this is what story time with a 3 1/2 month old looks like

part of why i started reading to L was out of desperation admittedly. raising baby has much to do with entertaining baby. especially a baby that doesn't nap for great lengths of time by day. especially a baby that expresses boredom with great passion (read: cries loud & clear with no signs of stopping until his needs are met).

the more i read to L though, the more -i- enjoy it & perhaps, the more he does as well. signs i might be right?... he sits in my lap for decent stretches of time as i read, he looks at the pages more often than not, he flails his arms from time to time & gurgles/babbles at others. i do stop reading when he starts to get too fussy. but, kids, this is only after reading at least four books.

i get into character often, losing myself in the moment, hoping he notices and enjoys story time all the more. i realize each day, more & more how unbelievably fun reading to a child, heck AN INFANT! can be.

and loveys, it's insanely beneficial. read more about that here.

L is checking out his mobile in this photo. damn, he loves that mobile. he eventually refocussed. ;-)
no joke, this book is awesome if you let yourself feeeeel it. read it with rhythm & you'll find yourself longing for the dance floor, baby in tow. i swear.

fair enough.

saw this & thought "fair enough". there's no time like the present to initiate some FAMILY RULES. do you have spoken or non-spoken family rules you live by? do share...

just call me naive newbie

naive newbie

mommy observation of the day:

i would put L's clothes away, create a new play space, pick out books to read to him later, play dress up in my own clothes, WRITE A BLOODY BLOG POST, take out recycling, do dishes, watch a show on hulu, fold laundry, put photos in frames, paint my nails, put the german's clothes/shoes away, sort laundry, flip through a magazine, etc. etc. etc. etc. and a little more etc. before i would get a drink of water, go pee or eat lunch in the wee moments L might be zzz-ing someplace outside my arms. the learn here, for those that experience this after me: PEE, EAT, DRINK before you do ANYthing else.

yep, i'm a naive newbie. stay tuned for more naive newbie confessions as i reflect upon them, or encounter them.

p.s. i KNOW i need an outlet cover in my little up & coming play area. might be a newbie, but not a raving idiot, thanks. ;-)

thank you, grandpa

thank you, grandpa

in my wee 14 weeks of life, i already have a fun little collection of cool postcards from my grandpa in a box in my room. this means a lot to my mommy & will one day be so awesome for me to read. everyday mommy tells me how much she misses my grandma, she's trying hard to be as much like her as she can. i know grandpa misses grandma soooo much too. so i hope this picture brings him a little happiness.

love, L

no longer dancing with myself

now THIS is what a dance party looks like. well, it should be a vid! monday through friday, L & i shake our things to three songs back to back for a little dance-y bonding. good for me + fun for him = #LOVE. try it, pick that baby up, hit shuffle on your ipod and throw it down, tiny dancer in tow. i promise you he/she will smile and/or giggle. and sometimes... they'll even drift off to ZZZ land.

now, baby L has a leg up on the competition, he's been dancing for around a year now, i made a point to blast sound and get my groove on the entire time i was pregnant. this included several concerts as i've blogged about in the last year or so. listen up, preggo loveys. don't stop moving just because you're with child. it rocks your wee one to sleep in the womb and it makes YOU FIT.

something tells me the german -might- of recorded one of L & I's dance sessions. let me get to the bottom of that. will update post if so. in the meantime, get dancing.

the boss

yeah so, just wanted to let the world know, that as the boss of two direct reports (read: mommy full time & daddy part time) it is important that i constantly exhibit to said reports my consistent personal growth & achievements. and to that point i present to you my rather impressive ability to grab for & hold on to my toes. amazing, right? yeah, such keeps me in charge, kids.

-L

exhibit a

exhibit b

p.s. i'd like to thank my oma in germany for getting me this mad appropriate t-shirt in ireland.

my 1st library "lap sit"

today mommy got all frantic around 9:30, she buckled me in my car seat then flew upstairs to make sure she had deodorant on. next thing i knew it i was being whizzed outside, into the sunlight that STILL pisses me off and into the car. it was too early for our usual starbucks run, so i was perplexed.

wait, what? the library?? i'm 3-months old for heaven's sake! that mom of mine...OK so it was cool. lots of baby people watching. i was mesmerized by the 11-month old beside me, a dancing baby girl named river.

the teacher, miss mindy? made mommy laugh quietly. we sang, we danced, we read, i drooled. sitting in a circle upon blankets on the floor.

mommy got tears in her eyes when i laughed & smiled. i don't think she had any idea how happy making me happy would make her! i think we'll go back, november 30th. if you're local, you should come too! mommy says you're never too young to be read to, i was the youngest in the class!