Song for a Happy Rainy Day

It's a rainy day here in Brooklyn. We haven't one in a while. It feels good!

If all of the raindrops

Were lemondrops and gumdrops

Oh what a rain that would be!

Standing outside with my mouth open wide,

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

If all of the raindrops

Were lemondrops and gumdrops

Oh what a rain that would be!

If all of the snowflakes

Were candy bars and milk shakes

Oh what a snow that would be!

Standing outside with my mouth open wide,

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

If all of the snowflakes

Were candy bars and milk shakes

Oh what a snow that would be!

If all of the sunbeams

Were bubblegum and ice cream

Oh what a sun that would be!

Standing outside with my mouth open wide,

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

If all of the sunbeams

Were bubblegum and ice cream

Oh what a sun that would be!

The Fingerpaint Debacle

I should have know better, right from the start. Baby L had been grumpy all morning long. She protested getting her diaper changed, she refused her pieces of french toast, even when I dipped them in yogurt, and she arched her back and tried to escape when I bundled her into the baby carrier for a walk with her doggy, Indigo.

But then, while she took her nap, I discovered a grocery bag full of baby-friendly non-toxic finger paints hanging on our coat rack. This is the answer to Baby L's cranky mood I thought.

When L woke up, I plopped her in the high chair. "Guess what I have for you!" I announced gleefully. She didn't look very interested.

I squeezed a small dab of blue onto her highchair tray. She looked at it, stuck her finger in it and pushed it around a little, and then looked at me as if to say, "Yeah, so...?"

So I added some yellow. Still no big reaction.

So I added some more... and some more...

I don't know what I was thinking, really. She's only eleven months old, after all. I should have seen trouble coming... but I added one more squirt. And Baby L, with the swish of her tiny little fingers had a mouth full of fingerpaint.

Needless to say, I freaked. I immediately stuck my fingers in her mouth and scooped out as much paint as I could. I grabbed a nearby wash cloth and cleaned out her mouth, with L screaming at the top of her lungs, of course.

Moral of the story: Paint looks just like food to babies. Next time, I'll just use food.

Baby Sign Language!

It's obvious how much Baby L loves her doggy, Indigo. When I call Indigo from across the room, I make a kissy sound and pat my lap and he comes running. When she was just a few months old, Baby L started doing it too! The first time she did it I could hardly believe it! She couldn't sit up by herself, but she could make kissy sounds and pat her lap to get Indigo to come running!

The kissy sound and patting was really L's first sign. Now she also makes a panting sound when she wants to tell me, "doggy." She'll be in the middle of playing with blocks and she'll look up, break into a big smile and pant, and then look around for Indigo-- brilliant!

The jury is still out on the benefits of teaching your baby to sign, but according to the research I've seen, it seems to help babies communicate and lessen frustration. No to mention, that it's a fun way to play with words, and it's SOOO cute!

In the past month or so Baby L has learned all the most important signs: "dog" "food" "cup" and "milk." What else could a girl want? I think we'll work on "book" next!

Bedtime Routine

When Baby L was about twelve weeks old we started to have a routine at bedtime. We would start with a bath, then lots of singing along to her favorite music while L got her fresh diaper and jammy's on. And then, of course, we would have a bedtime story.

When L was a tiny baby she would lay peacefully next to me on the bed while I read to her. She'd pat the pages and coo happily.

When she was about six months old, she started to point to specific details in the pictures, and would turn to me and say, "Gaaa!" or "Ma-ma-ma!" She started turning the pages herself and screetched with delight when something was especially funny or surprising. At some point we started reading the same two book for every bedtime and nap time. Even now, it's always Goodnight Moon, or Mommy Hugs.

Now that she's nearly eleven months old, we still lie down on the bed together to read her bedtime story, but her favorite thing to do while I read is to roll around, crawl all over me, and get just plain silly. She occupies herself with giggling wildly as she pats my knee, or sucks on my elbow, or tugs on a blanket or piece of clothing. I read, and Baby L happily plays around me, looking over her shoulder each time I turn a page, or laughing when I drag her back over to me.

When the story is over, I always say "The End," and L reaches her arms out to be picked up. I hug her tight, and sing the ABC song a few times with the lights out before Baby L goes in her crib, and I go out the door.

Who knows what the next three to six months will bring. Baby L and I will have to check back in and share our new routine when Bedtime 4.0 arrives!

What's your bedtime routine? Has it changed over time? Leave a comment and share!

Back to School

Happy New Year!

Time to gear up for the new school year.

It's time to shop for pens and composition books, backpacks, highlighters, post-its, hole punchers and tape-- all my favorite things!

Baby L is too little to go to school. But that doesn't mean she can't still join in the fun while mommy shops for school! Plus you can never start too early when it comes to immersing your little one in the world of lettters and numbers, words and books. So L. has some "school supplies" too.

She has her brand spankin' new alphabet sippy cups:

And her new sign language books:

And of course, foam letters and numbers for the tub!

We're ready for the new school year!