreciate having Daddy stop the fun just because it was 5 in the morning. Daddy gave the dolly back.)

And she laughed. The first time she laughed, her daddy was holding her while I danced a ridiculous version of the Hokey Pokey. My older brother got a bigger laugh when he spoke to her with his high-pitched chipmunky baby voice. One quick laugh turned into a giggle. Giggles turned into belly laughs. Belly laughs became squeals of delight. Baby laughter is the sweetest music. 

I know what's coming, and I look forward to it greedily. I watch and listen for her mamamama's to become that first crystal-clear, no-doubt-about-it Mama. I can only imagine the flow of words that will follow. Soon enough, too, she'll be off the floor, pattering around the house in barefoot beats of percussion.

Baby music fills our house from the first happy babbles of awake to the soft rhythmic breathing of asleep. It ripples around our house, singing: "I'm here! I'm yours! Cuddle me, feed me, love me!" And we do.

Friday Faves: Just the Essentials

This week, I've decided just to focus on baby essentials.  Keep in mind that I am not Consumer Reports (though I am an e-subscriber) and I haven't necessarily tried every option.  With that said, these are some of the essentials that worked for me.

Essential Disposable Diaper: Huggies Snug & Dry

Now, you should know that Maisy is a blowout baby.  When she was a peanut, I did loads and loads of laundry a day just keeping up with the onesies she blew threw.  I wouldn't even throw in a load of laundry in the morning - I'd just wait for the first blowout and take care of it then.  Blowouts decreased in frequency after Maisy began eating more solid foods, but they still happen occasionally (and are waaaay yuckier than before!!!).  

Anyway... as you might guess, finding the right diaper was important to us.

For the first few months, we were a Pampers Swaddlers kind of family.  We didn't like the Huggies Little Snugglers, so we stuck with the Pampers through Newborn, Size 1, and a very short-lived (holy growth spurt!!!) Size 2.  Then, we went on a diaper quest.  We tried Pampers Cruisers, Huggies Little Movers, Pampers Baby Dry, Luvs, the Target brand, the Walmart brand, and on, and on.  Well, not really.  That's pretty much all we tried.  Some diapers leaked #1.  They all leaked #2.

The best, by far, has been Huggies Snug & Dry.  It's the only diaper I've found with elastic in the back.  Elastic in the back is key with a blowout baby.  I'm not saying we're blowout-free, but it's a definite improvement.  

The other benefit to Snug & Dry diapers?  I have never failed to find a $3 off coupon at Target.com, coupons.com, etc.  So they're a pretty good deal, too!

Essential Swaddling Blanket - Newborn: Carter's Receiving Blankets

When we put Maisy down to sleep, we frequently swaddle her below her arms.  When she was itsy bitsy, we ALWAYS swaddled her before putting her down at night.  For one thing, it was February and chilly.  For another, she was so tiny she just seemed to need a little extra bundling at first.  When she had her fussy week (week 7), swaddling helped her to calm down, too.  

Our favorite swaddling blankets at first were these from Carter's.  They were thin, easily washable, and small enough that they were easy to put in the diaper bag if we wanted.  I still like these blankets because of how easy they are to transport.  If we're going somewhere and I think it might get chilly later, I toss one of these in the bag and go.  

Essential Swaddling Blanket - Bigger Baby: Koala Baby Thermal Blankets

Since Maisy's grown bigger, my favorite blanket for swaddling her has changed, too.  Now, I love these stretchy thermal blankets from Koala Baby.  They're big and stretchy enough to still tuck all around her to help keep her warm and cozied in.  

As a bonus, they made super cute backgrounds for picture taking, too.

Essential Pacifier: The Gerber Nuk

Nothing fancy about these classic Nuks.  Maisy started using a pacifier to fall asleep and soothe herself when she was still teeny tiny.  Now that she's older and grabbier, her Nuks have basically become toys to pop out of her mouth.  They only work as distractions now, and her thumb has become the ultimate soothe-myself-to-sleep tool. In the early months, though, the Nuk was king.  Maisy didn't need anything fancy.  The classic latex Nuks always worked best.

Essential Onesies: Carter's Bodysuits

Besides having the cutest patterns, Carter's onesies were my favorite.  For a fussy time, the ones with snaps in the front were best, because nothing had to go over the head of a crying infant.  For day-to-day use, though, the Carter's bodysuits suited us well. They seemed sized more accurately too.  For the record?  Gerber's onesies run waaaay small.  

I had a few more ideas in mind, but Maisy wants some attention now.  So long!

Quick Update #1

I'm heading out of town in an hour and I haven't packed.

Maisy's second tooth made an appearance yesterday and made her VERY fussy this morning, so I'm nervous about our solo 5-hour journey to my parents' house.

Maisy had a Baby Sprinkles Splish Splash Pool Party Bash on Tuesday (also her 7-month birthday) and it as AWESOME!  Her little buddy came over and splashed around with her.  Maisy played happily in the pool for seriously about an hour, and she probably could have gone longer too.

I waited all summer for that pool to go on clearance at Target, and it was so worth it.







No Friday Faves this week because I feel too rushed, yet compelled to post something.  If you miss it, think of my endorsement of that adorable little pool as this week's issue.

I've been wrapping up summer tutoring this week and I'm hoping that my next wave of clients is just around the corner.  I really enjoyed tutoring, and I'm looking forward to seeing how my ACT test-takers do on the test next Saturday.

My brother Jef (he insists on spelling it with one f) is the latest of my family members to begin a blog.  It's called Toilet Runner, probably because he loves to run, but he can never run too far from a toilet.  Love it.  My sister Jen has a Runner Mom blog now - she is Supermom to four adorable kiddos - and the quotes from her little ones are hilariously spot on.

I really shouldn't let Maisy nap too much longer if I want her to sleep in the car.  Sigh.  I'd better get packing.

"Friday" Faves: Books in Pairs

This week, I've picked a few different pairs of books to review - some are related to babies, some to mommies, and some to tutoring.

Books #1 & #2: Top 50 Skills for a Top Score - ACT English, Reading, and Science and Top 50 Skills for a Top Score - ACT Math

I don't necessarily use these books cover-to-cover for my tutoring clients, but I have found them to be worthy supplementary resources. They could be used a number of ways. The pretests contain one question for each skill introduced in the book. This is one quick method of pinpointing skill gaps. Often I cover the same skills when I teach subject-specific strategies and skills using the more all-inclusive materials from KAPLAN or Princeton Review. However, the specificity of the practice questions in these books are helpful for grasping single topics. 

Because of the student-friendly tone of the writing, I find that the skill pages make good homework assignments. Author Brian Leaf teaches each skill by giving a written 

                                   overview, explaining the corresponding question from the pretest, and then providing 

several ACT-format questions of varying difficulties. This can be especially helpful for math because often KAPLAN or Princeton Review will cover many skills without providing questions for immediate practice.

Actually, my favorite subject area covered in the Top 50 Skills books is the one that is not listed in the titles: Writing. Brian Leaf has made several exercises for the skills needed on the optional writing test, including one for creating an outline, writing an introduction, proofreading, etc. Each exercise expects the student to expand on two different ACT-style writing prompts using the writing skills he introduces.

All in all, these two books provide solid advice and ample skill-specific practice. I wouldn't necessarily use the books on their own, but I like them as supplements to my ACT prep instruction.

Books #3 & #4: Baby Faces & I Love Colors by Margaret Miller 

Maisy loves looking at these two books by Margaret Miller. The big bright baby faces have her looking, smiling, and reaching as soon as I turn a page. The words are simple and baby-friendly. It's fun to point out colors, facial expressions, and body parts ("Nose! Here's Maisy's nose!"). 

Oh, and the babies are cute, too. 

(Though not as cute as mine!)

Books #5 & #6: From Conception to Birth and The Happiest Baby on the Block

I wanted to pick two books that I read when I was pregnant with Maisy. What to Expect When You're Expecting was just too obvious of a choice, even though I did refer to it frequently. The best parts are the fruit comparisons ("it's an apple seed! now it's an orange seed! a banana! a cantaloupe! yikes!"). Anyway, I thought I'd pick two that are a bit less commonplace.

Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block, talked about different theories of colic, then went on to explain his theory of a newborn baby's needs in terms of a missing fourth trimester. Basically, he said that brand new babies like it when you mimic the conditions of the womb. 

Karp describes the 5 "S's" - Swaddling, Side/Stomach, Shhhh, Swinging, and Sucking - and how to put them together as a "cure" for colic. Now, I can't claim that Maisy was a colicky baby, but she did go through her own version of peak fussiness around 7 or 8 weeks. (There's a cool line graph in the book that shows the average number of hours that newborns spend crying per day.) I can honestly say that when Maisy got on a crying jag, it was often the "S's" that could soothe her again. 

"Cure" may be a strong word, but this book and its 5 "S's" are worth a look.

From Conception to Birth was just plain cool. Week by week, Rick and I were amazed by these awesome images of fetal development. We couldn't believe all of the organs and systems that come into place at such an early stage. This book is proof, in words and pictures, that babies are miraculous. 

Simply awesome - moms and dads-to-be, check this one out!

Randomness: One Quick Question

A quick question for you moms out there: Do you feel a sort of sadness when it's time to put away one size of baby clothes and pull out the next?  

A Week of Baby Book Moments

What a week for Maisy!  I don't think she's had so many "firsts" occur in one week since the day she was born!

Maisy's First Wave

Last Wednesday, we were in the middle of a 9-day vacation that started with a night at the North Shore and continued at my family's lake cabin near Bemidji.  Maisy was a little sparkler all week long - smiling, giggling, squealing, babbling, and otherwise dazzling my parents and grandparents (and Rick and I are not immune to her charms either).

That Wednesday, Maisy went with my mom, grandma, and me to Summerhill Farms, a collection of cute shops with a yummy cafe.  We were eating lunch, Maisy in a borrowed high chair, when a tour bus pulled up and dozens of seniors made their way down the hill towards the patio where we sat.  Clearly, Maisy thought that the tourists had arrived for the sole purpose of smiling at her, so she beamed at all of them as they went by, flapping her arms excitedly.  But that wasn't her first wave.

A family with two cutie pie kiddos had settled in at a table across the way from us, and Maisy caught their eye.  The girl peekabooed like crazy, the boy giggled, and their mom waved... and Maisy waved back!  Really!  It was a whole arm wave, a definite eye-contact, grinning arm flap that could only be interpreted as a 6-month-old's wave.  Soooo adorable.  A baby book moment for sure.

Maisy Makes a Splash

A picture is worth a thousand words, so as soon as my mom sends me a picture of Maisy swimming in the lake in her bright pink, inflatable Sunshade Buggy, I'll post it.  Maisy had seen it before, and even floated in it briefly over the 4th, but she was pretty confused about what was all going on.  This time, as soon as her daddy started blowing it up, she got SUPER excited, literally squealing with delight.  

The water was chilly for most of the week, so she played in it on the floor and on the dock (supervised, of course).  She thought it was one awesome on-shore toy.  The baby boat only got launched on Saturday when the water finally warmed up to a comfortable temp.  I'm happy to report that she's a water baby - she smiled, she splashed, and she kicked her little feet in the water.  Next up, the Snoopy skis!

Maisy Rolls Over

All week long, while vacationing, my family and I could tell that Maisy was getting so much closer to rolling over.  Of course, she waited until Sunday when we had been home for all of 20 minutes to put on a show.  Thanks, Maisy, for rolling over for the first time (twice!) when both Daddy and I could watch you!  (And sorry for spooking you with our excited cheering!)

Maisy Discovers That Cheerios are Food

Rick and I had fed Maisy a Cheerio or two in the past just to see what she'd do with them (she reluctantly made a chewing motion, but mostly seemed very confused).  For a while, I think she just thought Cheerios were fun little toys.  She would chase them around her tray, picking them up, inspecting them, and eventually dropping them in her lap.  Sure, she would put everything else in her mouth EXCEPT the Cheerio.  

Then, on Monday, she took a Cheerio, brought it up to her lips, and popped her thumb in (Cheerio falls into lap).  Repeat - pick up O, bring to lips, pop goes the thumb, no O.  Again.  Then, miracle of miracles, she brought that tasty little O up to her lips and popped it in - victory for Maisy!  Now she's already a Cheerio eating champ.  She seems to like this new finger food business, but I must say that I think our pup Houdini loves it even more.   

Maisy Cuts a Tooth

It's just a sharp little white nothing protruding from Maisy's lower gums, but I know what it is: Maisy's first tooth, at last!  Her buddy down the street (just 7 hours older) has four already, and now Maisy has one itsy bitsy pearly white.  I know I am one lucky mommy, because she has just been as sparkly and happy as can be in spite of the teething that has apparently been going on behind the scenes.  

Between the waving, the splashing, the rolling, the Cheering, the teething, and some mighty intense babbling, I have to say that almost-7-months is a pretty exciting time to be a baby.