I am terrible at keeping surprises and presents secret. Father's Day is tomorrow, but I couldn't wait to give my husband his impromptu present. I got it at the bookstore today... from the board book section.
I was technically looking at books for my son, and I was in the Sandra Boynton SECTION. Yes, that's right, she has an entire section of the bookstore devoted to her silly, hilarious children's books. I was just casually browsing the titles, and my eye lit upon Your Personal Penguin. I have a soft spot for penguins. Mainly because I think of my husband as my little penguin (he thinks of my as his little raptor...). When I saw this book I instantly thought of my husband.
As I started to read through this book, my eyes started to mist a little because it is so sweet and poignant. Romantic is a better word. While this book is cute for young children, it is better for a spouse. It would make a great Valentine's Day gift book.
The penguin says, "But if I could be yours and you could be mine, our cozy little world would be twice as nice." He follows one of Boynton's hippos around saying, "Look at these wings, so perfect to hold you."
The book is great by itself, but just in case you want a little more, there is a catchy accompanying song sung by Davy Jones of The Monkees that can be downloaded for free. The whole package is terribly sappy.
I knew that this book would be the perfect Father's Day gift that I had been instructed (by my little penguin) not to get. And I couldn't keep it a secret until tomorrow because I am an impatient little raptor.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Don’t Go Towards the Light…
Product Review, Video Monitor by Summer
We received a video monitor as a gift from my baby registry before our son was born. I was glad, thinking it would be one of the most important pieces of baby equipment that I needed right away. It did turn out to be an extremely useful tool, but not right away. Our son slept in our room in a cradle for the first six months of his life. He would have stayed longer, but we discovered that we were waking him with our snoring (for some reason, we both started snoring after the baby was born…). I thought it would have been the other way around, that he would wake us up, but he was a very sound sleeper and learned to sleep through the night on his own, very quickly.
Anyway, back to the review of the monitor…. The first night that he slept in his own room, in his crib, I was miserable. I missed him sleeping in the room with us and I was terrified that something awful was going to happen to him. I kept having nightmares that someone was going to break into his room or that the house would catch fire. I even woke up one time, staring at the screen of the monitor, and thinking that I could see great tentacles sliding in between the slats of his crib. I placed the monitor right next to my side of the bed on the nightstand so that I could look at it easily. Having it during those first weeks without the baby in our bedroom made me feel more comfortable. It made me feel like he was still in the room with us in a way.
Now, months later, I still turn the monitor on when I go to bed. But I do so grudgingly. I hate the loud hum and the blue glow of the screen. I don’t think I get decent sleep because of it. It's as if the screen light is beckoning to me... beckoning to me to stare at it... to scrutinize every crackle or buzz of interference looking for poltergeists... to get lost in the glow.
I don’t know if there is a security camera on the market that eliminates background noise while capturing sound. I wish that we had that feature though. Also, I often turn the video itself off, and just leave the sound, so that I don’t go crazy with the screen light. I suppose if one is used to going to sleep with a TV on, it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but I must have absolute darkness to sleep well. When the baby was first born, this was not the case. I could fall asleep standing. But now that I have caught up with my sleep debt, I have become more finicky about my sleep conditions.
On the other hand, I am loath to get rid of the monitor all together. The thought of my baby boy being all alone still bothers me. Unfortunately, his bedroom is rather far off, so I don’t feel confident that I would hear him if he needed me. So the video monitor is still a valuable product.
The solution I’ve come up with is to move to a house with the bedrooms next to each other…
We received a video monitor as a gift from my baby registry before our son was born. I was glad, thinking it would be one of the most important pieces of baby equipment that I needed right away. It did turn out to be an extremely useful tool, but not right away. Our son slept in our room in a cradle for the first six months of his life. He would have stayed longer, but we discovered that we were waking him with our snoring (for some reason, we both started snoring after the baby was born…). I thought it would have been the other way around, that he would wake us up, but he was a very sound sleeper and learned to sleep through the night on his own, very quickly.
Anyway, back to the review of the monitor…. The first night that he slept in his own room, in his crib, I was miserable. I missed him sleeping in the room with us and I was terrified that something awful was going to happen to him. I kept having nightmares that someone was going to break into his room or that the house would catch fire. I even woke up one time, staring at the screen of the monitor, and thinking that I could see great tentacles sliding in between the slats of his crib. I placed the monitor right next to my side of the bed on the nightstand so that I could look at it easily. Having it during those first weeks without the baby in our bedroom made me feel more comfortable. It made me feel like he was still in the room with us in a way.
Now, months later, I still turn the monitor on when I go to bed. But I do so grudgingly. I hate the loud hum and the blue glow of the screen. I don’t think I get decent sleep because of it. It's as if the screen light is beckoning to me... beckoning to me to stare at it... to scrutinize every crackle or buzz of interference looking for poltergeists... to get lost in the glow.
I don’t know if there is a security camera on the market that eliminates background noise while capturing sound. I wish that we had that feature though. Also, I often turn the video itself off, and just leave the sound, so that I don’t go crazy with the screen light. I suppose if one is used to going to sleep with a TV on, it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but I must have absolute darkness to sleep well. When the baby was first born, this was not the case. I could fall asleep standing. But now that I have caught up with my sleep debt, I have become more finicky about my sleep conditions.
On the other hand, I am loath to get rid of the monitor all together. The thought of my baby boy being all alone still bothers me. Unfortunately, his bedroom is rather far off, so I don’t feel confident that I would hear him if he needed me. So the video monitor is still a valuable product.
The solution I’ve come up with is to move to a house with the bedrooms next to each other…
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, In The Sun We Go...
Product Review, Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby SunBlock Lotion SPF 60+
Living in central Florida with a family has many wonderful benefits – Disney, SeaWorld, Universal… all are within a 15 minute drive. Most days are sunny and warm, which makes the view out the window very uplifting. The vegetation is lush and tropical, and interesting little critters run around beneath our feet. These reasons and more make Florida one of my favorite states.
I just mentioned that most days are sunny. This is nice for those of us who tan well… I do, and I almost never burn. However, my young son, 8 ½ months old now, is Snow White fair. He must have gotten it from his Daddy, who is also very fair. This presents a problem, because I don’t want my boy getting a nasty sun burn during the wonderfully sunny summer months. To top it off, my husband’s family has a history of skin cancer. My husband himself just had an appointment with the dermatologist to have some suspicious bumps removed. Naturally, I am now very concerned about sun exposure.
Now that he is old enough, I have been looking for a good sunblock for the baby. There are several brands that are starting to put out “baby” sunblock, although I don’t believe there is any true difference beyond the label. While browsing lotions, I chose one by Neutrogena, called Pure & Free Baby. I chose it because the ingredients are supposedly naturally-sourced (whatever that means), but more importantly, it is fragrance-free and hypoallergenic. My son doesn’t seem to have terribly sensitive skin when it comes to lotions and bath products, but why risk it since he will be wearing this lotion every day for the next five or six months.
I do like Neutrogena’s product, and may use it again in the future. It seems to work very well for my son. He has yet to get a burn. The lotion goes on thick and creamy, and soaks in very quickly even though I put on a lot. It is also non-greasy. The thing I don’t like is that it tends to build up in the creases of his elbows and knees and that it leaves a slight residue. I can’t tell if it dries his skin, or if his skin feels somewhat rough because of this residue.
I will probably try a different lotion next time I buy sunblock (soon, we go through it quickly). I have heard good things about Banana Boat’s organic Sun Wear SPF 50. This was recommended by my mother-in-law’s dermatologist. I already use Banana Boat Sun Wear Faces on my husband. It is oil-free and ultra sheer, but it is only SPF 30. This is a good product, and I think Banana Boat is a good brand.
Living in central Florida with a family has many wonderful benefits – Disney, SeaWorld, Universal… all are within a 15 minute drive. Most days are sunny and warm, which makes the view out the window very uplifting. The vegetation is lush and tropical, and interesting little critters run around beneath our feet. These reasons and more make Florida one of my favorite states.
I just mentioned that most days are sunny. This is nice for those of us who tan well… I do, and I almost never burn. However, my young son, 8 ½ months old now, is Snow White fair. He must have gotten it from his Daddy, who is also very fair. This presents a problem, because I don’t want my boy getting a nasty sun burn during the wonderfully sunny summer months. To top it off, my husband’s family has a history of skin cancer. My husband himself just had an appointment with the dermatologist to have some suspicious bumps removed. Naturally, I am now very concerned about sun exposure.
Now that he is old enough, I have been looking for a good sunblock for the baby. There are several brands that are starting to put out “baby” sunblock, although I don’t believe there is any true difference beyond the label. While browsing lotions, I chose one by Neutrogena, called Pure & Free Baby. I chose it because the ingredients are supposedly naturally-sourced (whatever that means), but more importantly, it is fragrance-free and hypoallergenic. My son doesn’t seem to have terribly sensitive skin when it comes to lotions and bath products, but why risk it since he will be wearing this lotion every day for the next five or six months.
I do like Neutrogena’s product, and may use it again in the future. It seems to work very well for my son. He has yet to get a burn. The lotion goes on thick and creamy, and soaks in very quickly even though I put on a lot. It is also non-greasy. The thing I don’t like is that it tends to build up in the creases of his elbows and knees and that it leaves a slight residue. I can’t tell if it dries his skin, or if his skin feels somewhat rough because of this residue.
I will probably try a different lotion next time I buy sunblock (soon, we go through it quickly). I have heard good things about Banana Boat’s organic Sun Wear SPF 50. This was recommended by my mother-in-law’s dermatologist. I already use Banana Boat Sun Wear Faces on my husband. It is oil-free and ultra sheer, but it is only SPF 30. This is a good product, and I think Banana Boat is a good brand.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Box That Carries Nothing
Product Review, Empty Box
We are going to Virginia Beach for the Fourth of July weekend, to visit my grandmother. I want her to meet her fifth great-grandson (the other four belong to my cousins, not me… just needed to clear that up…). While I was talking to her today I mentioned how much my son loves playing with everything except his toys. This reminded me of one of the greatest baby toys ever: the empty cardboard box.
Like many other children, my son will play with a toy for about two minutes, then goes after the box it came in. I stopped getting new toys long ago, and simply give my son cardboard or fabric scraps. This may sound cruel, but he has a ball. I let him get into the Tupperware cupboard in the kitchen and he goes nuts with the lids. The drawback here is that the system works like an ant trap – the bait kills ants but first it attracts them, bringing even more into the house than there were before. So now the baby is always in the kitchen, a somewhat dangerous place for a youngling to hang out.
We are going to Virginia Beach for the Fourth of July weekend, to visit my grandmother. I want her to meet her fifth great-grandson (the other four belong to my cousins, not me… just needed to clear that up…). While I was talking to her today I mentioned how much my son loves playing with everything except his toys. This reminded me of one of the greatest baby toys ever: the empty cardboard box.
Like many other children, my son will play with a toy for about two minutes, then goes after the box it came in. I stopped getting new toys long ago, and simply give my son cardboard or fabric scraps. This may sound cruel, but he has a ball. I let him get into the Tupperware cupboard in the kitchen and he goes nuts with the lids. The drawback here is that the system works like an ant trap – the bait kills ants but first it attracts them, bringing even more into the house than there were before. So now the baby is always in the kitchen, a somewhat dangerous place for a youngling to hang out.
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Princely Throne of Many Uses
Product Review, Chicco high chair
My day starts at 6:00 am. The baby gets me up at the same time every day, almost invariably. I know six o’ clock isn’t really that early – some people get up earlier to commute to their place of work – but I will indulge in a little whining anyway. Someone call me the waa!mbulance.
I brew a pot of coffee while preparing the day’s bottles. It’s not the caffeine but getting strait to busywork that helps me shake off the morning grog. Sometimes pouring formula into my coffee is a small side consequence of this multi-tasking.
While I am making trouble in the kitchen, the baby is making trouble in his high chair. The high chair, by Chicco, is one of our most used pieces of gear. I received it as a baby shower gift. It is a very good product – sturdy, light-weight, one-hand tray positioning, multi-use. It is used as a shrieking perch, for drum practice, as a standing aid, a teether, … and the list goes on. My favorite features of this chair include the rounded, no-hurt underside of the tray table, the adjustable height, and (most importantly) the easy-to-clean surfaces. The plastic seat cushion is comfortable and easily wiped. Also, the colors are not so garish.
Now, if only my son would actually eat while sitting in his chair.
My day starts at 6:00 am. The baby gets me up at the same time every day, almost invariably. I know six o’ clock isn’t really that early – some people get up earlier to commute to their place of work – but I will indulge in a little whining anyway. Someone call me the waa!mbulance.
I brew a pot of coffee while preparing the day’s bottles. It’s not the caffeine but getting strait to busywork that helps me shake off the morning grog. Sometimes pouring formula into my coffee is a small side consequence of this multi-tasking.
While I am making trouble in the kitchen, the baby is making trouble in his high chair. The high chair, by Chicco, is one of our most used pieces of gear. I received it as a baby shower gift. It is a very good product – sturdy, light-weight, one-hand tray positioning, multi-use. It is used as a shrieking perch, for drum practice, as a standing aid, a teether, … and the list goes on. My favorite features of this chair include the rounded, no-hurt underside of the tray table, the adjustable height, and (most importantly) the easy-to-clean surfaces. The plastic seat cushion is comfortable and easily wiped. Also, the colors are not so garish.
Now, if only my son would actually eat while sitting in his chair.
Friday, May 29, 2009
"Board" with books
Book Review, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Another book my son likes is Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. What a classic! Everybody knows this one. I grew up with it, and even my husband (who is eight years older than I am) had it as a boy. I love books like this one that are generational favorites.
Putting this book into board book format was a capital idea. The physically shorter pages with punch-outs that the caterpillar is eating through are one reason my son likes this book so much. Another reason he likes it is the rhythm. Again, rhythm keeps a hold on his fruit fly attention span. The mainstay of the book is the short repeated phrase “…but he was still hungry”. And yet the story is clever and meaningful.
Eric Carle’s line of baby products based on his famous book is also pretty clever. We have the alphabet and number flashcard sets. The cards are durable and large so it will be difficult (i.e. it will take longer) for Baby to destroy them. The pictures, based on Carle’s original artwork, are of course attractive to Baby’s eye… and mine – I’ve borrowed a few cards from his set to put into frames as nursery decor. I feel as though these flashcards are more sophisticated than your average set of baby cards. They provide opportunities to teach numbers as well as counting, colors, animals, the alphabet, and concepts such as ‘family’ (for example, ‘three’ foxes are depicted as one mommy and two babies).
Anyone smell a sales pitch?! :)
Another book my son likes is Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. What a classic! Everybody knows this one. I grew up with it, and even my husband (who is eight years older than I am) had it as a boy. I love books like this one that are generational favorites.
Putting this book into board book format was a capital idea. The physically shorter pages with punch-outs that the caterpillar is eating through are one reason my son likes this book so much. Another reason he likes it is the rhythm. Again, rhythm keeps a hold on his fruit fly attention span. The mainstay of the book is the short repeated phrase “…but he was still hungry”. And yet the story is clever and meaningful.
Eric Carle’s line of baby products based on his famous book is also pretty clever. We have the alphabet and number flashcard sets. The cards are durable and large so it will be difficult (i.e. it will take longer) for Baby to destroy them. The pictures, based on Carle’s original artwork, are of course attractive to Baby’s eye… and mine – I’ve borrowed a few cards from his set to put into frames as nursery decor. I feel as though these flashcards are more sophisticated than your average set of baby cards. They provide opportunities to teach numbers as well as counting, colors, animals, the alphabet, and concepts such as ‘family’ (for example, ‘three’ foxes are depicted as one mommy and two babies).
Anyone smell a sales pitch?! :)
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Choosier Snoozer
Book Review, Snoozers
I have been reading to my son since he was first born. At first, he didn't have the where-with-all to even notice pictures, so I just read to him from whatever I was reading. I read The American Plague, a non-fiction about Yellow Fever while he was mere weeks old. He didn't mind the subject, he just liked the sound of my voice. As he got older, I started reading to him from The Chronicles of Narnia, just in case he understood the flavor of the book. He loved it, or at least I imagined he did. Now that he is almost 9 months old, I read to him from board books. Interesting trend, right?
He is actually getting to the age where he has preferences, so he chooses the books we read. We have a great little library of board books, the books for infants that are the right size and texture for little hands... and mouths. He has a few favorites that I have read to him so many times I can recite them without looking. The best are those that rhyme. I’m sure that a child psychologist can confirm this: The rhythms of rhyme attract the baby’s attention and keep him interested.
Sandra Boynton’s Snoozers: 7 Short Short Stories for Lively Little Kids is a wonderful book for a baby. My son will pull this book out of a pile of others. The pictures are entertaining and the “stories” are delightful. They are just short, silly little poems for bedtime. The style of the book is perfect for a curious little one: each one page story is marked by an illustrated tab for turning.
I like all of Boynton’s board books for the pictures. She has such a great drawing style. Some of her titles, particularly The Belly Button Book, are even hilarious to read. Unfortunately, it seems to me that sometimes she just “mails it in” when it comes to the text. Opposites, Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs, and Blue Hat, Green Hat are examples of her books that are fun to look at once, but because they have no substance, lose their place on the shelf.
Maybe I am just choosing books to read based on my own preference. Maybe I make it up in my mind that my infant is choosing his own books. But even if that’s the case, since I have to read it 5 times a day, shouldn’t it be at least a little bit interesting to me?
I have been reading to my son since he was first born. At first, he didn't have the where-with-all to even notice pictures, so I just read to him from whatever I was reading. I read The American Plague, a non-fiction about Yellow Fever while he was mere weeks old. He didn't mind the subject, he just liked the sound of my voice. As he got older, I started reading to him from The Chronicles of Narnia, just in case he understood the flavor of the book. He loved it, or at least I imagined he did. Now that he is almost 9 months old, I read to him from board books. Interesting trend, right?
He is actually getting to the age where he has preferences, so he chooses the books we read. We have a great little library of board books, the books for infants that are the right size and texture for little hands... and mouths. He has a few favorites that I have read to him so many times I can recite them without looking. The best are those that rhyme. I’m sure that a child psychologist can confirm this: The rhythms of rhyme attract the baby’s attention and keep him interested.
Sandra Boynton’s Snoozers: 7 Short Short Stories for Lively Little Kids is a wonderful book for a baby. My son will pull this book out of a pile of others. The pictures are entertaining and the “stories” are delightful. They are just short, silly little poems for bedtime. The style of the book is perfect for a curious little one: each one page story is marked by an illustrated tab for turning.
I like all of Boynton’s board books for the pictures. She has such a great drawing style. Some of her titles, particularly The Belly Button Book, are even hilarious to read. Unfortunately, it seems to me that sometimes she just “mails it in” when it comes to the text. Opposites, Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs, and Blue Hat, Green Hat are examples of her books that are fun to look at once, but because they have no substance, lose their place on the shelf.
Maybe I am just choosing books to read based on my own preference. Maybe I make it up in my mind that my infant is choosing his own books. But even if that’s the case, since I have to read it 5 times a day, shouldn’t it be at least a little bit interesting to me?
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