tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86072386760911904982024-02-19T09:57:12.373-07:00Raising Dinosaurs & Other Domestic AdventuresThe exploits of a grad-student family. Some Montessori things, a few cooking pictures, crafts I'm working on...but mostly cute baby pictures.Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-1043238917490080432013-04-23T20:31:00.002-06:002013-04-23T20:53:30.605-06:001 Year....or something like thatDinobaby is a year old!!!<br />
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<b>Fine Motor: </b>Leopleuradon continues to be a fine motor genius. He can remove wooden puzzle pieces, drop tiny baby spoons into the mouth of a water bottle, and hit the keys on his piano-thing one at a time. He removes tiny nails from a peg board, and can stack these weird block things we got for Christmas. He also spin things between his fingers.<br />
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<b>Gross Motor: </b>Dinobaby is sometimes so coordinated that I can't really believe that he is a product of my athletically challenged body. Like he can climb out of his high chair and stand on the seat (which btw incited sheer terror). He cruises around the house holding on to things with one hand.<br />
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He can totally walk by himself, he's taken up to a dozen independent steps. However, he still pretends that he needs to hold my hand. Sometimes he compromises with himself and crawls on two hands, a knee, and a foot. This is hilarious.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Money!<br />
I'm sure this would make a great meme.</td></tr>
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His latest development is moving while hoarding. Like he likes to hold on to his tiny toy cars, so he'll army crawl around the living room on his elbows. Also hilarious. He can also hold things over his head without falling over (I bet you never thought about how difficult that is until just now). And can throw things on purpose.<br />
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He has a hard time coordinating with himself still, which is perfectly normal. So putting legos together with two hands is much harder for him than stacking one on top of a lego on the floor. And he really wants to use utensils but.... this happens.<br />
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<b>Language: </b>"Uh Leee-oh" this is how dinobaby says his name. He consistently signs more, all done, and bird unprompted (there are a lot of birds around our yard). He responds to his name, plays peek-a-boo when you say the word peek-a-boo, and waves when you say goodbye. Most adorably, he waves at his books when the characters say goodbye. "Bye, bye dragons." He also waved back from his carseat at a truck driver at a stoplight.<br />
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He can blow raspberries and click his tongue in response to raspberries and tongue clicking. And he'll mimic other normal sounds.<br />
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<b>Social: </b>He loves playing next to other children and babies. Usually he pats their hair, which is a foreign concept to dinobaby. He also steals paci's to investigate them for a second and then he'll pop them back in (like I said, super coordinated). He'll point things out to me that are interesting to him. And he's forever telling me about the birds (or squirrels that he calls birds, or even just the fact that a bird is singing somewhere).<br />
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Little dude, also really loves music. He even waves his arms in time. I don't even think that's possible, yet I've seen it, so I guess it is. Innate rhythm. Sometimes he does a happy squeal too. Usually at church where there's the greatest number of people to impress with his singing abilities, and it's nice and quiet so they can hear him.<br />
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I'm sorry I missed last month. It's been exciting around here, and I just kept forgetting to post anything. I'm 15,000 words in on the crappiest SF/Fantasy book ever (p.s. if you write novels in secret/or in the open, I want a writing group--comment below if you're interested).<br />
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I also started writing <a href="http://sistionary.blogspot.com/">a blog with my sister</a>. More of my random thoughts will go on the joint blog, so if you liked those sorts of posts, you should subscribe there.<br />
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And if you're wondering what "these weird block things" are:<br />
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-85155424555145488042013-03-17T21:38:00.000-06:002013-03-17T21:38:16.600-06:00My Unique KidIn celebration of my baby living one crazy and crazy awesome year, I thought I'd list some of my favorite quirks.<br />
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<ul>
<li>He tugs on his ear when he's trying to get comfortable</li>
<li>He really is fantastically happy to see you after you've been away for any stretch of time. This is like all out bliss for daddy, but this also extends to open-my-mouth-as-wide-as-I-can happy when he sees me out of the car window when I go to unstrap him from his carseat after a five minute ride home from the library. </li>
<li>He loves high objects. The clock on the wall, the fan pull-cord, tapping on the monkey bars, picture frames, whatever he can convince you into lifting him up to. </li>
<li>Really, really likes to eat--especially marshmallows and donuts (which probably says something about my parenting... fyi, he doesn't eat these things often)</li>
<li>Loves to bounce</li>
<li>Curiosity often beats out fear--for instance he is terrified of the vacuum cleaner, but will pull his head out of daddy's shoulder in bursts to investigate it at the same time.</li>
<li>He loves old ladies. And old ladies love him. "Well hello pretty baby" (apparently maturity leads all women to refer to dinobaby as "pretty" which is endearing) to which he responds by babbling happily.</li>
<li>When he gets worried after exploring independently for awhile he'll sit up and look around the room for me. When he finds me, he stretches his hand towards me and says something like "adooo." I repeat this back to him as I point at him. He smiles, and then he repeats the process a few times. After a few pointing exchanges he's ready to take on the world again. </li>
<li>He likes to sit in doorways and open and close the door, just for the challenge of it</li>
<li>He loves to be swung, wrestled, tossed, rolled, tickled, etc</li>
<li>He plays peek-a-boo with the baby gate or his crib by holding onto the top rail and alternating between crouching and standing</li>
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These are all of his quirks, but they'll suffice for now. I'll get a new month update soon-ish, but I need to take some more pictures first. </div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-47610094241848784462013-02-17T19:12:00.000-07:002013-02-17T19:12:18.140-07:00NPR and Mormonism I <i>really </i>love NPR. Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, A Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk, The Diane Reams Show, Science Friday, Radio Lab. And I love the local flavor of each station. In Utah, the local voice is Doug Fabrizio. Oh, Doug. (I'm on first-name terms with Doug in my head...as I am with all NPR personalities). Doug doesn't like Mormons. Not like Westboro Baptist hate, just a consistent sort of "ugh, why are you the way you are?"<br />
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I understand it. Utah has its own culture and quirks, most of which are informed (sometimes poorly) by Mormon doctrine. I think it's legitimately difficult to live in Utah and not identify yourself with the Mormon church. So when I was getting my NPR fix and Doug got a little heavy-handed with his obvious negative feelings about Latter-Day Saints I would just shake my head and say "Oh, Doug" fondly to my radio. So ingrained is this response that I find myself thinking "Oh, Doug" whenever I read or hear comments about the irrational faith, frustrating "blind obedience," or backward intolerance of Mormons (or religious people generally when combative atheists have the audacity to lump all "Theists" together.)<br />
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Recently I've found myself stumbling across all kinds of "Oh, Doug" worthy posts especially written by people that were raised Mormon and have since sought their spiritual fulfillment somewhere else. Again, I understand. A crisis of faith is a pretty earth-shattering experience for everyone, but I think its particularly hard for Mormons because our religious life saturates every other aspect of our lives. Knowing how important my church was to my family and my upbringing, if I ever hypothetically left "the church" I would probably feel the need to cry out for support for my decision. I don't want to demean that very real pain and anguish that those people are facing, or antagonize them by commenting on these posts. And from my own experience <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_wrestling_with_the_Angel">wrestling with God</a>, </i>I know that a comment wouldn't really help. No one else can give you really satisfying answers because in the end, spirituality is our most personal journey on this Earth.<br />
<br />
However, I do think the LDS church is worth defending.<br />
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First of all, it is really alright to have doubts. Yeah, it makes your mom nervous, but your mom, however saintly, is not God. It is okay to have doubts. Not everything we believe in ties up neatly in a little box. For instance, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil">the problem of human suffering</a> in light of an omnipotent God, is one of the oldest paradoxes in history. <br />
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Secondly, I really loathe the insinuation that the only reason I still have faith in this church is because I haven't thought about it. I am an intelligent individual and I am a Mormon. I love my religion and I love learning about my religion. I have no fears learning about and from other religions and pursuing whatever knowledge there is to be found. <a href="http://mormon.org/articles-of-faith">If there is anything true, a faithful Mormon should </a>embrace it. I strongly believe that we should be smart about our religion. Ignorance is not pleasing to God. Religion really isn't simple nor is it easy to sum up. We aren't children anymore. It is no longer sufficient to say the golden rule to ourselves and be done. There are meaty, inspiring, troubling, glorious, weighty things to study and decide your own opinion about.<br />
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God also doesn't need us to lie for him. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can stand up to scrutiny. And believing in God isn't easy. There are moral dilemmas inherent in faith. The bible isn't strictly filled with stories that give you warm fuzzies. But, there is beauty in complexity. And, Mormons have a messy history. We believe some pretty controversial and fantastic things. But, there is no dirty secret to Mormonism. I'm not saying I know every detail of every LDS leader back to Joseph Smith. But, I am saying that I am not willfully ignorant. And, I also think that there are completely faithful, believing Mormons that have studied in rigorous detail almost any topic or fact that could bother you. There is an entire floor of Mormon scholars, editors, and researchers that are <a href="http://josephsmithpapers.org/">publishing every scrap of paper</a> that could possibly be attributed to Joseph Smith. There is nothing to be unearthed that is so damning that only an idiot would continue to believe. Conversely, perhaps the central tennent to our faith, other than the divinity of Jesus Christ, is that humanity has the unalienable--even by God, Himself--right to choose. So, I'm really completely alright that the evidence for the validity of the LDS church isn't overwhelming. I believe that this is a church run, ultimately by God, and if that's the case, He can't make it as apparent as the sun rising in the East. He has to preserve our right to choose for ourselves, to parse out the evidence individually.<br />
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So I guess this is me saying to Mormons mid-crisis, hold on. Hold on through the unanswered prayers. Hold on through frustrating search for answers. Hold on through the late-night conversations. Hold on. Because when the storm finally calms, you will have a better, richer, more fulfilling spiritual life.<br />
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I believe.<br />
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If you would like to deepen how you look at Mormonism and enrich your faith in a less "officially sanctioned" way, I heartily suggest <a href="http://mormonmidrashim.blogspot.com/">Mormon Midrashim</a>, and of course an <a href="http://radiowest.kuer.org/topic/why-god-and-tragedy">excellent interview from NPR</a> from none other than Doug Fabrizio himself with Terry Givens (where Doug was actually fantastically non-antagonizing).<br />
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If you want to know more about the fascinating doctrines of Mormons, like our belief that all of us can <i>inherit </i>heaven or that our souls have always existed--please feel free to message me. Or you could always check out our <a href="http://mormon.org/">official website</a>, or have an online <a href="http://mormon.org/chat">chat</a> with a real Mormon :)<br />
<br />Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-84664297514958131142013-02-14T19:18:00.000-07:002013-02-15T06:58:33.866-07:00The Farm Dream<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have a lot of dreams, but my most realistic, realizable dream is to be a farmer. I really love plants and being outside. I love the idea of being able to hangout at home with my kids. I love the concept that all of the meat I eat came from an animal that was treated well while it was living. And, I especially love that I will have all of the super delicious, awesome food I want. It's a little bit about self-sufficiency, and a lot about resource stewardship and appreciating the miraculous, life-giving food we eat.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Tunis Sheep were raised by all of the cool Founding Fathers .<br />
They have oatmeal colored wool, but their heads (and babies) are red.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Like bread. It's $2.00. Two dollars, and it represents that wheat was sown, weeded, watered, harvested, cut, threshed, cleaned, and ground. It was mixed, leavened, punched down, risen, baked, sliced, and delivered to a place where you could pick it up with your other groceries. Crazy. That being said, I have no desire to grow wheat. Civilization evolved because all of the processes that grain takes to be tasty is really labor intensive. No thanks. But, that's my point. While I think it is entirely unnecessary to admire every slice of toast, I do think that occasionally you should think "Man, I am so blessed. Look at the bounty all around me, that is really ridiculously cheap when you think about all of the labor I've been saved." And I think growing food reminds you that tomatoes, and shredded cheese in a bag don't just spring into existence, ex nihilo. While many of our foods are factory farmed all of it eventually comes down to the vicissitudes of rainfall and sunshine. In the post-apocalyptic future where dust obscures the sun, we could still make three bajillion microchips, but we would sooner rather than later starve to death. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
I also think that we should thank our meat. I know most people don't like to think about the fact that something died in order for them to eat their Chicken Alfredo, but it did. And ignoring that fact doesn't make it disappear. A little gratitude and perspective is in order. Perhaps my body doesn't need to eat a former living thing every day. Thank you chicken for nourishing my body and for being so delicious while doing it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">And growing your own food means that you can select for taste and not shelf life. Which explains why until I was 15 I thought I hated raw tomatoes. Turns out I just hate the watery, tasteless, mealy, nasty tomatoes they sell at grocery stores and on fast food sandwiches. Also explains why anyone grows Red Delicious apples, because it is certainly not because they are actually delicious.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">*Even if you don't care about animal living conditions, factory farms are bad for humans. The U.S. Department of Labor surveyed 51 poultry processing plants and found</span><a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/injustice-on-our-plates" style="background-color: white;"> 100% had violated labor laws</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"> by not paying employees for all hours worked. Also, one-third took impermissible deductions from workers’ pay. ...and yeah, there's </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0" style="background-color: white;">Food, Inc</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">. But unfortunately, the options for non-factory foods are often ridiculously overpriced. Sorry Whole Foods, but even small organic orchards don't need $12.00 for a quart of applesauce. I don't need my groceries to show how intelligent, hip, and environmentally aware I am, so I don't really want to pay for all of that self-congratulation. So, I'll grow my own. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span>
My Future Farm Animals (maybe):</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man, bees are so cool and fascinating. Like for instance<br />
every cell in a male bee's body is haploid. They<br />
are like highly mobile, multi-cellular gametes.<br />
Weird.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTsJQOsw0neWCn92fsppoX8jGIIwpq_vmO-l3DMKm6vNDQQsJ7NX2zlpl-dVOm4GewqHom0c44hiTF3HxcUuP6AfZ91S23psQOmcVl9XbZI2S-bkUMdUSw6Dz4Wryu-FMZ5I7a0xCx60/s1600/english_angora_rabbits_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTsJQOsw0neWCn92fsppoX8jGIIwpq_vmO-l3DMKm6vNDQQsJ7NX2zlpl-dVOm4GewqHom0c44hiTF3HxcUuP6AfZ91S23psQOmcVl9XbZI2S-bkUMdUSw6Dz4Wryu-FMZ5I7a0xCx60/s200/english_angora_rabbits_02.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angora Rabbits...it's seriously amazing that<br />
evolution and artificial selection can produce<br />
a creature that looks like it was invented by<br />
5 year old or maybe Lisa Frank. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcu07rWdR0Zc5iaVu6S6IqlETLidDHlC7h9DWC4oLMXmfZZru9vfxGoFr7FErwWygrO9ly-uQiI2Gz5YJhe3bf0tJSDqPPKP_DIKzIf02T039NupUkWAkASU3JSQfwmwaoqxJjHUaFH0/s1600/Cayuga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcu07rWdR0Zc5iaVu6S6IqlETLidDHlC7h9DWC4oLMXmfZZru9vfxGoFr7FErwWygrO9ly-uQiI2Gz5YJhe3bf0tJSDqPPKP_DIKzIf02T039NupUkWAkASU3JSQfwmwaoqxJjHUaFH0/s200/Cayuga.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cayuga Ducks--Gorgeous color, huh?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RUZpmu-kmHT25RwY6PBpKKxcCldenYEcNrPyMJzRlVWRPUuujEHz46fEfN16RZ5ytFjMfgQNYF6ihGrr40OhtTROUoyf45V1krwAZwUthqg-3pnFSfrxq5BkLKpJkHNyPuyZylBPFc8/s1600/BourbonRedBreedingGroup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RUZpmu-kmHT25RwY6PBpKKxcCldenYEcNrPyMJzRlVWRPUuujEHz46fEfN16RZ5ytFjMfgQNYF6ihGrr40OhtTROUoyf45V1krwAZwUthqg-3pnFSfrxq5BkLKpJkHNyPuyZylBPFc8/s200/BourbonRedBreedingGroup.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bourbon Red is apparently the tastiest Turkey<br />
breed according to blind taste tests. Also heritage<br />
turkeys dance as part of their mating ritual. Cool. </td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6MhI5BQ9EeFTjW3crhjoBnbdFGg36-s-Wi-y1x0kyVSA0ibubCHS2adY1hybtuLG3TqVkbPV6bsEe79hNQXhBgaEHdHBIoA8O6zjQH5ExbVB7-TI_BUZH7wIOryflfVUseMaIIOR0NM/s1600/Week-old_Nubian_doe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6MhI5BQ9EeFTjW3crhjoBnbdFGg36-s-Wi-y1x0kyVSA0ibubCHS2adY1hybtuLG3TqVkbPV6bsEe79hNQXhBgaEHdHBIoA8O6zjQH5ExbVB7-TI_BUZH7wIOryflfVUseMaIIOR0NM/s200/Week-old_Nubian_doe.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nubian baby doe--- oh my heck, the ears.<br />
Nubian milk is especially good for cheese making<br />
because it's super high in fat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXPKU_L63dWqbJp_xp1XZ3L8dR-NNZkMoJ7EG5gEy72Hhxt5PeuWILm7XEcaOFByM_r0wLpeCsRCxjAVqY48pb0AdLysUJv94M5CmIl_ImkHWmb9sKO39D924fTtNqesaImIYFq6Anrk/s1600/ee-eggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXPKU_L63dWqbJp_xp1XZ3L8dR-NNZkMoJ7EG5gEy72Hhxt5PeuWILm7XEcaOFByM_r0wLpeCsRCxjAVqY48pb0AdLysUJv94M5CmIl_ImkHWmb9sKO39D924fTtNqesaImIYFq6Anrk/s200/ee-eggs.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amerucana Chicken eggs--Unlike brown eggs,<br />
blue eggs are blue throughout. Meaning<br />
when you crack them open, the inner shell is also blue</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCvURSS6br4GHURaXa9di15r3R3xhrFehRDbpgriNNcm8JEC6z0ZMYD3xna2Abdp-P390lmeOdv6DLEHV9eAiQG-biBk8rxWHHah2SNWPj9mU6cU_D0y5qO2okAF1CZ-umSlr-CWFPks/s1600/Angora-goats-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCvURSS6br4GHURaXa9di15r3R3xhrFehRDbpgriNNcm8JEC6z0ZMYD3xna2Abdp-P390lmeOdv6DLEHV9eAiQG-biBk8rxWHHah2SNWPj9mU6cU_D0y5qO2okAF1CZ-umSlr-CWFPks/s320/Angora-goats-3.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angora Goats--for whatever reason they remind me of Hobbits</td></tr>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-84165406883410382962013-02-12T18:51:00.001-07:002013-02-12T18:51:27.475-07:0011 Months--You've Got to be Kidding<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicMkGVi5Fd3iViBnB657CKNmb22hyphenhyphenzFBBryaBVyh0ACPyFxKGskEiSs9bhh1Z2whkyGt9e54wsUfFBLUSWEORCJTjKFZtS-ZuSEZTUzb5snYPEayL-BcRdOLTmDf3Fml6ijr3re_qMQpA/s1600/DSCF3597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicMkGVi5Fd3iViBnB657CKNmb22hyphenhyphenzFBBryaBVyh0ACPyFxKGskEiSs9bhh1Z2whkyGt9e54wsUfFBLUSWEORCJTjKFZtS-ZuSEZTUzb5snYPEayL-BcRdOLTmDf3Fml6ijr3re_qMQpA/s400/DSCF3597.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinobaby loves the splashing<br />p.s. what an awesome--little mid-air water spheres</td></tr>
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Dinobaby is 11 months... which really just means now I can tell people how old he is using normal people units. Weird. Almost a year. Dinobaby has grown so much this month.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6aeeFPeCiF93NG3nEBKT4DMgehyphenhyphenHo8p3-bWLJlWa-CUy5SLnguFYeTarZ21hlGgbazHqgCCdDFMhTg4vIwdsZVh70lw4QopbcGd7CMye6DnxTTOGzpTHRXYLUX2H4eOK55Mcm53ekBw/s1600/2013-02-12_15-26-42_347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6aeeFPeCiF93NG3nEBKT4DMgehyphenhyphenHo8p3-bWLJlWa-CUy5SLnguFYeTarZ21hlGgbazHqgCCdDFMhTg4vIwdsZVh70lw4QopbcGd7CMye6DnxTTOGzpTHRXYLUX2H4eOK55Mcm53ekBw/s320/2013-02-12_15-26-42_347.jpg" width="180" /></a><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I want it so bad</td></tr>
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Language: Sometimes (infrequently) he says Mama. He is also pseudo signing More and all done, but mostly he says Whaa! and gestures with his hand towards what he wants. For the more linguistically inclined among you, Dinobaby can make the following phonemes: Ba, Da, Ma, Na, Guh, Ff, Ng, Thu, Vvvvvvv, a very gutteral Kah, Aaa, Ooo, uh, eh, and wah.<br />
<br />
He very obviously comprehends more words than he can say/gesture, i.e. his name, Daddy, and look.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveRMmLHsgVnYTgFvM121PRwI8EFdE_LP19flIT85sqhnfcFkW8kv3FmiyVFKCFLWX4XTWj-FcGUynTPDMZt91tjpER_krZNSWFLGK8LFyLRVMBDAX-VF8F4caZlAZ1w1Kk5mFOM4695A/s1600/2013-01-24_18-21-27_926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveRMmLHsgVnYTgFvM121PRwI8EFdE_LP19flIT85sqhnfcFkW8kv3FmiyVFKCFLWX4XTWj-FcGUynTPDMZt91tjpER_krZNSWFLGK8LFyLRVMBDAX-VF8F4caZlAZ1w1Kk5mFOM4695A/s320/2013-01-24_18-21-27_926.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah nesting rings!</td></tr>
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Also, not sure where else to put this so I guess I'll put it here. Leopleuradon can also sing. It is really, really cute. Like he'll wake up in the middle of the night and sing to himself for a few minutes before falling asleep. They are only two-note phrases, but still awesome. For the music geeks, usually they're major third jumps back and forth, or every once in a while perfect fifth slides. He usually does this loudly at church during hymns ("oh, yeah, singing! I can do that! OooooooOooo!") or he'll do it quietly along with me when I sing to him at naptime. Oh man. Cuteness.<br />
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Gross Motor: Hand-eye coordination is here with a vengeance. Or at least a desire to be coordinated anyway. Dinobaby loves to put things in and out of bigger things. Egg and cup, nesting rings, socks out of the laundry basket, legos in their tray, and you know, a pot lid in a skillet.... He also loves to clap.<br />
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He's also getting much better on his feet. He can stand independently for almost a minute if he's concentrating. He also walks much faster holding our hands than he did before, and every once in a while he'll venture a step when he's only holding on with one hand. He pulls up and walks on his tip-toes to explore the edge of the desk.<br />
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Fine Motor: Dinobaby has been on a big book reading, page turning kick. He's getting really good at separating the pages and lifting flaps--using the inferior pincer grasp (side of index finger instead of the pad). He points with his index finger at different things in the book and grunts random syllables so he is starting to isolation movement in each finger. At naptime he often plays with his hands, flapping his fingers shut over his palm. And, he can sort of roll a toy car across the floor, showing wrist control. So pretty fabulous fine motor skills<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Y9e8uWgVvS7EghiDzVQ1eArKpvQrKFYpxfJ5tXMAxIvdNAMZvEOIWXXpRfvjM3BsYhJg1mIu1TEfNDRPHDFqx3l4THj77usmwS3eCdFT3U4qHMdBfrJbUrMFNjdu2yTIu5oxnsmX2DE/s1600/2013-02-12_16-48-46_928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Y9e8uWgVvS7EghiDzVQ1eArKpvQrKFYpxfJ5tXMAxIvdNAMZvEOIWXXpRfvjM3BsYhJg1mIu1TEfNDRPHDFqx3l4THj77usmwS3eCdFT3U4qHMdBfrJbUrMFNjdu2yTIu5oxnsmX2DE/s320/2013-02-12_16-48-46_928.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He looks so old here--plus look, visible hair!</td></tr>
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Sleep: Oh my lucky stars! Dinobaby is almost sleeping through the night. He now goes to sleep around 6:30-7pm and only wakes up once, no dreamfeed or nothing, sometime between 4:30 to 6:30, and wakes up really at 7-7:30. It's awesome! I've also stopped fighting the naps, and now I just take Dinobaby's morning nap with him (sacrifices must be made *wink*) and lie down with him in the afternoon and write letters or work on writing projects from the bed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreuLVnZc2tESidPcK5XDDVR6qVCEMtU3i1RTjT14tF-u-aBQ5SyKtyqBemUKJH0sVFDxhn5V4__ji9o9r-E2kp5U0vY8yA0S8v7Z1IAY35mtlN2Lq31nTD1Q2bsBQmGLbD7azbRennXs/s1600/2013-01-24_12-27-56_663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhreuLVnZc2tESidPcK5XDDVR6qVCEMtU3i1RTjT14tF-u-aBQ5SyKtyqBemUKJH0sVFDxhn5V4__ji9o9r-E2kp5U0vY8yA0S8v7Z1IAY35mtlN2Lq31nTD1Q2bsBQmGLbD7azbRennXs/s320/2013-01-24_12-27-56_663.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello, I'm adorable.</td></tr>
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Miscellany: Dinobaby really loves marshmallows-which essentially ruins him for real food for the rest of the day. He's not going to see another marshmallow for a long time. It is impressive how willful he became over them. He's going to be one awesomely driven toddler. P.S. anyone know how to start teaching social graces like please and thank you and not completely freaking out while waiting for dinner to get cut up? Right now the fake-cry whining is kinda cute, but I have no idea how to prevent it from becoming super obnoxious toddler crocodile tears I also don't want to be unrealistic though, he <i>is</i> a pre-verbal baby.<br /><br />
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-67884326163386996612013-02-08T21:54:00.000-07:002013-02-08T22:01:50.106-07:00Cloth Diapers: Part 2, What Kind?There are million kinds of cloth diaper. And you can spend a ton of money. This post is going to be extremely opinionated, but this is what I wish I read when I was spending <b>way too much time</b> reading reviews and picking out diapers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckQfIyALvXOGw5mOInxqhD2fgEOUI7Ar3fRrMBvnryLKd-EA-wL_8HJ51OO-ZPUTTU8Zy73y_clnV9hhdaE4panYkq9lS58zoS4cHKJ3TpTqb4u_nVF4JrRdr89T8DAnW-aPySKaOgUM/s1600/2012-02-20_18-54-17_179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckQfIyALvXOGw5mOInxqhD2fgEOUI7Ar3fRrMBvnryLKd-EA-wL_8HJ51OO-ZPUTTU8Zy73y_clnV9hhdaE4panYkq9lS58zoS4cHKJ3TpTqb4u_nVF4JrRdr89T8DAnW-aPySKaOgUM/s400/2012-02-20_18-54-17_179.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left section Clockwise starting with the yellow one: Kawaii snaps, Kawaii velcro, Tots Bots (teal), Itti Bitti (red stars), Bum Genius (equations), Thirsties Duo Diaper (trees)<br />
Center Top-Down: Prefolds, Kissaluvs fitted (lime green diaper), Microfiber inserts<br />
Right: 6 Flats in cute prints, Econobum cover (white with blue trim), Thirsties Duo Wrap covers (orange and blue)</td></tr>
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Honestly, my favorite diapers are the cheapest ones. I love <b>flats</b>. You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-cuAfnBwMU">fold them up</a> and pin them on like a Fort Knox for newborn blowouts, or you can fold them haphazardly in thirds-ish and slap them in a cover. Since they are one sheet of cloth you can be 100% sure they aren't hiding anything nasty. You can wash them in whatever detergent you have on hand. They dry in 20 minutes. They have the smallest profile of all cloth diapers. They have a very practical post-baby life as cleaning rags. They are so cheap you can afford to have a million of them and only do laundry when it's convenient. Heck, you could even use some of the three gajillion receiving blankets you received as flats and not buy any at all.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Prefolds</b> are similarly cheap and versatile. However, they also have all of the drawbacks of all-in-one diaper/covers except the high price tag: they take forever to dry, you have to buy special no-additive, no-brightener detergent, they can build up ammonia in the layers and cause rashes. Plus, they still need covers. AND, they give your baby the hugest badonkadonk ever. Seriously. All cloth diapers are much fluffier around the bum than disposables but prefolds are like a whole league of their own. Really they should call them Sir Mixalot Diapers. And when you line dry them they are essential little shingles. Nope, I'd pass on the prefolds.<br />
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<b>All-in-Ones</b>, by which I mean diapers that have a waterproof cover already attached (not just the ones known as All-in-ones in cloth lingo). There are a million different kinds. Ones that you stuff with soakers, ones with tongues that flip out in the wash, ones with flaps that you fold down the center, and ones that are just like disposable diapers except you wash them--you just velcro those suckers on as is. (This last variety is actually called All-in-Ones in cloth diaper stores, fyi). Warning, they all have stupid names. It's usually a combination of a word for butt and a "cute" adjective, i.e. FuzzyBunz, Rumparooz, Bum Genius are all real brands.<br />
<br />
It's nice to have a couple of these on hand for days when your baby is especially squirmy or your running errands, etc.However they are not worth it to use all of the time in my opinion. They have all of the drawbacks listed above plus they are super expensive. If you're going to buy some of these just go straight for the real-deal All-in-Ones, and steer clear of "pocket diapers" which I hate because you've got to pull out the wet soakers before you can toss it in the laundry. *eww* Here's a brief review of the brands I've tried.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Kawaii ---a chinese brand which is super cheap, but they are also ridiculously wide. Like humorously wide, a baby horse doesn't even have that much space between its legs. </li>
</ul>
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<br />
<ul>
<li> Thirsties AIO- Super easy, nice fit, but runs small (they've got two sizes and the large size fit Dinobaby okay at 6 months). Also, takes three lifetimes to line-dry </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Thirsties Duo Diaper-- Nice enough. Same company as above so the same problem, Dinobaby outgrew the size 1's by 8 months.</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<ul>
<li>Tots Bots--I love these. Unfortunately they're also the most expensive cloth diaper I've ever seen. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Itti Bitti D'lish-- (I told you cloth diapers had stupid names) Complete waste of money. 1) they run super tiny so they only fit Dinobaby for a week, I'm not kidding. 2. They leaked. I've never had a cloth diaper leak other than this one (well, unless I did something stupid, like didn't have the waterproof cover covering the whole diaper) 3. The snaps were particularly hard to close. BUT, the super fuzzy, stars print was really adorable. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Bum Genius Freetime--pretty good. The flaps make it dry faster but also make it harder to put on super willful, mobile babies. The science equations print though, is really what makes me love this diaper. </li>
</ul>
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<b> Note</b>: Although some people may try to convince you that sized diapers fit better, it's not really appreciable. Just buy the one-size 10lbs to potty training diapers.<br />
<br />
<b>Covers: </b>If you go the flats route (which I strongly suggest you do), you'll need waterproof covers. Please don't put your baby in rubber pants. I like the one-size kind (see note above) with <i>velcro. </i>Snaps may last longer, but it's not worth it to try to wrangle around a mobile infant only to realize you put it on the wrong snap and the covers not on tight enough. I really like Flip brand. I'd pass on Econobum even though they're cheaper. It does the job, but feels much flimsier and doesn't fit as nice or go on as easily. Thirsties also has nice covers but they don't have a real one-size cover so you'll have to buy two different covers instead of one of the Flip kind.<br />
<br />
<b>Hybrids</b>: These are cloth diapers with disposable liners. Seems like the best of both worlds, except for it's completely not. Don't do this. Mostly because each insert is at least 40 cents making it the most expensive disposable ever.<br />
<br />
You can buy diapers on Amazon, <a href="http://www.cottonbabies.com/">Cotton Babies</a> (free shipping), <a href="http://www.kellyscloset.com/?gclid=CKjc9Jm2qLUCFQWxnQodthMA5Q">Kelly's Closet</a> (which gave me both Kawaii diapers for free), and <a href="http://www.diaperjunction.com/">Diaper Junction</a><br />
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-9190846796623259022013-02-06T22:22:00.001-07:002013-02-08T21:59:58.989-07:00Cloth Diapers: Part 1I know you're thinking, "Whoa there. Part 1?...They're diapers. How much is there to say?" And yeah, you're kinda right. But you're also way wrong. Although, I am kinda flabbergasted that <a href="http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/">multiple</a> <a href="http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/">blogs</a> <a href="http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/">exist </a>that can somehow dream of new material regularly.<br />
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Cloth diapers are awesome. Really. You should try them if you own your own washing machine, and maybe even if you don't, depending on how expensive the laundromat is. I see disposable diapers like paper plates. There's a time for paper plates--in times of extraordinary busy-ness, sickness, or travel. I have no problem using paper plates every so often, but using paper plates everyday is wasteful. They're also not as nice as real plates. Likewise, disposable diapers make a lot of trash--like 7.58 billion pounds a year. And, in my own experience the few times Dinobaby has gotten diaper rashes, he got them during periods when he was wearing disposables exclusively. Also, I think he likes the cloth diapers better. I say that because no woman has ever worn pads when she didn't have to because she preferred how they felt. I assume the difference between a disposable and cloth is similar. <br />
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Even if you couldn't ever use cloth full-time, maybe just on the weekends or a use a couple of cloth diapers instead of disposables every day. It adds up. Small changes can really make a difference. And they are so much easier than you think they are.<br />
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Here's the run-down of answers to the questions I hear most often:<br />
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1) Aren't you scared you'll prick your baby?<br />
You don't have to use pins. I used a thing called a Snappi to secure diapers when blowouts were still likely, but now I don't even do that anymore.<br />
<br />
2)What do you do with the poops?<br />
I exclusively breastfed for the first 6ish months, so all dirty diapers regardless of what variety just got thrown in the washing machine--yay for the polarity of water molecules! Since I waited so long to start solids, once I had to worry about what to do with poops they were quite easily ploppable into the toilet. Even when dinobaby is using disposables, I still flush poop. I don't throw poop in the trash. One, that's ridiculously smelly. Two, that's not a wise long-term choice for our landfills (and technically illegal almost everywhere). So for me the difference between disposable and cloth is negligible.<br />
Since I've started trying to get dinobaby to a pottty when I know he's having a BM, I can tell you that cleaning diapers is twice as easy and less gross than cleaning potties--which all parents have to deal with anyway.<br />
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3)How often do you have to do laundry?<br />
I do diaper laundry every 3-4 days.<br />
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4)How do you wash them?<br />
I do a cold rinse to rid the diapers of urine and whatever residue is left. Then I do an extra hot, extra long wash with soap. I usually line dry, and when it's nice outside I line dry in full-sun. So, at least pseudo-frequently my diapers get UV autoclaved. Other than the heat from the wash and sun-bleaching, I don't worry about germs. I figure most parents wash a couple of diapers worth of poop just from having a newborn wearing clothing. Generations of babies have survived being cloth diapered, most with nappies washed by hand (so glad I live in the 21st century), so I'm not that worried about it. *shrugs*<br />
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5)Don't you ever use disposables?<br />
Yes, I use disposables. Dinobaby still doesn't sleep through the night. I don't want to change him after his 2 and/or 5am feeding because both he and I want to return to sleeping. Unfortunately, no cloth diaper can hold that much pee. So Dinobaby sleeps in a disposable for now. Hopefully, he starts to sleep through the night soon for many reasons---way down on that list is that that would mean we could use cloth at night. I also use disposables when other people are watching my baby, or I'm traveling. Like when we drove across eight states to our new home, I definitely did not haul along my cloth diapers.<br />
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6)The cloth diapers I've seen are so expensive. Do they really save you money?<br />
Holy crap you're right. Some cloth diapers are stupidly expensive. I've seen figures thrown around about savings, but I don't particularly like any of them because they all make really bad assumptions--like who spends 24 cents per disposable diaper?!? Who buys a $28 dollar bum cover? So I've been collecting my own data (like I've tallied every cloth diaper I've ever changed...I'm a nerd) and I'll get back to this question later more definitively. In the meantime, suffice it to say that I have spent $226.46 on cloth diapers, and so far they've saved us almost $90--but you could easily save much more over the course of 10 months than we have. For one thing, we had coin-operated laundry for four months. I have also traveled quite a bit in Dinobaby's short life. I also very much regret spending so much in the initial outlay because I ended up like the cheapest diapers best, but I'll get into that in <a href="http://apartmentmaking.blogspot.com/2013/02/cloth-diapers-part-2-what-kind.html">Part 2</a>.<br />
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<br />Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-59524876496028832232013-01-29T19:40:00.000-07:002013-01-30T20:18:11.006-07:00I Want to be a HomemakerMoms are awesome. All kinds of moms. Love your kids more than you love sleeping? Yep, you're awesome.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMaMq6_x02R5JOx7nMwDWdHRFjPN_twjGXCuvSguvpsl6lhc9m3j0O2PIVlpluXZdiGDEizaUSrpRn7VWhVEvALSo8S3cAY7ZIehwKqnltEyXNEjs1zP7qKh3oB6g-6HjaPObKWkQE5o/s1600/496px-Tyranov_-_Young_Housewife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMaMq6_x02R5JOx7nMwDWdHRFjPN_twjGXCuvSguvpsl6lhc9m3j0O2PIVlpluXZdiGDEizaUSrpRn7VWhVEvALSo8S3cAY7ZIehwKqnltEyXNEjs1zP7qKh3oB6g-6HjaPObKWkQE5o/s320/496px-Tyranov_-_Young_Housewife.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Housewife by Alexey Tyranov-- <br />
Oh, that we could all rock a lady turban.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay. I want to be a stay at home mom. I'm not harshing on whatever kind of mom you want to be. I'm not going to say that I know better than you do about what you and God feel is right for your life --because that is <i>crazy. </i>I'm just supportive of staying home when it works for you. And, being a stay-at-home, although I know that there are millions of women like me, I still feel a little...defensive about it. So there you go, no matter what kind of mom you are, you think--at least some of the time--that other people are judging you and finding your choices wanting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am <b>not</b> a 1950's housewife. If anything I'm a 1750's housewife...or at least I'm working towards it. Let me give you a history lesson about "traditional" female responsibilities. Women were expected to feed their families. Men paid the rent, taxes, tuition, and sundry supply bills--whatever they needed cash for. Men farmed market crops, but women tended the family garden and animals. Women grew the carrots and celery, tended and butchered the chickens, hauled the water, <u>and</u> cooked the soup it all went in. They were expected to teach the basics of reading and math to their children, young boys and girls (because good Puritans believed that women should be able to read the bible for themselves). They knew and prepared herbal remedies (of questionable potency, but it was almost the best medical knowledge available at the time) to combat the zillion ailments that attacked their children. Women of any kind of status were extremely well read in the classics--like knew on sight who people like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysander">Lysander</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calliope">Calliope</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygeia">Hygeia</a>, etc. were and made allusions to them in their day-to-day lives (well, their letters anyway). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So please, let's stop talking about how "limited" the traditional women's sphere is. I mean really let's keep reading past verse 10 please when someone brings up Proverbs 31: "An excellent wife her price is far above rubies... she <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">works with eager hands</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px;"><b>. </b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">She considers a field and buys it; </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">She sets about her work vigorously;</span><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Prov-31-17" style="font-size: 16px; position: relative;">her arms are strong for her tasks. S</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">he sees that her trading is profitable, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">and her lamp does not go out at night."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The combination of 1950's consumerism and pedantic feminists (the bad kind) have eroded the awesome that is real homemaking-- describing a completely fabricated "traditional" woman. Staying at home can be so much more than providing daycare. It's not being harried by small children during the day and then self-medicating on romance novels at night. Staying home can change the world. Really. Not in the "neck that turns the head" kind of change the world. I'm not saying that I'll raise the kind of boy that will change the world *eye roll*. I'm saying that a million women who take time to mend instead of toss, </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to make your own home and happiness instead of purchasing someone else's marketing genius, and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to read deeply and teach their kids in the everyday moments of life--to be informed for your own self. And a million other tiny habits that staying home to make a home affords--that can change the world. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjpo1YwL0zkEN607iVleN6Ouxrk6zM0xvbMCDZkaLlmRbZy8PC2T5DID5Si4eAmX0H9ZbKGYBN8tLsWcHMNM9Uq3cQkWdKA9MiDIytGGQe7qMvtaLuDJSToRzagPSLxzAqGvkgwFoMy8/s1600/Abigail_Smith_Adams_by_Gilbert_Stuart.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjpo1YwL0zkEN607iVleN6Ouxrk6zM0xvbMCDZkaLlmRbZy8PC2T5DID5Si4eAmX0H9ZbKGYBN8tLsWcHMNM9Uq3cQkWdKA9MiDIytGGQe7qMvtaLuDJSToRzagPSLxzAqGvkgwFoMy8/s320/Abigail_Smith_Adams_by_Gilbert_Stuart.jpeg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abigail Adams was a boss.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Because this isn't 1750. We are just as capable but we've got the vote. We have college degrees. We've got microwaves. Seriously, think about what Abigail Adams could've done with a microwave and an oven that preheats itself. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She would change the world. </span></div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-190720777568308332013-01-28T18:36:00.001-07:002013-02-03T19:41:10.542-07:00New Moms, It's okay. I know you don't know. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Maybe not for everyone but at least for me, being a mom is constantly feeling like saying "I don't know what I'm doing." It's feeling a bit like an actor. It's improv-ing your way through your day. Did I need to cut those peas in half? Does he need a sweater? Wait, is he hot? Crap, he's not wearing socks. </span></div>
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When I walk around the grocery store and people smile at my baby I still feel awkward. Sometimes I'm thinking, "I know. I look like I know what I'm doing loading up graham crackers in my cart, but you have no idea. I can't get my baby to nap for more than 20 minutes on his own." Which is odd, because who said that how your baby sleeps is a defining characteristic of how good a parent you are? Oh right, <i>Healthy Sleep Habits </i>did. Like somehow you failing to have your baby always sleep in the crib by himself is the same as handing him a knife and putting on a blindfold. (I know everyone loves that book. And yes, it did help me figure out when a good bedtime was and some other good tips.<i> But </i>it also seeded my head with bone-crushing doubt about what my baby <i>should </i>be and definitely wasn't. ) I don't know why my baby's napping (but not night-time sleeping) body knows that I've left his side and immediately wakes up. Maybe I held him too much when he was new. But that's exactly what I'm talking about: New moms have <b>no idea what we're doing.</b> And yeah, I held my baby all the time for the first four months. Like the majority of the day. And I actually think that's okay.</div>
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When it comes down to it, I think I'm a good mom. I love the snot out of my baby. I try not to get too hung up on what's not working so that I actually enjoy him. And I read a lot. I read stupid parenting community forums and PubMed papers on food allergies. I follow Montessori in the home blogs, and ask my pediatrician an obnoxious amount of questions. I desperately want to be good at this, but no one know exactly what that looks like. I'm seat of my pantsing my way through this and really, I think that is perfectly alright. And as time passes, my baby is just getting awesomer, so I'm obviously not doing anything too detrimental. </div>
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So now that I've put the horse in front of the cart. The first three weeks after getting home from the hospital: </div>
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They were terrifying. I was scared to give dinobaby a bath. I had no idea when he was hungry. I was so hyper-aware of his breathing that I had to move him out of my room in order to sleep. I was magically just shy of 3 lbs skinnier than my full-term pregnant self, and definitely still rocked the maternity clothes for...a while... after I was most assuredly post-partum. </div>
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So if I could give any pregnant lady some advice it would be this:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Having your mom live with you for the first few weeks will save your life. </li>
<ul>
<li>Because your baby will cry inconsolably sometime and either A) her Grandma Magic will calm the hysterical infant or B)she won't be able to make him stop crying but she will be able to pronounce with reassuring expertise that you are not killing your baby. </li>
</ul>
<li>No baby, regardless of how new needs to eat every 40 minutes</li>
<ul>
<li>It's probably closer to 2 hours. So if he's still crying it's something else. I'm going to vote for tired because babies sleep way more than you think should be possible....Like 3 hours of being awake is like pulling an all-nighter for your baby. </li>
<li>Also, you are 100% validated by me, Dinolady, for refusing to be a pacifier. It doesn't make you a bad mom. It makes you a good mom, because when your baby actually needs milk from you, you won't be so sharp-aching-pain sore that you can't feed him. </li>
</ul>
<li>Do the minimum requirement for sleep</li>
<ul>
<li>I'm not going to prescribe to you what that is because your baby is different than every baby that has ever been born. I'm just suggesting that your baby probably doesn't need to sleep on your lap...at least not every night. So don't just assume because he needed it the night before that he'll need it again. Just put him in the crib and cross your fingers. </li>
</ul>
<li>Your baby went through some really impressive physical stuff to be born, so you're not gonna hurt him when you change his clothes</li>
<ul>
<li>Same goes for burping. You're not accomplishing anything by wafting at your baby's back. You've got to thump those bubbles out, friend</li>
</ul>
<li>You are super awesome and capable. </li>
<ul>
<li>Seriously. You're body is making stuff to feed your baby. And your body <i>made</i> that baby. Literally every calorie that small body has ever used has come from you. So you are already really awesome. Even though you feel like you were significantly more attractive during those awkward middle school years than you do now. You are amazing. Your body is AMAZING. And you'll figure it out. There are no good guides to baby-rearing because your baby is also amazing and uniquely so. So maybe your baby only wants one arm swaddled but not the other. Maybe he likes the jiggle-bounce, but not the bounce-jiggle. </li>
<li>Just keep your head above water, and it really does get better. Your baby will figure out how to eat food with out spitting it up all over you and how sleep on his own. And then one day you'll be holding him on your lap and he will all out hug your arm in an unsolicited show of pre-verbal affection, and smile at you with adoring eyes. You're doing just fine. </li>
</ul>
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And expectant dads:</div>
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<ul>
<li>No woman ever needs to be woken up because the baby is crying</li>
<ul>
<li>She has bionic hearing. She could hear the baby crying from Argentina. But she hasn't gotten up because she's saying a blasphemous prayer to your baby in her head. It goes something like this "Please just fall back asleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. You're not hungry. Please. " So Awesome Dad, I want you to get out of bed. Pick up hysterical baby that still makes you mildly uncomfortable to hold because he's so tiny and you don't want to hurt him. Flail your arm around in the bassinet until you bump into the pacifier and put it in the crying opening. Then do the jiggle dance and "shush" like you're trying to lift-off. (Literally, shush as loudly as possible). Give it five minutes. You can do it. If the baby is still freaking out, hand him lovingly to your wife to feed and kiss her on the forehead. But your wife has probably already gotten out of bed at that point anyway.</li>
<li>I know you're thinking that what difference does it make if the baby is hungry and there's nothing you can do. But, the baby isn't always hungry. And your wife will <i style="font-weight: bold;">love </i>it. </li>
</ul>
<li>You are super awesome and capable. </li>
<ul>
<li>Did you know that your masculine body chemistry changes the more time you spend with a baby? Your hormones are colluding to make you into a better caregiver. So don't stress. You'll get better at it, and you're already better than you think you are. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>At what age, or ever, did you feel like you knew what you were doing with your kids? Anything you wish you knew before you had kids? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What scares you most about having a baby? </b></div>
Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-69303142861747727872013-01-22T20:08:00.002-07:002013-01-22T20:18:45.404-07:0010 Months<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvrFrnC_c9IPgoKtEmKljUwh91X05wJZS3uWEM-LVl-pfB45mtmUP_hScxVYcWtCIRA2gTDVvphJPEBreBB96OWmZ15ZGGZyXpD9NuO5QzspJRK-g_j5pXpKVtsvzvEpWQazP24jQB84/s1600/2013-01-07_08-01-23_218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvrFrnC_c9IPgoKtEmKljUwh91X05wJZS3uWEM-LVl-pfB45mtmUP_hScxVYcWtCIRA2gTDVvphJPEBreBB96OWmZ15ZGGZyXpD9NuO5QzspJRK-g_j5pXpKVtsvzvEpWQazP24jQB84/s640/2013-01-07_08-01-23_218.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still cute</td></tr>
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Double digits, Wow!<br />
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Fine Motor: Every baby has their own growth curves--some speak before others, etc. But Holy cow, Leopleuradon is super good at the small hand motions. He now feeds himself 70% of the time and can handily manage slippery banana chunks, tiny wet kernels of corn, and odd shaped spiruli pasta pieces.<br />
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He can separate lego blocks, and remove a dowel from a tube as well as a wooden egg from a cup. He tries but can't get the blocks together or put the pieces back in to their slots yet. He also gets a kick out of pushing and pulling doors open. Since we live in an old, not-level house, all of the doors hang slightly ajar at the bottom. Leo is impressively good at pulling on the exposed milimeter of door to swing the door out. He also palms things now, which is really cute.<br />
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He is often very cat-like in how be plays. He swats at everything, laundry I'm folding, lampshades, toilet paper rolls. Here's a video of the last one. Yep, I know. So stinkin' cute!<br />
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Gross Motor: Dinobaby crawls like an ace. However, he also crawls super weirdly. He keeps both feet off of the floor somehow and shakes his booty as he books it across the room. He also creeps/cruises along the sofa, along the wall, from the top of the side-table to a set of drawers. Pretty awesome. He stands for almost 30 seconds unsupported but only when he's distracted. He immediately squats when he realizes he's not holding on to anything. He's also learning how to fall, and is more or less successful.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing still at the playground has never been more fascinating </td></tr>
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Language: Leo can sign "more" and "all done" but not consistently. He talks to himself now (cute) and sings (super cute). Albeit, "singing" is probably just really high pitched cooing but whatever. He also makes happy growls in the morning when we've put him bed with us after he wakes up trying to get us to open our eyes and play with him. Here's Leo talking to himself as he plays with an empty salt shaker.<br />
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Oh, I forgot to mention--there are FOUR TEETH coming in on top, so yeah, he's super drool-y. </div>
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Food: Man, the kid <i>really </i>likes food. And he eats almost everything now. Oh, right, and he can drink from his own glass now! However, that also means you have to change his shirt when he's done, so I usually help him still. So yeah, video #3--Dinobaby drinking all on his own<br />
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Size: Just in case y'all are curious he's 58% in height and 74% in weight. He wears 12 month clothes.<br />
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Although I wrote many of the posts I said I would last month, I didn't get to all of them. So I shall refrain from promises of posts this time around.<br />
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And, I'm sorry this is a little past due, but hey there was the last Wheel of Time book to read. ;)Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-77268157226512214782013-01-05T18:58:00.000-07:002013-01-05T18:58:28.846-07:00The Why of No TV<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I've been hesitating to post this...First off, let me say that I'm not into mom-shaming. Just love your kids and try your absolute hardest to ensure that they know that you love them. That's it. Statistically, that's the most influential and important aspect of mothering. Congratulations! that should more or less come naturally if your mother was an involved parent. And, it will come more or less naturally to your children as a result of your excellent mothering as well. <b>You are awesome, and you're doing better at this mom-thing than you think you are.</b> Also bear in mind that most of these studies on television are in unfortunately "average", not so stellar homes where the television isn't usually turned to <i>Sesame Street, </i>but Cops or CSI: whatever, all day every day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay, so I'm a nerd, and I'd also like to think I treat this mom gig as a profession, so here's the data on television:</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 15.600000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #403838; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 15.600000381469727px; text-align: left;">A typical child in the U.S. watches 28 hours of TV weekly, seeing as many as 8,000 murders by the time he or she finishes elementary school at age 11, and worse, the killers are depicted as getting away with the murders 75% of the time while showing no remorse or accountability. (</span><span style="color: black; line-height: 15.600000381469727px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.apa.org/research/action/protect.aspx">American Psychological Association, February 19, 2004</a>)</span></span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 15.600000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #403838; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">The average US child is exposed to 232.2 minutes of background television in a typical day. ("<a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/839">Background Television</a>" published in Pediatrics) --Background television has been correlated to decreases in the amount of time a child spends exploring and engaging with environment, and the length of time a child focuses on a single task, i.e. the development of an attention span. </span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 15.600000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #403838; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">By Age 4, each hour of television watched daily correlates to a 9 percent leap in bullying behavior when they reach school. ( <i>Brain Rules for Baby </i>by John Medina, page 146)</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 15.600000381469727px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #403838; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Children do not obtain Moral Realism until age 8. Meaning that while children understand prosocial behavior (being nice to your neighbor, not inflicting harm, sharing so that others will share with you....forgive the comparison, but essentially children are socially on par with dogs or apes, <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Are-Babies-Born-Good-183837741.html">if not ever-so-slightly more ethical</a>). But they don't really get beyond black-and-white decision making, and being good in difficult situations solely because they fear punishment until they are older. (see <i>Developmentally Appropriate Practices</i> by Carol Gestwicki, pg 295)</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #403838; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">So seeing situations where the bad guy gets away with it before age 8 is bad news bob for a child's behavior. And comedic violence is also especially negative for young children, even the goofy </span><i style="color: #403838; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Three Stooges</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #403838; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> or </span><i style="color: #403838; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;">Tom and Jerry</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #403838; line-height: 19px; text-align: justify;"> type, because for small kids consequences are still being established. Showing someone get hit by a hammer and not suffer lasting harm means that they're learning that a hammer doesn't really hurt. And kids are hardwired to model what they see; viewing violence makes kids more violent (e.g. the famous <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHdovKHDNU">Bobo Doll Experiment</a>). </span></span><ul>
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<span style="color: #403838;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19px;">Not good. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And that's not even addressing the racial, gender, class, and body type skewing of the people portrayed on television. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beyond the outright negatives, mostly TV takes away time for better things. Sesame Street was designed for low income, at-risk kids and it works. Kids actually pick up reading and math skills from watching. <i>Mr. Roger's Neighborhood </i>has been shown to help high-stress kids manage the negative aspects of their home life. ...but it's not anywhere as good as having someone respond to you, to talk about your feelings face-to-face, to point out the mouse on every page of <i>Good Night Moon, </i>to count the number of carrots on the plate. Educational TV is fine, but hands-on exploring is better. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Children develop so miraculously fast. And they develop best when all of that growth is inter-related. Montessori said something along the lines of "if you want to give it to the mind, you must first give it to the hand." Babies use their bodies to learn--to feel, to taste, to bang. Education that lets babies explore objects and concepts with their fingers (and usually mouths) is absorbed more readily and naturally. I also think society is getting a little too virtual--and I want to stress to my son that that's not what I value. I value my real life: the remarkable creatures that live around our house, the beautiful trees, our home, our friends, our family.(Here's a pretty cool <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSoW_H9e0lg">sermon</a> on seeing "things as they really are" in the digital age-- if you feel so inclined.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So...I don't own a television.And while I'm not prefect at it, I try to more or less abide by the rule that when Dinobaby is awake the computer screen is off. But, not always. Sometimes we <a href="http://apartmentmaking.blogspot.com/2012/12/music.html">watch some pretty sweet music videos </a>on youtube--I just try to keep the flashing and cut-scenes to a minimum. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also have a husband with a flexible schedule, so I don't need the TV to take a shower or a nap when I need it. Heaven knows the TV is a blessing for a Momma at the end of her rope. So no judgments here. Do what you have to do to keep sane, and keep your patience. I'm just explaining my rationale for <a href="http://apartmentmaking.blogspot.com/2012/01/great-expectations.html">setting my "No TV until Two" goal</a>. Have a great day y'all. </span></div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-694777761597158762012-12-30T16:47:00.003-07:002012-12-30T16:47:36.100-07:00Three Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm a lucky girl. I married a good man, and a great dad. </div>
<br />Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-88527956194563378592012-12-28T18:38:00.000-07:002012-12-28T18:38:19.858-07:00Music<div>
In my classes on child development, they taught that music was one of the ten necessities for normal development in toddlers. (Just in case you're curious the other nine are: stable relationships, touch, a safe environment, quality care, play, expressions of worth, reading, communication, and parental involvment). Music helps children learn through repetition, exposes them to their culture, and expresses the importance of creativity. </div>
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I dunno if I believe all of that really. But, I love music--so sure, I include it in our normal routine. Oh, by the way--classical music doesn't make you smarter. The actual study said that Mozart music helped college students perform better for a 15 minute window when performing spatial puzzles. Pregnancy headphones are the result of marketing and way-out-of-proportion media hype. So, whatever music makes lifts your spirit whether it be Beethoven or the Beatles--it really doesn't matter. </div>
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I like to watch performances, so this list is basically my favorite music that also meets my baby video criteria: no flashing, and a minimum of camera shifts, i.e. visually understimulating, so that dinobaby can focus on the music itself. And I also look for short pieces. Dinobaby does have an impressive attention span, but he's still 9 months old. Two or three minutes at a time is ideal. </div>
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Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens<div>
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<li>Each movement is supposed to illustrate a different animal and features a different instrument</li>
<li>Elephants, swans, fish, Lions, etc. </li>
<li>Leopleuradon loves birds. So of course Voliere (The Aviary) is his favorite. It might also have something to do with the fact that children hear the upper register clearer than they hear lower tones. </li>
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Little Prayer- Evelyn Glennie</div>
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<li>She's deaf, and has been since childhood--before she ever learned to play the Marimba. She talks about learning to hear without her ears, feeling the vibrations in the floor, off the wall. Cool.</li>
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Bach Suite on Mandolin by Chris Thile</div>
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<li>Dinobaby loves this. He just watches his fingers like he's being hypnotized.</li>
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Tiny Desk Concerts by NPR</div>
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<li>Really awesome music from all kinds of musicians: Iron and Wine, Bluegrass bands, classical violinists, Pheonix etc. </li>
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Rabbit Days and Dumplings: East Asian Children's songs by Elena Moon Park</div>
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<li>I haven't bought this CD yet, but I probably will. Pretty cool music, without that really obnoxious tinny sound that usually defines children's music. </li>
<li>You can listen to five of the songs <a href="http://rabbitdays.com/music/">here</a>. </li>
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And the boy soprano<a href="http://apartmentmaking.blogspot.com/2012/12/gender-roles.html"> I already talked abou</a>t. </div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-36832421139557689702012-12-18T09:12:00.000-07:002012-12-18T09:12:04.654-07:00Gender RolesSo I was just compiling music videos for an upcoming music for kids post and I was thinking about the message I hope they send to Dinobaby. Mom values music. Music is art, but it's also fun. It's gives expression to the divine and of the divine. And then I thought about the people inside of those videos--disabled musicians, children, women, Chinese, European, black, brown, etc.--and I was proud of the message they sent too. Music is for everyone.<br />
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I think its important that we expand the world that our children are born into. Culture likes to dictate roles and values, and usually that's not a good thing. Women can be smart and talented, but above all women should be sexy. Girls should play with pink or purple toys, and girls should love princesses. I'm sensitive to those because I'm a woman. But, now that I'm a mother of a son I feel all of the fences that are placed in his future too. And the fences are pretty blatant, they look like this: "I think he's gay" </div>
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Not that being labeled as homosexual is the worst thing in the world- it's not. But because of the principle implied. Somehow your sexuality defines your interests and your profession. As a society we do it so casually and often but if we stopped for a second we'd realize how ludicrous it sounds. When was the last time you met a female CPA and assumed she was a lesbian? What if she's wearing a sports jersey? Yet, anytime a man notices something beautiful other than a woman we assume he's gay. So pretty early we teach boys to restrict their vocabulary to the basic 8 colors because if he mentions a specific shade he'll get picked on. We try to guide them towards interests that will make life easier for them because we love them. Nothing nefarious but soon all of the boys tried out for the football team and there's only five tenors in the choir (and all of the straight guys did both). If a man sees an opera that he wasn't dragged to, it's assumed that the guy sitting next to him is probably his date. And that's a shame. Let's let boys be who they want to be without all of our messed up social pressures. </div>
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So how does this relate to music videos? One of my favorites is of a 14 year old soprano from the Vienna Boys Choir singing the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute. It's spectacular.</div>
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<li> I love it because it shows that children are capable and remarkable just as they are--"Dinobaby, you don't have to wait to do amazing things. You can and do amazing things right now." </li>
<li>"This is the Vienna Boys Choir-- it's full of little boys just like you that love to sing. They make beautiful music and the whole world listens to them." </li>
<li>It's Mozart. ---"Isn't it cool how the music lets you know that he's angry and out-of-control even when we can't understand the words?"</li>
<li>He worked really hard to sing that. Video games are cool, but making something is cooler-- "I bet he spent a lot of time practicing. But I bet that he feels really good about how hard he worked and how well he did." </li>
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And, although I have no idea. I bet that kid had a rough time being teased. At least he would've if he went to the same schools I did. And no, there's no reason to assume that he didn't grow up to be a heterosexual man. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> </span>In the history of the world most musicians, artists, chefs, authors, and dress-makers have been straight guys. Only recently do we limit "guys" to safely masculine arenas of athletics, math and science. I mean... to quote the wikipedia page of Franz Liszt: "<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">Women fought over his silk handkerchiefs and velvet gloves, which they ripped to shreds as souvenirs."</span> ...In terms of machismo, you can't get much better than that--and that's a guy who spent most of his time rigorously practicing piano. </div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-1599148362226614592012-12-13T18:34:00.001-07:002013-01-08T19:41:15.053-07:009 Months<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Every month goes by fast but this one felt likeit was going Mach 5. Perhaps it because I got to spend almost all of it with family. Either way my little man is so gosh darn big now. I think he has more in common with his older toddler cousins than he does with the infant now.<br />
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Gross Motor: He is crawling! He can also sit up on his own (e.g. go from back to belly to sitting all on his own) and the busy kid has already mastered pulling up to standing. Crazy. While he might have been on the slow side to learn how to crawl I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he was one of those 11 month old walkers. He eagerly walks across entire rooms if I hold his hands. </div>
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Fine Motor: The pincer grasp gained more refinement and speed during the last month. He is also interested in matching up lids (even though he's really bad at it). And little man loves to touch everything--he leans forward like ET with his index finger stretched out when you're holding him trying to feel the fridge or an object on the counter. Also Dinobaby can get his pacifier into his mouth on his own, whoop! Although he never does this when he actually needs a pacifier, by the time he gets to that point around I'll probably want to wean him off of one anyway. </div>
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Social: Are there two phases for stranger anxiety? Seriously. He more or less came out of his first phase last month, but in the last week it's come back. Maybe it's not so much stranger anxiety as mommy clinginess since he's okay with other people but after a short while gets sad and wants me to hold him again. That's okay--I've got plenty of cuddles for him. </div>
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Language: He babbles much more, definitively responds to his name, and really has no idea what I'm doing with the baby sign language. (Probably because I'm neither consistent nor particularly enthusiastic about it...whatever. He'll learn English- and that's pretty miraculous on its own.)<br />
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Personality: Although glimpses of his personality were certainly evident before now, as he gets older the differences between him and other babies seem less coincidental then they did before. For one, he ridiculously observant. He follows waitresses as they move around the restaurant as we eat. He loves to look at anything that you're holding in your hands. He's also a terrifically happy kid. Normal is defined by a smile. Yep, we love it. <br />
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Upcoming is a post on music for babies, my thoughts on television, and a multi-part series on cloth diapers---and since I was visiting family and actually used store-bought baby food (and for a significant period of time) I'll probably also have an updated post on baby food since I now of grounds for making comparisons. Hopefully those will be up over the next month. Love y'all<br />
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-12482721693402265482012-11-26T20:19:00.002-07:002012-11-26T20:19:20.683-07:00GratitudeHey Friends, sorry its been slow on the dinobaby updates lately. You know, Holidays.<br />
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I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how extremely blessed I am. I am so grateful to my husband who is my best friend and an unbelievably good spouse. And who makes the money. Although not important to how much I love him, it is fundamental to my life at the moment that he makes money so I can stay home with my baby. No worrying about childcare and dinobaby's wellbeing, and getting to be there with him to watch him grow and just be so gosh darn adorable and a million other reasons. It's awesome. Thank you for being patient and forgiving. And seriously, thank you for not being boring--thanks for seeing all of the little intriguing details in this life. Thank you Adam.<br />
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My parents are fantastic. My dad has given me great, big, tight hugs nearly every day of my childhood, and is always willing to offering one to me via phone call or email since I've left home. This is extremely important to me, and I credit my dad that I'm more or less a confident and functionally self-assured adult because ever since I can remember my father has treated me like a competent individual with an opinion that mattered. My mother is the most genuinely concerned person I have ever seen. She has cradled me in a million and one ways. I have never doubted that I am wanted and loved. And like my husband, although not a factor in my love, my parents have also been a sea wall in my financial life. Sometimes I think I'd be okay without their temporal support, and then disaster hits and I'm so fantastically grateful that they're always willing to help me weather the storm. Thank you Mom and Dad.<br />
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My other parents are also pretty much fantastic. They're worth a million dollars because they let me sleep in when I come to visit. I really cannot express how much I appreciate it. I appreciate the open-door invitations and home-cooked meals I don't have to prepare. I'm grateful for the no-fuss acceptance I have in their family. Thank you Melissa and Neal (or Mom and Dad or Gram and Pops or whatever I call you...'cause I'm awkward like that) and thank you for your zen-like calm and benevolent honesty both are infectious and reassuring.<br />
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My baby. Thanks for snuggling. For putting your head on my shoulder when you're scared or tired. Thanks being happy all the time. Thanks for being so bright-eyed and alert, and for giggling when I enter the room after I've been gone. Thanks for being a big, chubby, healthy baby. I'm so grateful for you.<br />
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Thank you Lord for my degree. It was a miraculously good capstone paper. Thank you for keeping us all healthy-- I know that there are many days that accidents could've happened and didn't. I don't know that that was because of Your blessing, but I don't know that it wasn't. Thank you all the same. Thank you for the right people in the right places. Thank you for being generous with the do-overs, I really mean that I'm not trying to be flippant. And thank you for this gorgeous place you've brought us to.<br />
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Happy Thanksgiving!</div>
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<br />Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-15897610908870522922012-11-13T19:56:00.001-07:002012-11-13T19:56:04.211-07:008 Months!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I know red-eye, but if I waited until I edited the picture you'd never see it, and look how cute he is. (And yes that's a Peruvian flag on the table---the food was fantastic!)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">8 Months, holy cow!</span></div>
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Leopleuradon is doing awesome. Healthy and happy. </div>
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<b>Fine Motor: </b>So despite all previous inclinations to do things with his right hand, he now seems to be favoring his left. So who knows, maybe he's a southpaw. He's nailed the pincer grasp (a month before average). He transfers from hand to hand like a pro and has started to use his hands in concert- holding items in one hand and touching with the index finger of the other. He still very much wants to chew on things, but he has started waving around his index finger at new objects also wanting to touch it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0J4BrVgIuhC7Zlg7hEcnhyphenhyphenZRExpzx7i7nV8n1XuHzedwfisQWAhCZO7jrrnPhgQjmwdo-oSQDJsydMs9-z5X6KXXCk70cbUJHYLxKNveKRehwSVvFLj__JIG0zmkjJVI9HDVZi-zH-NA/s1600/2012-11-01_15-54-59_246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0J4BrVgIuhC7Zlg7hEcnhyphenhyphenZRExpzx7i7nV8n1XuHzedwfisQWAhCZO7jrrnPhgQjmwdo-oSQDJsydMs9-z5X6KXXCk70cbUJHYLxKNveKRehwSVvFLj__JIG0zmkjJVI9HDVZi-zH-NA/s1600/2012-11-01_15-54-59_246.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Gross Motor: </b>Crawling is imminent by all guesses (like it has been for months) but no dice yet. Dinobaby appears to be experimenting with all methods of locomotion before mastering any one of them. Hence the picture of the bear crawl. He also <i>loves </i>to stand. To the point that when I try to go sit him down on the floor so I can do something, he'll straight-leg himself, planking from his heels to his neck so that I'll have to stay and help him balance on his feet. He also loves to stand up with his upper body resting on the glider's ottoman so that he can rock back and forth on his feet. He's a goober. </div>
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He also shakes things to make noise and today tried super hard to hit two sticks together, one in each hand. He was marginally successful</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-cqPzcck3W8zHbVMmToGG443GZIgIxgt4ubAVW2velc28vYJ786poqahR2VTVHvdsiv7XLkg1Z9FbzgTLRC_-H-UExTsTh1Eu_zmygUQZuHYS-MToeWgmhs7wTulgAdeOmtT36rm1h4/s1600/2012-10-29_18-42-01_552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh-cqPzcck3W8zHbVMmToGG443GZIgIxgt4ubAVW2velc28vYJ786poqahR2VTVHvdsiv7XLkg1Z9FbzgTLRC_-H-UExTsTh1Eu_zmygUQZuHYS-MToeWgmhs7wTulgAdeOmtT36rm1h4/s1600/2012-10-29_18-42-01_552.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Social: </b>Like I said last month, dinobaby also loves to laugh with people. But in the last few weeks he also has a laughing face where he wrinkles his nose and sniffs really fast. It's extremely endearing. He also seems to be overcoming his abject terror at strangers. Still wary, but no crying. It's evolved into alternating between looking out and hiding his face in my shoulder all while have a death grip on my bicep. (Also very endearing)</div>
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<b>Language: </b>He has started to babble. He often goes around pseudo biting his bottom lip making a "vvv" and drooling down his chin. He also says "a mam" in a very whiny way when he's frustrated and complaining that we haven't given him the puffs already or sat him up, or let him eat our cellphones, etc. (probably his first word since it's more or less consistent). Other than that, he doesn't actually talk much. </div>
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<b>Cognitive: </b>He has a pretty impressive attention span. I have a box of "supervised" toys that he only plays with when I sit with him. It's a few seashells, a river rock, a house key, a scrap corner of lumber, and some chopsticks. He'll pull all of the items out of the box one by one and explore them for nearly thirty minutes straight. He loves books, and loves to turn the pages. I'm impressed that he knows what to do with them. Although he's a little rough with the paper pages, he's trying to turn them rather than ball them up and eat them like he does with paper outside of books. </div>
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<b>Sleep: </b>I don't want to talk about it. Depending on how you define "sleep through the night" then yes. But if you define it as he goes to sleep and doesn't wake up until he's ready to stay awake for the day then definitely no. However, he's generally out cold between the hours of 11pm and 5am. But his bedtime is 6:30-7, and he wakes up for real at 7am. It's a start. Naps don't show any signs of spontaneously lengthening. However where in the past dinobaby seemed more or less happy regardless of his 40 minute naps. He is showing signs that they aren't long enough anymore. So, maybe I'll try to do something about that. But man, I really don't want to. </div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-59535897892530443312012-11-13T13:48:00.000-07:002012-11-13T19:21:04.109-07:00LonelinessLoneliness. Usually you can't use the words <i>billion </i>and <i>literally </i>correctly in the same sentence. In fact I'd probably say that if you're using billion, you can rest assured that you're using literally wrong. But, based on the fact that there are 7 billion of us whizzing around the sun right now, half of which are women, and 490 thousand babies born every day, it's probably safe to say that there are literally a billion mothers on Earth if not more.<br />
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One billion people more or less sharing the same experience.Yet the consistently hardest thing about being a mom is loneliness. Not the loneliness of being isolated, though that certainly comes into play when you're only able to communicate with yourself, but I mean the loneliness of experience. </div>
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It's the feeling that creeps into your heart when people coo at your baby and say "8 months? This such a fun age isn't it?" or you overhear a conversation about "adopting a new kid" that turns out to be a puppy. It's the loneliness of thinking you're absolutely the only person on the planet that understands your own emotions. Because yes, 8 months <i>is </i>a fun age. But it'doesn't always feel like it. Sometimes it's so frustrating its nightmarish. And yes, puppies are lots of work and I get that you love your dog, I do. But no, it's not <u>at all</u> like being the mother of a baby. And really, it's not okay for you to say that it is. Because completely decent human beings say "you know, we had to give Spot away. He just didn't fit with our family and our lifestyle" -try saying that about your son. Get my point? Good. </div>
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Being a mom is lonely because you never want to talk about the days where you feel like trash. You have this beautiful, amazing child that shrunches up his nose when he giggles, and in the fabric of your soul you know that you are so ridiculously lucky to be a mom. You don't want people to think poorly of your super awesome baby. You don't want to talk about how rough it is, because when you do you feel like the kind of person that complains about how hard it is find a wallet big enough to hold all your cash. </div>
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So you turn to internet forums filled with other clueless parents trying to figuring out what the heck they're doing--trying to find some hint as to how to deal with erratic sleep patterns, or developmental delays, etc. And inevitably someone on the forum is blasting whatever you are currently doing as sending your baby on the bullet-train to life-long failures in reading and math, relationship problems, and bad hygiene if not eminent death.</div>
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And other days your baby is so breath-taking that all you want to do is shout "oh my heck, look at him!" as he lifts himself off the floor or gives you a huge grin or figures out how to get closer to a favorite toy, but there's no one to shout to. You alone are the witness and the camera's in the other room and soon the moment's passed. </div>
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But you're not alone. Really. I know exactly what you're talking about. Hold on. He'll fall asleep eventually. You'll get to eat something soon. Buck up, you're in the Lucky Sometimes Lonely Mom Club, and sometimes you get to the camera in time. </div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-78319632574888471112012-11-06T13:50:00.004-07:002012-11-06T13:50:35.444-07:00Making Baby Food<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From L-R: Apricot & Barley, Plums, Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Butternut Squash & Brown Rice, Cinnamon Apples & Oatmeal<br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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So if I had all the money in the world I probably wouldn't make all of my own baby food. However, it really doesn't take much time and it saves so much money, it would be silly for me not to. As an added bonus, Leopleuradon's food is more or less preservative, sodium, and sugar free. I can also fix a more varied amount of food than I could buy. <div>
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I know they sell those little baby food machines -- baby bullet, Beaba Baby, baby chef, etc. But I would be seriously surprised if they were actually worth buying. Mostly I use my immersion blender (my baby food best friend) and my microwave. Occasionally, I use my rice cooker if I'm doing a heck of a lot of grains at once. </div>
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I also know that a lot of homemade baby food makers use little 1 oz ice cube trays, which I must admit look pretty organized and cute. But I use ziplock bags. The pros to this is that I don't have the additional step of transferring from the tray to another bag. And since I defrost a whole bag at a time in the fridge, if I overheat something, I can quick-chill it by throwing in some extra from the bag in the fridge. The cons: you have to be careful when you're dishing out from the bag to the bowl so you don't bobby trap yourself. (however, I largely avoid the messiest problems by cutting a corner of the bag and squeegeeing the last few tablespoons out that way). And, if you forget that you're running low and don't put a second bag in the fridge soon enough, it takes forever to defrost an entire bag in the microwave. </div>
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I make baby food every week, which usually takes ten minutes but sometimes takes up to 30 depending on what I'm mixing up. And I try to make a months worth at a time of whatever I'm fixing. </div>
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My Tips:</div>
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<li>Canned plums have pits. Do yourself a favor and remove them before you blend so you don't hurt your blender blades and then also have to fish out pit shards. </li>
<li>some sweet potatoes are super fibrous and not as good for baby food--although contrary to conventional wisdom I find that the bigger ones are actually less fibrous than the small ones. </li>
<li>Find a bulk bin for your grains....unless you're really keen on having five lbs of barley, quinoa, bulgar wheat, and whatever else on hand</li>
<li>Even if you don't want to make all of your own baby food, do yourself a favor and mix up some brown rice and buy a quart of unsweetened applesauce-- all prepackaged baby food is essentially the same price regardless of the ingredients. So, you might as well make your own baby food blends by getting the premium vegetable and fruit purees and mixing it with your own cheap filler food (rice, apples, etc.)</li>
<li>Maybe my baby just has really perceptive taste buds, but dinobaby <i>greatly </i>prefers frozen to canned vegetables. Plus frozen is generally much lower in sodium anyway. </li>
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Oh and organics... I'd buy organic applesauce if 1--they sold it in something larger than single-serve cups here (we used to get organic applesauce by the almost half gallon out west) 2--it wasn't stupidly expensive (the half gallon was also only a couple quarters more expensive than the conventional jars). Apples just have a much larger amount of pesticide/fungicide on them than other produce. Other than that I wouldn't sweat it. Ironically, grains (which have some of the lowest amount of pesticides in them anyway) are the only thing I do buy organic because granola-people love their bulk bins and weird cereals ;)</div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-500400432257389442012-10-31T20:15:00.000-06:002012-10-31T20:15:12.204-06:00Brown Eyes and Halloween pics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For everyone that's curious, I think Dinobaby has finally settled on an eye color, and it's brown like his mama. </div>
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Leopleuradon was also universally loved at Chipotle's this evening. </div>
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Don't you agree with them?</div>
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<br />Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-45767947017681512072012-10-30T08:34:00.002-06:002012-10-30T08:34:29.316-06:00Changeling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I don't see dinobaby as a infant anymore. When you compare him now to how he was when he was born, he's a completely different person. He used to be floppy and helpless, and now he's so strong.<br />
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Did you know that newborns can swallow and breathe at the same time? Crazy huh. But dinobaby is losing the ability, his larynx is descending. Which is a good thing because now he can actually use his voicebox, but as a downside-- he sputters a lot while eating or drinking because things can now go down the wrong pipe. But Leopleuradon is a happy kid, he even smiles after a coughing up water.<br />
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Leopleuradon still isn't crawling yet, but he's getting closer everyday. He's rocking on his knees now, so it's only a matter of time. He's also trying to pull up. If we help him initially get his bum off the floor he can pull himself to standing if he's holding on to a chair. And then he'll practice doing squats, as if he can't decide whether he wants to sit down or not. That's what he spent all of sunday school doing: pumping his legs up and down, until I helped him sit and then he'd cry for me to help him stand again. Gotta love it.<br />
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-86695018794322924112012-10-26T09:41:00.002-06:002012-10-26T09:41:43.502-06:00Voting: 92 years as a Domestic taskI voted as a mother today. I spent time to look up every name on the ballot before I arrived, and with dinobaby strapped to my back I filled in my little bubbles. Informed voting is one of the most important domestic adventures. Here's to 92 years of women having a voice in the political conversation. <div>
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<b>"Well Done, sister suffragettes!" and God Bless America </b></div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-10707017608153424162012-10-25T19:11:00.002-06:002012-10-25T19:11:50.024-06:00StrangersSo dinobaby, like all babies, is nearly universally loved. Complete strangers come up to me and ask me how old he is, how he's sleeping, what foods he's eating. As I sat in the waiting room today, I looked around as everyone else remained compartmentalized, disconnected. No one tried to strike up a conversation with anyone else, just the two women with babies, me and another lady. But through us, they were able to connect with each other.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving people comes naturally to babies</td></tr>
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Babies are the ultimate social barrier defeater. Really. A middle-aged man in stained clothing waved at me in the grocery store with my baby in my cart, and I was a little wary but I waved back. Something I would never, <i>ever </i>do if I was alone. And in the strange world of 7 month olds, dinobaby smiles at who he wants to: woman in nice Anne Taylor Loft duds: scary---large man in a tank top: hi, want to play peekaboo. Leopleuradon teaches me to reassess my standard approach to people. I'm not saying that dinobaby was right to fear the woman, but perhaps he wasn't wrong to smile at the man who seemed threatening to me.<br />
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Being with Leopleuradon is like living in December everyday. I think more charitably of my fellow man, and my fellow man looks more charitably on me. A homeless man opened the door for us when I left the library. Someone I had previously marked mentally as a threat and had decided to exit by the other side, stood up and held the door open for dinobaby and me. The world is a better place because of babies.<br />
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Let there be peace on Earth.<br />
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P.S. Every stranger says about the same thing to Leo, "He's a healthy-looking baby, doesn't miss any meals does he." He's 73rd percentile for weight, so I guess they've got a point. Still sounds like a euphemism for fat to me, but in my developing sense of grace for all mankind, I realize they only mean well. *wink*Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-12467279723736900682012-10-22T20:02:00.000-06:002012-10-22T20:10:21.086-06:00Babbling: Language AcquisitionSo dinobaby has been making noises for a long time, but he's really playing with his voice now. Babbling begins in children anywhere between 5-7 months, and usually children produce b, m, d, k, w, j, g, etc.<br />
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Leopleuradon likes "v", which is unusual. He also mixes vowels when he babbles which also unusual, e.g. "a-boo-ba", not "aba-ba."<br />
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Here's dinobaby being characteristically awesome:<br />
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I'm crediting his grandmothers. Both studied education, and it shows. When either of them is with Leo he is constantly being talked to. Watching them read books to him is like seeing a video recording of my child development textbooks. They point out colors and animals, count items on the page, raise and lower their voices as they read, and elongate and emphasize their words. And, they do that all the time, every time they're around dinobaby.<br />
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I know academically that this is fantastic for his language development, but for whatever reason I have the hardest time talking to my child when it's just the two of us. It's not that I have a problem looking like a fool to do something that's good for my baby, but it's like my brain won't cooperate with me. It just sits there, instead of thinking of what to say, it just reminds me that I look like an idiot. I end up just repeating the last word of my sentence twice and smiling. "Look baby, do you hear the bird...bird" (fifteen minutes of silence) "...<i>bird</i>, bird."<br />
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So now not only do I sound ridiculous, it's basically for no purpose at all.<br />
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Just got to keep trying I guess.<br />
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<b>How do you come up with things to say in your one-sided conversations?</b></div>
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Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8607238676091190498.post-73821541346536838022012-10-18T10:16:00.002-06:002012-10-18T12:41:42.153-06:00Montessori: more than snoody private schools <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So the vast majority of people I know only know about Montessori as a type of school, usually private and very expensive. A more broad way to define Montessori, and probably more accurate, is to explain it as trying to emulate the philosophy of Maria Montessori, the turn of the century education reformer. Which is a very broad definition, which means different things to different people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But to me, when I say I want to be a parent based off of Montessori principles I mean that to the greatest of my ability I will try to <i>observe and follow the child</i>. Leopleuradon will follow the same general milestones as every other child--the same "ages and stages" (which is how they refer to it in child development)--but he is also unlike every other child on the planet. He has a unique combination of interests and abilities, and I will try to meet the individual set of desires that accompany those. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which in action most people sum up as "teach me to do it myself." For instance, Leopleuradon has a fascination with cups. He loves them and will give it his best, herculean efforts to get the rim in his mouth. While most kids wean from bottles to sippy cups, I'm giving Leo a glass. Because he wants it. It's what he knows and is interested in. He wants what Mom's got--not really the juice inside of it. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZ_ggQzm6mkItPwoEHrRwUj-PGzBePIXXLDTa_4TS9WHgRVHecRnPkIv5-yemprgZDMhQs5pQ4hGiFkUX5_NFxnd_HY2NA32sI5lnjEPQVlpvUpDS6FZocMz2dN1uEsh6qyQLJg1jicE/s1600/2012-09-29_17-50-17_351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGZ_ggQzm6mkItPwoEHrRwUj-PGzBePIXXLDTa_4TS9WHgRVHecRnPkIv5-yemprgZDMhQs5pQ4hGiFkUX5_NFxnd_HY2NA32sI5lnjEPQVlpvUpDS6FZocMz2dN1uEsh6qyQLJg1jicE/s200/2012-09-29_17-50-17_351.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOG0Aa5iKRHD1BZHZdzgs1wxa7DOZedR-w_jyTCiQVF_0vSP_r1XgrDHNYj9pkcvzu61WGlkypsoka9stZ54yji3UiTCG15K_Wo4fcmRctRLG9V5GnbH1QeXsPzg_LqVGYBn1yDSmGHE/s1600/2012-09-29_17-50-09_409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOG0Aa5iKRHD1BZHZdzgs1wxa7DOZedR-w_jyTCiQVF_0vSP_r1XgrDHNYj9pkcvzu61WGlkypsoka9stZ54yji3UiTCG15K_Wo4fcmRctRLG9V5GnbH1QeXsPzg_LqVGYBn1yDSmGHE/s200/2012-09-29_17-50-09_409.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2JPzUWO0VZVYhc00jss9X2Jpr31je11HcQf1pI95LdxAHaDnmhZx4sEmqI77Gx_cs3_57sDw1EmZL7p8zW4AyJvowrodISdrapqWlF2-CQll-uRcgLJ1kjyr-OIu3tVOWqozhFdK7x0/s1600/2012-09-29_17-50-35_695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2JPzUWO0VZVYhc00jss9X2Jpr31je11HcQf1pI95LdxAHaDnmhZx4sEmqI77Gx_cs3_57sDw1EmZL7p8zW4AyJvowrodISdrapqWlF2-CQll-uRcgLJ1kjyr-OIu3tVOWqozhFdK7x0/s320/2012-09-29_17-50-35_695.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">look at that satisfied face</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But obviously, a 7 month old can't handle a cup. By only paying attention to his interests, I set him up for failure. So I also have to acknowledge his abilities. Leo has a little votive holder. Which he can bring to his mouth, but he can't drink from it yet independently. At first I just tipped it into his mouth and the juice went straight down his chin. Then he drank half, spilled half. Now, he still can't drink independently but I tip the glass and he usually steadies it with one hand, and most of the juice is swallowed--although he still spills quite a bit down his front. After I have a turn, I give him a turn to try to do it by himself. And slowly, he's getting the hang of it. (My apologies for the misleading pictures in <a href="http://apartmentmaking.blogspot.com/2012/10/7-months.html">this post</a>)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDDieF3Ywpk9B-G0LgYOVXXKMaAsjSbWWynaYMXonTIsppMRRpa3QA9SAC8ks-hspGpSIyJczZb3ibi2QtbHPr2aDPmyO30ktOykvNYLdQBzgB5LrD2yvhVvllGf4tFtCtYaaz17U6rg/s1600/2012-10-08_17-05-20_395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYDDieF3Ywpk9B-G0LgYOVXXKMaAsjSbWWynaYMXonTIsppMRRpa3QA9SAC8ks-hspGpSIyJczZb3ibi2QtbHPr2aDPmyO30ktOykvNYLdQBzgB5LrD2yvhVvllGf4tFtCtYaaz17U6rg/s200/2012-10-08_17-05-20_395.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost there</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPea9hOscFiGSoyb25wdPlnLFwh8ghaK4Mx-b3lAFsLlh8z1dh4d5pfQmieE5A2a0J7MpCv96txrMfHTJNZxTCiosac7x4ZYKq-rnKYH2yn2WGiF2AtBW2GFy4RBsAdmRdWVfC5xVblNU/s1600/2012-10-08_17-05-54_527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPea9hOscFiGSoyb25wdPlnLFwh8ghaK4Mx-b3lAFsLlh8z1dh4d5pfQmieE5A2a0J7MpCv96txrMfHTJNZxTCiosac7x4ZYKq-rnKYH2yn2WGiF2AtBW2GFy4RBsAdmRdWVfC5xVblNU/s200/2012-10-08_17-05-54_527.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">it's hard to get it right</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Montessori also means respecting the child, according them the human dignity they deserve. So, I try (but often forget) to tell Leo what I'm doing to him, rather than treating him like doll. "We're changing your clothes-- First we pull it over your head. Can you push your right arm through the hole? Now your left arm-- push, push, push." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Obviously, dinobaby doesn't actually conscientiously push his arm through the sleeve yet. But, babies understand language far sooner than they can reproduce it themselves, and he's gaining the muscle coordination to straighten his arm on command. If I never give him the opportunity to help take care of himself, I'll never know when he's capable of doing so. And I want to give him that opportunity to help him and me discover the amazing, talented, important person that he is. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now Montessori also stressed the importance of child-size furniture that they could climb in and out of by themselves, preferably made with natural materials. In a perfect world, I'd have a beautiful low table and tiny chair made from solid wood, but we really can't afford that. So these are pictures of dinobaby in our free, hand-me-down high chair. Just because you can't do everything perfectly, doesn't mean you should give up on the attempt. :P</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's an example of <a href="http://www.howwemontessori.com/">someone</a> that can do it perfectly (or seems to): <a href="http://vimeo.com/31362791">A video of a 6 month old drinking independently</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Plesiosaurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18318709028682811133noreply@blogger.com1