google.com, pub-8087192757053655, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 Director Jewels: September 2012

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Lincoln's Reading Corner: September 2012



Lincoln has never been that much for reading.  He has always liked books - they just haven't been his choice form of entertainment.  Then one day, within the last few weeks, he decided that looking at a book while having his diaper changed made life more bearable.  And since then, I've been noticing a lot more quiet moments where he will sit with a book and "read" it to himself.  He is also bringing books to us much more frequently, and insisting that we read them over and over.  Since he is the child of two librarians who own more books than we care to admit...we are pretty excited.


Lincoln has a vast collection of books to choose from, but we are pretty consistently reading the same handful over and over and over again.  I'm holding out hope that eventually all of our books get the attention they deserve.


With a toddler, things seem to change on a moment-by-moment basis, so I thought it would be fun to keep track of Lincoln's favorite books each month.  They may end up being the same for years on end - who knows!  But we'll give it a try.  So here are Lincoln's Top 9 Books in September 2012!


1. Clifford's Opposites.  This one for some reason is especially popular during diaper changes.  Lincoln loves dogs and puppies.

2. Winnie the Pooh: Board Book Collection. We have a set of 12 of these little square board books.  And they are loved.  Two of them, in fact, were lovingly dragged out onto our deck and accidentally left in the rain.  He still reads them even though they are a little bit waterlogged now. I can't find this exact set on Amazon, but this one is similar.

3. Pooh's ABCThis is an older book that I probably picked up at a rummage sale.  It has a rhyming text and he loves it!

4. I Love Trains!  This book is currently checked out from our local library, but we will be purchasing a copy very soon.  It's in the same series as book #5 and my-goodness-we-read-them-all-day-long.

5. I Love Trucks!  This one started off as a library checkout, but I finally returned it and bought our own copy.  Andrew and I both can recite this book in our sleep.  It's another rhyming book and is definitely the overall favorite in our house.

6. Usborne Touchy-Feely Cars. This is a large chunky board book with lots of great textures for little ones to touch.  Sometimes we read this book six times in a row!

7.  Little Blue Truck Leads the Way.  Of the nine books listed here, this is the only one that has paper pages (everything else is in board book form) - so I have to keep it away from him to prevent the pages from ripping.  But regardless of this - it has been the most popular book for the past few days.  I have it memorized already.  He loves it!  Great little story about a little blue truck that visits the big city - since I love NYC, I enjoy the illustrations even more.

8. I'm Just a Jealous Monster.  I picked this book up in a $1 bin at Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts several months ago.  I thought he would like the googly eyes on the monster.  Nope - he likes looking at the cars and trains that the monster plays with during the story.  Andrew reads this one to him a lot and has a great "monster voice."

9.  This Ol' Man.  This is the most random book.  It's the classic song - except the lyrics are super weird.  I've never heard of the old man playing knick-knack on a kangaroo.  Or on a shore.  Or in a pigpen.  Am I just sheltered?  Are these the real lyrics? Who knows.


What books are popular in your house this month?

Friday, September 28, 2012

Baby Bump: Week 31

Time for another update, yay!


How far along? 31 weeks today

Weight gain/loss: I have gained somewhere between 30-35 pounds but I honestly don't pay attention.

Feeling:  Really, really tired this week.  Lincoln has decided that sleeping through the night is not a good idea, so there have been a lot of long long nights followed by bleary days lately.  :(

Maternity clothes? Yep.  I tend to pick out one shirt on Monday or Tuesday and then wear it every time I leave the house the whole week.  Don't judge.  It's not like I leave the house often.

Sleep: See above.  I am exhausted but not getting the opportunity for solid sleep.

Food cravings:  Honestly, today everything sounds blah.  Everything.  This is pretty normal.

Gender: She's still a princess!
 
Movement?  I think she was flipping last night when I was trying to go to sleep, I was a little freaked out by the way my stomach was moving.  Throughout the day she usually has a few active spells, but she is getting big enough that there's not a lot of room for wild movement anymore.

What I miss? Apple cider.  I've read conflicting reports that it may not be safe to drink due to the way it is pasteurized - so I am not drinking it to be on the safe side.  And I am SO sad about this.

Best moment this week: Lincoln came to bed with me at 5:30 this morning and we both slept in until 8:20.  Best sleep of the week, for sure.

What I'm looking forward to:  The end of pregnancy.  Ready to be done!  Hoping she comes early like Lincoln did.

Next Appointment: October 10.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Entertaining a Toddler with Pom Poms

Let's face it.  Keeping up with an incredibly active 19-month-old at 30 weeks pregnant is a hard job.  Lincoln is never still.  He pretty much runs nonstop from morning to night.  I am actually too scared to take him to parks or the zoo or anywhere fun, because he is just so fast!  With me moving at the speed of a slug, he could easily get away and run into the street or jump off the playground equipment - so unless I have reinforcements (aka Daddy), we are basically stuck at home.

Which means we are really, really bored.

Sometimes he looks at me and I think he wants to say Seriously mom? You want me to play with these same old toys again today?  So I've been forced to get inventive.  I spent some time scouring Pinterest and came across this great list at Simple Little Home: 40 Ways to Distract A Toddler.  The idea below was inspired by item #9 on the list.

How to Entertain Your Toddler Using Random Household Objects - Part 1!

 All you need to get started:
- A package of pom poms (I got mine in the $1 bin at Target)
- Old container you don't mind destroying - ie yogurt cup, whipped topping, etc (you could technically make a whole collection of these and mix them up - so far I only have one and it works fine)
-Knife, Scissors, or some other way to cut holes
-Muffin Pan (optional, additional fun)

Now it's time to make this super easy at-home project! 


Obviously you could do a much better job at cutting holes than me.  I just took a knife and stabbed in random directions until I had three openings of varying sizes.  I was going for circular holes, you can see how that worked out.


Finding your toddler likely won't be a problem, as he/she will likely have been watching you try unsuccessfully to cut the holes in the lid.  He/she likely thinks you're crazy.  OR they may have run off and dragged an entire roll of toilet paper through the hallway while you crafted this fun toy for them!


Once I showed him what to do with the first pom pom, Lincoln was all about stuffing them in the holes.  He dropped to the floor immediately to check it out.


In our case - I got about twelve minutes of quiet playtime.  In toddler time, this is huge.  This unfortunately only applied to the very first time he played with these, though.  After a couple weeks of pulling this out every few days, he will play with it for about five minutes at a time.  After he tired of the plastic container, I pulled out a muffin tin - and that kept him busy for another couple minutes.


Some people have toddlers who have outgrown that whole let's-eat-everything phase, but I am not one of them.  If your little one also likes to snack on various non-food items, make sure you are sitting right beside them as they play in case you need to extricate a pom pom from their mouth. 

I suppose in a perfect world, I would have a hundred varieties of toddler entertainment crafted by now.  So far, this is all I've got.  But it's been successful around here so far - here's hoping I get inspired to create another fun toy from random household items soon!  

Friday, September 21, 2012

Baby Bump: Week 30


So we all know I'm a blogging slacker.  Did I ever even announce my pregnancy on the blog?  Probably not.  Well guess what!  Baby #2 is due November 30!  But my laziness is no reason to skip this fun weekly bump update, right?  That's what I thought. 


How far along? 30 weeks today

Weight gain/loss: I'm up about 30 pounds.  I don't keep track very well and it's confusing anyway since my pre-pregnancy weight with this baby was 10 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight with Lincoln and I still lost weight at the beginning of the pregnancy.  Let's just say I'm starting to feel kind of like a whale.

Feeling:  Excited that this pregnancy is 75% (or maybe more) done!  Also a little overwhelmed by all of the things I want to finish before baby arrives.  No big projects for baby - just things I am tired of having hanging over my head.

Maternity clothes? Yes, definitely.  Hoping the weather gets even cooler so I can wear some of my favorite maternity clothes from when I was pregnant with Lincoln!

Sleep: Not enough.  And I wake up too frequently between Lincoln fussing and my three-to-five nightly visits to the bathroom.  My whole body has started this great "aching" feeling too, I told Andrew last night it's about time to break out the giant body pillow.

Food cravings:  Lemonade.  Alfredo.  McAlister's Deli (I want this every single day).

Gender: Girl!  Our house is filling up with pink and purple things for miss Adelaide Rose.
 
Movement?  She's usually wild, but has been a little quieter this week.  She likes to stick her hand/foot in my belly button (which has been "out" since about week 10) - I think she likes the tiny little cavity of extra space.

What I miss? Caesar Salad.  I am planning to pick one up via takeout on my way home from delivering her.  It's that bad.

Best moment this week: Touring a birth center and making the decision to deliver there instead of at the hospital.  It's going to be a somewhat further drive, but I felt so relaxed and peaceful at the center - it is so much more suited to the natural birth experience I am striving for this time around.

What I'm looking forward to:  A nice, calm weekend with hubby at home.  Maybe some yummy food (that we don't have to cook) since I have lots of birthday offers in my email inbox?

Next Appointment: Tuesday, September 25 (my birthday).  I have an hour-long appointment to meet one of the midwives at the birth center and get everything switched over to their care.  Excited!
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