Let Dreams Within You Dwell

I am not convinced that there is any lovelier way to spend time than watching my baby sleep.

That little hand resting on the blanket.
Those perfect little lips, parted ever so slightly.
That tousled hair.
Those impossibly long eyelashes.
That look of complete relaxation.

I'm telling you, I could spend hours...

Fourteen Months Old!

The Bean is fourteen months old!

-From the moment he wakes up, The Bean is go, go go!  He walks, "runs," and climbs all.of.the.time. Okay, so maybe that's not entirely true.  He will sit and play with toys or look at books, but he is a VERY active child.

-Recently, we've had a bit of a setback at meal times.  The Bean has been refusing foods at times, slapping his tray and grabbing at the bowl/jar when we're trying to feed him and throwing his sippy cup onto the floor.  It can get quite trying.  We don't want to just offer him cheese, bread and his other favourites, as we want him to have a varied diet and also realize he has to eat what is offered (for the most part --when it's obvious that he does not like a food, we do not force him to eat it).  We're hoping that a lot of the difficultly we've been experience can be attributed to teething.

-The teeth keep on coming.  Early in his fourteenth month the upper right tooth one over from his eye tooth popped thorough and just this last Saturday we noticed the front molar on his bottom right had also come through.  

-The Bean has been wearing 12 month clothing.  The 9 month stuff is quite snug on him, though we still have some of the long sleeved onesies in his drawer --we just don't snap the crotch anymore.  Some of the stuff he's in now is 12-18 months.  Though it still all looks tiny coming out of the dryer, it's remarkable how much he has grown.

-Books have been the biggest "toy" this month.  He LOVES them.  As I think I mentioned before, he will now bring us books, sit on our lap, and take our hand and place the book into it, literally making us read them to him.  If we say a popular phrase from some of his favorite books, he will go to his bookshelf and pick the book over and bring it to us now.

-No real changes in terms of words.  Jen has been teaching him to wipe his hands together to indicate "all done" at meal times.  He seems to be picking it up.  Every once in a while he'll seem to say an entire phrase like, "Good boy!" or, "You did it!" but we've never been able to get him to repeat them.

-He is starting to assert himself more when he wants or doesn't want something. 

-He is good at playing on his own, but also loves interacting with other people.

-His daycare provider is constantly mentioning how much he loves being around his friends.  I think it's been a really good experience for him so far.

-As we mentioned before, The Bean was sick with hand, foot and mouth for about a week.  Jen and I took turns staying home with him.  It was nice to have the extra time, but we're both very glad he seems to have recovered.

We're having so much fun watching our baby grow into toddler-hood and look forward to seeing what the coming months have in store.

On the Bookshelf: Books for Winter

Winter is ending soon, so I thought I'd better get up some of the seasonal books we've been enjoying over the past few months. 

The Hat by Jan Brett
I like this book, Jen is not so fond of it.  It's a little long for The Bean, which I think is a part of the issue Jen has with it.  I really like Jan Brett's illustrations, but do think they appeal more to the young child (age 4+) than they do to babies.  I think this is one we'll have to grow into. 

When Snowflakes Fall by Carl R. Sams and Jean Stoick
The photos in this book and the Winter Friends (below) are lovely.  This book is about various animals preparing for the coming of winter.  The Bean finds it interesting, and gives us a curious look, when we do different voices for the animals. 

Welcome Winter 
This is a pretty simple little touch-and-feel book.  The Bean likes touch-and-feel books, so it was fairly high in the rotation of winter books on our shelf this season. 

Guess How Much I Love You in the Winter by Same McBratney
I think this is a really sweet book.  Some may take issue that Big Nutbrown Hare says Little Nutbrown Hare belongs to him, but it doesn't bother me.  The characters have a playful and loving interaction throughout the story and I think that's the underlying tone.  The Bean will listen to this one, but again, I think it's one he'll probably enjoy more as he gets older. 

Zoe's Snowy Day by Barbara Reid
This is in the "Zoe" series.  The text is quite limited, but the plasticine pictures are quite unique.  There's a lot going on in the pictures to point out and name to your baby. 

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
Jen and I both LOVE this book.  There's something about the old fashioned artwork and story that is just so appealing.  It's a bit long for The Bean, but even if he doesn't want to sit still for the whole thing, we read it anyway.  :) 

Winter Friends  by Carl R. Sams and Jean Stoick
As I mentioned above, the photos in this book are lovely.  It's a simple story with lots of animals to point out and make the noises for.  The Bean seems to like this one too. 

What are your family's favourite books for winter? 

{this moment} Lunchtime

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

 

Inspired by SouleMama. 

Sick Week

The Bean is sick.  Rather, he is recovering now, but has been sick pretty much all week.  WebMD and the MedVisit doctor both indicated that he has/had hand, foot and mouth disease.  His hands were both splotchy red with little blisters, his feet were much better with only two or three blisters on each, and his mouth seems unaffected.  We've kept him home from daycare all week as it is contagious.  Apart from the splotches and blisters, he doesn't seem sick.  He's had a  lot of energy, good appetite and regular sleep schedule... all of which we're thankful for.


Jen and I traded off on staying home with him as it's not good for either of us to miss too much work.  Staying home alone with a sick (but not really sick) toddler is tiring!

 

There was a lot of playing and a lot of messes.  Duplo is a new fun toy for The Bean.  His playing with Duplo mostly involves dumping it onto the floor.  As my "Wordless Wednesday" indicated, books have become huge obsession around here.  We've always read to The Bean --usually three books every time we put him down and then randomly here and there.  In just the past few weeks he has started climbing up on the glider and pulling books off of his bookshelves.  We've actually had to move the books down to lower shelves for safety purposes and to keep him from driving us crazy with his whining to be lifted up once we clued in and started moving the ottoman up so he could not climb on the glider unsupervised.  There's been a lot of other playing too, but Duplo and books were the big ones this week.  Oh, and "chase". 

There were some shared meals, which were fun.  Lots of photos taken.  A little bit of baking, with the realization that it is okay to take the shortcut and use the electric beater when one only has a small window of time before the baby wakes up from his nap.

I was very grateful for family nearby that also bake... but rather than pumpkin bread, I was brought over macaroons.  YUM.   Warmer weather also made things nicer.  We were able to go out for a few walks.  I'm looking forward to the summer when The Bean and I will be able to go on lots of outings together. 

I spent a good deal of the days thinking about work and feeling anxious.  I am glad for a break from school for a few weeks, as it will allow me to focus on finding something new.  The biggest problem right now seems to be that there really isn't much out there.  The idea of going back to subbing after seven years of teaching feels like a failure to me.  At least there is that option though. 

I'm trying to focus on the positive.  I'm looking forward to spring.  I can feel it coming...

Wordless Wednesday: Bibliophile

Photo Challenge 2012 -February Installment

Here's my second installment of the 2012 Photography Project.  

The theme for February was "Black and White Photography".  When I originally took the first three photos earlier this month, I knew they were the ones I wanted to use for the project.  They were practically black and white before I even converted them.  Often I prefer colour photography, but I think in this case, the contrast of the black and white helps to capture the moment.  A quiet winter morning.  

This last photo I just couldn't resist.  

If you're participating, feel free to leave your link in the comments!

{this moment} Laundry Day

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

  

Inspired by SouleMama. 

both/and

My dear friend, Lee Hicks, created this video.  I thought some in this community may enjoy it. 



For educators who wish to share this with their students, there are also lesson plans and curriculum connections for the Ontario Curriculum available at My GSA. 

I am so proud of of Lee for all he has accomplished here.  I hope this message is spread far and wide. :) 

Wordless Wednesday: Listen Up!

These are actually earmuffs designed for cancelling noise.  We got them for events like concerts and fireworks that we hope to take The Bean to in the future.