When My Baby Dreams...

Any moms out there who are artsy but don't have a ton of time on their hands? Or perhaps a parent who likes to think of new ways to create the traditional annual calendar for the grandparents each year? You might wish to check out what Adele Enersen did while on her maternity leave. She created scenes made of fabric and household objects, placed her baby in the scene, and then took pictures of her. Instead of making a calendar, she published a book titled, When My Baby Dreams...! I honestly have to say that I have not yet seen the book other than on Amazon (here is the link if you want to look at it) but Mamma plans on checking it out from Howard County Library very soon. However, my Aunt Darryl told Mamma about an article she read about (here's the link to the article from MSN) Ms. Enersen and there were a bunch of pictures from her book in the article. Then Mamma decided to give this new idea a try! Continue to scroll down for some pictures from her attempts. I really enjoyed having my picture taken (most of the time). Some of the scenes were ideas that Mamma got from Ms. Enersen's book, while others were of her own creation. The bee scene was my favorite. For some reason I really enjoyed wearing that little dress. I think it was because of the way the fabric felt on my skin. It made me smile! Mamma said that this was a very fun project to do on her maternity leave. However, if she could do it all again she would start taking pictures of me in these scenes a little sooner when I was sleeping a lot more (maybe at around 2-5 weeks). I ended up being awake for most of the pictures which made it hard to snap the perfect pose! All of these pictures were taken when I was between 7 and 9 weeks old. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed posing for them!

It's amazing what you can do with a tshirt, some old socks, a table cloth and blankets. My little dress was one that my Mamma wore when she was just a baby.

Hanging on the line!

May your days "bee" joyful! (My picture for May in the calendar :) What better way to "recycle" old maternity underwear!

This was an "E.T." recreation. I just loved feeling all of the animals piled around me and cried when Mamma took them away!

This is one of the pictures where I got tired of being photographed. You can see how the pictures were taken, and then had to be cropped. All of the photos were taken on the floor of my bedroom. Mamma stood on a step stool and used her iPhone 4S to snap the photos.

Nursery Rhymes with Finger Puppets

Tomorrow I will be 4 months old! For the last week or so I have been very interested in touching the face of whomever holds me, and I'm also pretty keen on grabbing other people's hands and studying them before trying to put them in my mouth. Though Mamma won't let me - she says it's not smart to put someone else's hands in your mouth. That is how germs get shared.

Anyway, onto the topic of books and toys! Granny and Grandpa read my blog and after reading my review of Little Bat, they promptly drove to the bookstore and bought me a few more finger puppet books to give to me this Christmas. Mamma and I read them together today. I must be getting to an even better age for these books now because I really liked to grab the finger puppets in the stories while Mamma was reading. Two of the books I'd like to talk about are Itsy Bitsy Spider and Hickory Dickory Dock. The little fuzzy finger puppets in the middle of the book are super soft! I also liked the rhyming in the stories. Mamma told me they are called nursery rhymes. When Mamma was finished reading Itsy Bitsy Spider, she sang me the song of the Itsy Bitsy Spider and did some gestures with her hands. Then we read the story again. Mamma said I will understand words better with repetition. I hope she is right! I really want to talk, but all I do is babble at the moment. I would definitely recommend these books for other babies my age. I find them to be fun and interactive rhyming stories. The company that publishes these little stories has their own website where parents can even download a guide for reading with their children. A nice added bonus! Check them out at http://www.parragon.com/littlelearners/us/index.html

Reading With Puppets...

Today Mamma tried something new to keep my attention - and it worked! She placed me on my back on a mat on the floor. Then she got out a book she received when she was a little girl from her grandmother at her her preschool graduation called, A Treasury of Bedtime Stories Illustrated by Hilda Offen. Mamma still has her original copy of the book with the inscription from her grandparents but also bought a second copy when she saw it at Waldenbooks ten years ago.

A Treasury of Bedtime Stories is loaded with a ton of fairly well known stories, but also includes a handful of others which aren't very well known such as, "Tim Rabbit and the Scissors." Mamma told me this was one of her favorites. Mamma sat down next to me with the book, and then to my surprise, she retrieved a really awesome handmade hand puppet that had frog like eyes and a big flappy tongue! She used the hand puppet to tell me the story of "Tim Rabbit and the Scissors!" I LOVED it!! I didn't know who I liked to look at more, the puppet when it's mouth began flapping along with the words of the story, or Mamma and her expressions as she told the tale of the rather curious rabbit who doesn't obey the wishes of his parents and gets into a bit of trouble with some scissors. I also couldn't help myself - I began talking too, so that I could be a part of the story telling. I wonder if I will be a story teller when I get older. I hope so. There were some challenging vocabulary words in the story (such as gossamer, sheaf, menagerie, and posset) but Mamma says it is good to be exposed to a variety of vocabulary as I am growing up - it will help me to become an intelligent individual.

I imagine that I will absolutely love these stories when I get older and will likely request them to be read to me again and again. One thing that may really appeal to parents about the book is that in the Table of Contents where it lists all of the stories the book contains, it also lists a time frame for how long it will likely take for you to read the story to your child. There are 30 stories in the book that range from Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant" (a 10 minute story) to the traditional Russian tale of "The Great Big Turnip" (a 3 minute story). One of the things Mamma remembered most about the book was the illustrations. While the pages alternate from black and white to color, the drawings were simple, yet captivating and memorable. Perhaps the reason "Tim Rabbit and the Scissors" is so memorable to her is not just because it was a great story, but also because she laughed every time she saw poor Tim Rabbit standing with the other rabbits and having to wear a coat made of his own fur.

This book is available used through Amazon if you are interested. Also, the puppet Mamma used to tell me the story is a unique puppet made by cate & levi. If you are interested in owning one of these one of a kind puppets, check them out here. We own the frog and the walrus and I adore them both (thanks, Beth for getting them for me)!

Little Bat

Today marked a very important day for me - Mamma went back to work. She was a little more upset about it than I was, but in the end it all worked out. She was super happy to see me when she picked me up from the sitter. As soon as we got home I ate, and then we played together and then read this little book called, Little Bat. Mamma's friend from work gave me the book on Halloween and we read it together periodically. Don't be fooled though - this isn't a Halloween book, just a really awesome chunky board book about a little bat (Mamma LOVES bats). As soon as I can hold things a little better, I will be really excited to hold this little book and turn the pages by myself. It is just the perfect size for little hands. The most awesome feature of this book is that there is a finger puppet in the center that can move around as you read the story. I especially love it when my moms read me the story and then make the little bat move in the way the story explains. Even though it isn't part of the story, Mamma makes the little bat give me a kiss on the nose at the very end. I love when she does that! It always makes me smile :) This book is perfect for a number of reasons, but the brief sentences, rhyming text, puppet, and small chunky pages with sturdy binding make this a book I will enjoy from now through my toddler years. I really want to take a look at some of the other little finger puppet books like this one such as Little Crab and Little Spider. Hmmm... I wonder if Santa reads my blog?

Good Night Maryland

Today as a gift I received this wonderful little book called, Good Night Maryland by Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper. I admit that I am not terribly knowledgeable about the state of Maryland just yet, but this little book gave me a great start. I would imagine all Maryland babies would enjoy learning from this book. While I am still a little young for the book (even though it is a board book) I can see myself eating up this story in no time (both literally and figuratively :)! I enjoyed listening to Mamma telling me all about the different places in the story. For example, one part of the story says, "Good morning, Ocean City boardwalk." Mamma proceeded to tell me about the many summers she visited Ocean City as a kid, and even now still loves to sit by the ocean to read a good book and pay a visit to the ten cent claw machines and skee ball games at Marty's Playland. There was also a picture of the Inner Harbor which showed the Aquarium - yet another place Mamma enjoyed as a kid and still enjoys as an adult. I can't wait for my family to take me to all of these different places so I can learn even more about them! Mamma also pointed out the various places in the book where we could get a stamp for the National Passport book (she is a little addicted to visiting the various National Parks). There is so much to learn! I loved the pictures in the story too, and I imagine I will be pointing to and counting the different objects I see on the pages in no time. The story takes place over the course of a day, though my Mamma says it is a unrealistic to be able to visit all of the many places included in this book in just one day. Still, the book makes for a great introduction for any little Marylander. I highly recommend and give this story two little thumbs up! I was happy to see that the Howard County Public Library System already owns a number of copies of this book for you to check out (click on the link to reserve your own copy :) Also, if you are interested in getting your own children excited about exploring our National Parks, why not get them a National Passport Book as a stocking stuffer? Click here to learn more!

Five Silly Turkeys

Forgive me for posting this review so late - I was in a turkey induced coma for the past few days. Or at least that's what I'm saying. My moms think differently and believe I may be going through another growth spurt.  

Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon was the perfect little Thanksgiving story for me to read. As you can see from the picture, there are five shiny turkey tail feathers that stick out from the pages of the board book. As you count down from five turkeys, to four turkeys, etc. the tail feathers help you to remember how many turkeys are left in the story. Personally, I liked the rhyming in the story. I thoroughly enjoy a book that has rhyme because usually whomever is holding me will bounce me to the rhythm of the words in the story (which coincidentally I have learned doesn't go over very well if it's done after I have just eaten). I was drawn to the shiny tail feathers most of all, and even managed to grab one and pull it towards my mouth. I was thoroughly disappointed that it didn't actually taste like turkey.

*Spoiler Alert* At the end of the story, the five turkeys get together to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast. On the table made of a chopped tree trunk was a pie and some corn. I was glad to see that the turkeys were not eating turkey. My mamma told me that a book I will enjoy when I get older that involves a pie and cannibalism is a book called, The Mystery of Eatum Hall by John Kelly and Cathy Tincknell. I thoroughly look forward to reading this story. For now I am going to set this little book aside and wait until next year to read it again since it is a Thanksgiving story.

I think if I were just a couple of months older I would have enjoyed this story much more because I would have been able to turn the pages on my own (those turkey tail feathers would make it really easy). I would give this little book a 4/5 star rating.

A Kiss For You!

Today we read a number of books, but I'd specifically like to discuss the book, A Kiss For You! by Joan Halub and Caroline Jayne Church. I'm not quite 3 months old, and while I was able to snuggle and listen to longer stories being read aloud to me just a few short weeks ago (such as The Art of Fielding and A Confederacy of Dunces - I read whatever my mamma reads),  I seem to have developed an aversion to sitting and listening to/looking at short stories. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, A Kiss For You! Why, you might ask? Well, this book has a fantastic moveable hand so for every time you turn the page, the hand can be moved to demonstrate how to blow a kiss, how to hold a teddy, or even how to high-five (something my moms like to do with me when I accomplish something exciting such as smack a toy or have a bowel movement). It really kept my attention. While the book doesn't rhyme, it does have simple and colorful pictures. I highly recommend this book for other babies my same age. I'm taking a big step here, but I'm also going to go ahead and predict that I will continue to enjoy this book as I get older. It may even be something I would be able to memorize and retell on my own.

Five out of five stars for this little book.