Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
POSS POSS
This post is important to understand the next post.
Years ago, my friends Libby and Diane presented me with a stuffed animal possum after I had written several columns in the Jackson Progress-Argus about possums. I thanked them, and put it up on a window ledge in our house so I could see it when I pulled into the driveway.
Last month, when we moved into our new house, the possum somehow got included with Bella's many stuffed animals on a shelf in her room. I'm not sure if Bella found it first, but one night before bed Jen started playing with the possum and Bella. She would make the possum charge Bella and make beeping noises as it bonked its snout into Bella. Bella made loud laughing sounds. She loved it. And in no time, Poss Poss became her favorite stuffed animal. She would holler at it from her crib, cackle with joy when he jumped into her arms, patted its head and back, ran her finger along his whiskers, etc.
A month later, Poss Poss and Bella are still close friends. She even took him to her first day at Parents Morning Out today and apparently found great comfort in holding onto him several times in a new environment with strange children around her. So this Halloween, we honor Poss Poss - and Libby and Diane. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
10 MONTHS
Well, as of today Bella is no longer in the single-month age category. She's 10 months old. We weaned her from the breast between eight and nine months. She got her fifth tooth last week - and only fussed about it for two hours the night before it arrived. She's crawling faster and more accurately. She's smart as a whip. She loves to laugh, and makes friends wherever we take her. She's changed our lives and changed them so much for the better.
As a kind of birthday gift to her for making it out of the single months. my folks brought Squeak and Fatty Nacho back to us on Sunday. Fatty was already spooked from fireworks in Dalton the night before, then on top of the drive down there was a little person positively screaming every time she caught a glimpse of Squeak. So Bella hasn't actually SEEN Fatty yet. But Squeak is cool as a cucumber. He hangs out with us, and lets Bella touch him up to a point then he scoots away.
Bella can't believe she has a cat living in her house. She's so excited whenever she sees Squeak. Squeak, for his part, is not as thrilled, but seems resigned to her high pitched squeals, banging toys together, and constant attempts to sneak up on him despite her thumping-hand crawling style. Yet, when she does get a chance to pet him, she's very gentle and sometimes won't even reach out to him. She seems a bit unsure exactly what to do once she gets that close. I'm sure all that will change.
Oh, and I've got to put together Bella's Halloween costume.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
THE APPLE OF OUR EYE
Handing Bella an apple allowed me to snap a few up close shots of her while she was preoccupied.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
BELLA'S BOOK REVIEWS
Well, she's not writing them, but I am over at Good Reads (or whatever it is).
Little Quack by Lauren Thompson
rating: 3 of 5 stars
As soon as saw the cover of this book (a gift from a family friend for me to read to my daughter) I was less than thrilled. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that I told myself I'd never read it and regift it for someone desperate for images and words with their newborn.
As much as I hate to admit it, I kinda fell for the story here. Mind you, the story is one in which a mother duck tries to convince her five ducklings to leave their nest and join her in the water. SPOILER ALERT! They all do eventually, and quite honestly how anyone could create a book about that simple act - much less sell mass quantities of it - is beyond me.
They key to reading and enjoying Little Quack is to develop a different voice for each of the ducklings and - most importantly - the mother duck. I use a kind of Vicki Lawrence voice for her - rather deep, motherly, assuring and odd. For Little Quack's two sisters - Widdle and Piddle - I simply use high-pitched voices. The fun comes in with the three brothers: for Waddle, I give him a lispy-but-proud voice; for Puddle, I give him a good ol' boy from middle Georgia voice; and for Little Quack, I give him a pre-pubescent squeal.
This being said: read this book when no other adults are around, or you are in for trouble later on.
The best part of the book is on the fifth spread page after Widdle has jumped into the water. The illustration shows the remaining four ducklings cuddle close in the nest and Little Quack has his hands (wings?) clasped to both sides of his head and his beak is open as if to say "Oh my GAWD!" It's great.
And after reading Little Quack about a hundred times see if you can't get mother duck's constant refrain of "you can do it, I know you can" out of your head. I can't.
View all my reviews.
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins
rating: 3 of 5 stars
At first glance, you think this is a Dr. Seuss book. But it ain't. However, it does have that Suessian-beatnik-I-grok-kids'-imaginations-and-words-that-rhyme feel about it. I don't know how we got it. Books have a way of just appearing on our daughter's book shelves or in unstable stacks beside our bed.
If Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb has more than 40 words in it - 40 different words - I'll eat my hat. You get a lot of "hands" and "fingers" and "thumbs" - duh, look at the title. But there's also a lot of "monkey" and "drum" or "drumming" and a whole bunch of "dum" and ditty." To read this book cover to cover will take you a minute if you stop to look at the pictures. It's best to do that first, and then tell your baby that you're going to read it again TWICE AS FAST. It makes if more of a challenge for you, and postpones bedtime by another 30 seconds for baby.
I enjoy this book, and our daughter now enjoys it mostly to chew on, but I will say this: it is extremely terrifying if you stop to dwell on what is presented near the end of the book. Close your eyes and picture THIS, my friends: "Millions of fingers, millions of thumbs, millions of monkeys drumming on drums." If that isn't one of the signs of the Apocalypse, I don't know what is. The accompanying illustration is a massive wave of brown fur, smiling monkeys and drums. It'll send chills down your spine.
View all my reviews.
Bright Baby Animals by Roger Priddy
rating: 1 of 5 stars
Much as I wanted to like this book on account of the ecologically friendly paper, I just can't bring myself to recommend you go out and get this. Yes, the pictures of a different animal on each page is bright and clear. And yes, most of them have a colorful background behind them. And yes, the book is a good size for little hands to hold.
But come on. Last time I counted, there were over a bazillion animals on this planets. This book has something like 20 pages to it, so 20 animals. But we get one page with "chicks" on it, and another with a "hen" on it. How about splitting the difference, calling it a "chicken," and give me a new animal like a giraffe or platypus? And why show a "calf?" Why not just a "cow?" Wouldn't that be easier for babies to grasp since EVERY OTHER CHILDREN'S BOOK CALLS THEM COWS? Same goes for the "macaw." Maybe that's it's real name - like dolphin is to mahi-mahi - but I tell my daughter that's a parrot.
And the image of the tiger is that of a little tiger cub, not a full grown specimen. And the photo of the "bear"only shows its head and neck. I could on, but why bother. The same should apply to you when it comes to this book.
View all my reviews.
Little Quack by Lauren ThompsonMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
As soon as saw the cover of this book (a gift from a family friend for me to read to my daughter) I was less than thrilled. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that I told myself I'd never read it and regift it for someone desperate for images and words with their newborn.
As much as I hate to admit it, I kinda fell for the story here. Mind you, the story is one in which a mother duck tries to convince her five ducklings to leave their nest and join her in the water. SPOILER ALERT! They all do eventually, and quite honestly how anyone could create a book about that simple act - much less sell mass quantities of it - is beyond me.
They key to reading and enjoying Little Quack is to develop a different voice for each of the ducklings and - most importantly - the mother duck. I use a kind of Vicki Lawrence voice for her - rather deep, motherly, assuring and odd. For Little Quack's two sisters - Widdle and Piddle - I simply use high-pitched voices. The fun comes in with the three brothers: for Waddle, I give him a lispy-but-proud voice; for Puddle, I give him a good ol' boy from middle Georgia voice; and for Little Quack, I give him a pre-pubescent squeal.
This being said: read this book when no other adults are around, or you are in for trouble later on.
The best part of the book is on the fifth spread page after Widdle has jumped into the water. The illustration shows the remaining four ducklings cuddle close in the nest and Little Quack has his hands (wings?) clasped to both sides of his head and his beak is open as if to say "Oh my GAWD!" It's great.
And after reading Little Quack about a hundred times see if you can't get mother duck's constant refrain of "you can do it, I know you can" out of your head. I can't.
View all my reviews.
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al PerkinsMy review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
At first glance, you think this is a Dr. Seuss book. But it ain't. However, it does have that Suessian-beatnik-I-grok-kids'-imaginations-and-words-that-rhyme feel about it. I don't know how we got it. Books have a way of just appearing on our daughter's book shelves or in unstable stacks beside our bed.
If Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb has more than 40 words in it - 40 different words - I'll eat my hat. You get a lot of "hands" and "fingers" and "thumbs" - duh, look at the title. But there's also a lot of "monkey" and "drum" or "drumming" and a whole bunch of "dum" and ditty." To read this book cover to cover will take you a minute if you stop to look at the pictures. It's best to do that first, and then tell your baby that you're going to read it again TWICE AS FAST. It makes if more of a challenge for you, and postpones bedtime by another 30 seconds for baby.
I enjoy this book, and our daughter now enjoys it mostly to chew on, but I will say this: it is extremely terrifying if you stop to dwell on what is presented near the end of the book. Close your eyes and picture THIS, my friends: "Millions of fingers, millions of thumbs, millions of monkeys drumming on drums." If that isn't one of the signs of the Apocalypse, I don't know what is. The accompanying illustration is a massive wave of brown fur, smiling monkeys and drums. It'll send chills down your spine.
View all my reviews.
Bright Baby Animals by Roger PriddyMy review
rating: 1 of 5 stars
Much as I wanted to like this book on account of the ecologically friendly paper, I just can't bring myself to recommend you go out and get this. Yes, the pictures of a different animal on each page is bright and clear. And yes, most of them have a colorful background behind them. And yes, the book is a good size for little hands to hold.
But come on. Last time I counted, there were over a bazillion animals on this planets. This book has something like 20 pages to it, so 20 animals. But we get one page with "chicks" on it, and another with a "hen" on it. How about splitting the difference, calling it a "chicken," and give me a new animal like a giraffe or platypus? And why show a "calf?" Why not just a "cow?" Wouldn't that be easier for babies to grasp since EVERY OTHER CHILDREN'S BOOK CALLS THEM COWS? Same goes for the "macaw." Maybe that's it's real name - like dolphin is to mahi-mahi - but I tell my daughter that's a parrot.
And the image of the tiger is that of a little tiger cub, not a full grown specimen. And the photo of the "bear"only shows its head and neck. I could on, but why bother. The same should apply to you when it comes to this book.
View all my reviews.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
I was thinking the other day that I should write about what a typical day is like for Bella and her father. So here goes...
7:00-7:30 a.m.
Bella gets up as does either her mom or dad and feeds her a bottle and changes her diaper.
8:00-8:30 a.m.
Bella and her mom hang out, get dressed, eat peanut butter toast (for mom) and Cheerios with fruit (Bella). Then mom leaves for work.
9:00 a.m.
We switch the radio from NPR's Morning Edition to WREK's Just Jazz. We put the radio in the bottom of the stroller, and get dressed for a walk. Bella and her dad have a two-mile loop they walk almost every morning along Oldfield Road, then Kirk Road, then South Candler, then Midway Road back to Oldfield. Along the way they look for squirrels and cats (with names like Toughie, Toadie, Fluffy Black, Puddin, and Bear), count cars and buses that pass on South Candler, touch leaves and tree bark, and every once in a while get to watch a dog play fetch in the park.
10:00 a.m.
Back home, Bella plays quietly in her room, pulling books off her shelves, or bashing plastic toys together.
10:30 a.m.
Bella's morning nap begins, which allows her dad to shower, dress, make a turkey sandwich, check his e-mail, and chill out.
12:00-12:30 p.m.
Bella is up and ready for a bottle and a diaper change.
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Bella and her dad either go shopping, run errands, or clean the house and play (depending on the weather).
3:30-4:00 p.m.
Afternoon nap begin, which allows her dad to work on his book or artwork (or take a nap if it's been a rough night/day).
5:00 p.m.
Bella is up and ready for another bottle.
5:30 p.m.
We go for a walk down Oldfield to the Columbia Seminary, stroll through the campus, and come back home. This time we keep track of the number of squirrels, chipmunks and either cats or dogs we see. Out record squirrel count so far is 25.
6:00 p.m.
Bella's mom comes home from work, and Bella is very excited about that.
6:30 p.m.
Bath time with mom.
7:00-7:30 p.m.
Reading books in bed with mom or dad. This typically involves a dozen books or more and rarely takes a full half hour.
8:00 p.m.
Bottle and bedtime (with her parents' fingers crossed for success).
...but how often do we really have "typical" days?
7:00-7:30 a.m.
Bella gets up as does either her mom or dad and feeds her a bottle and changes her diaper.
8:00-8:30 a.m.
Bella and her mom hang out, get dressed, eat peanut butter toast (for mom) and Cheerios with fruit (Bella). Then mom leaves for work.
9:00 a.m.
We switch the radio from NPR's Morning Edition to WREK's Just Jazz. We put the radio in the bottom of the stroller, and get dressed for a walk. Bella and her dad have a two-mile loop they walk almost every morning along Oldfield Road, then Kirk Road, then South Candler, then Midway Road back to Oldfield. Along the way they look for squirrels and cats (with names like Toughie, Toadie, Fluffy Black, Puddin, and Bear), count cars and buses that pass on South Candler, touch leaves and tree bark, and every once in a while get to watch a dog play fetch in the park.
10:00 a.m.
Back home, Bella plays quietly in her room, pulling books off her shelves, or bashing plastic toys together.
10:30 a.m.
Bella's morning nap begins, which allows her dad to shower, dress, make a turkey sandwich, check his e-mail, and chill out.
12:00-12:30 p.m.
Bella is up and ready for a bottle and a diaper change.
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Bella and her dad either go shopping, run errands, or clean the house and play (depending on the weather).
3:30-4:00 p.m.
Afternoon nap begin, which allows her dad to work on his book or artwork (or take a nap if it's been a rough night/day).
5:00 p.m.
Bella is up and ready for another bottle.
5:30 p.m.
We go for a walk down Oldfield to the Columbia Seminary, stroll through the campus, and come back home. This time we keep track of the number of squirrels, chipmunks and either cats or dogs we see. Out record squirrel count so far is 25.
6:00 p.m.
Bella's mom comes home from work, and Bella is very excited about that.
6:30 p.m.
Bath time with mom.
7:00-7:30 p.m.
Reading books in bed with mom or dad. This typically involves a dozen books or more and rarely takes a full half hour.
8:00 p.m.
Bottle and bedtime (with her parents' fingers crossed for success).
...but how often do we really have "typical" days?
Monday, October 13, 2008
NEW PHOTOS
Here are some shots from the new house. Bella is nine-and-a-half months old now, crawling everywhere, opening anything she can, and vocalizing almost non-stop.
THE ZOO and THE GARDEN
Jen and Bella went to the Atlanta Zoo with our friends Jen Wood and Grayson, who is a few weeks younger than Bella. They had a good time petting goats, seeing monkeys and otherwise taking in the wildlife.
The following weekend all three of us went and joined the Botanical Gardens and met our friends Tim and his boys, Jasper and Cisco, there in the children's garden. The boys, who are older, enjoyed running around and playing on the slides. Bella and her mom went down a few slides as well. And Bella got to touch her first pumpkin. The picture here was taken at Peter Rabbit's place - Jasper, Bella and Cisco.
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