Dad Labs has been focusing on Children's Books this week. (Not sure if the link will load for you. Since they got picked up by a bigger company access is hit and miss. They're also on YouTube.)
Here is one of the videos about Bed Time Books:
We have taken to reading a couple of favorites already. Snuggle Puppy (Sandra Boynton) and The Napping House (Don and Audrey Wood) are two that we all seem to like. Anny and I each have other favorites, and some that drive us nuts. For example, I tend to go fairly quickly to Z is for Zamboni (Matt Napier), an alphabet book based in hockey.
We like Snuggle Puppy a lot since we were also able to download the song from iTunes! The same was true for Barnyard Dance (Sandra Boynton, too). I am a huge fan of things that are truly multi-media.
What are your favorite Bedtime Books (so far)? Do you find that one parent favors certain books over others? Do you rely on old reliables like Seuss, or is there something new that you could tell us all about?
Discuss, please!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Defining a Good Father?
Abby is home sick again today, so I'm home again today. Luckly we found a pharmacy that could order the prescription and it will be in later this morning.
She has made forward progress a few bits at a time, but we're not quite ready to call it crawling. I'll borrow the work video camera later this week when she'll hopefully be on the move.
Since I'm home, I'm watching some mindless TV in between other things. (Cleaning out the shop is high priority, but I can only do it for so long at a time before I go crazy. There is a lot of sorting to get done.
Scott Baio was just on Live with Regis and Kelly. (Okay, I'll admit that I like the show out of the other junk on morning TV. You caught me.) I don't remember Scott Baio from his days on TV, and that is okay with me. I know what he has done recently on VH1, though I will also admit to NOT having seen any of that.
Kelly asked Scott's wife if he was a good dad, and he immediately came out with what seems to be the deciding factor on daddy-hood:
"Yeah, I changed a diaper this morning."
Is that what fatherhood is about? Are we really so stuck in dad's are good at being dad's if they change poopy diapers? Am I some sort of super-dad because I do a lot more than that!
I wash the diapers, too. I don't just "changed one this morning" but rather am often the primary diaper changer. Anny will not dispute this. There was a ten day span in October that Anny did not see a poopy diaper!
To me there is a lot more to being a good dad, some of which I do and some I don't. That's okay, by the way.
I see these things as just as important:
Getting up in the night with your screaming baby.
Getting on the floor and encourage development.
Keeping your child at the center of every decision you make.
This is a very short list, and know that there are things that are more important. For me the standards will change as Abby continues to grow.
It really RE-HEALLY bothers me when the standard seems to be diapers. I hope for the sake of the Baio family he was just giving a standard answer and that behind the scenes he is better than that.
She has made forward progress a few bits at a time, but we're not quite ready to call it crawling. I'll borrow the work video camera later this week when she'll hopefully be on the move.
Since I'm home, I'm watching some mindless TV in between other things. (Cleaning out the shop is high priority, but I can only do it for so long at a time before I go crazy. There is a lot of sorting to get done.
Scott Baio was just on Live with Regis and Kelly. (Okay, I'll admit that I like the show out of the other junk on morning TV. You caught me.) I don't remember Scott Baio from his days on TV, and that is okay with me. I know what he has done recently on VH1, though I will also admit to NOT having seen any of that.
Kelly asked Scott's wife if he was a good dad, and he immediately came out with what seems to be the deciding factor on daddy-hood:
"Yeah, I changed a diaper this morning."
Is that what fatherhood is about? Are we really so stuck in dad's are good at being dad's if they change poopy diapers? Am I some sort of super-dad because I do a lot more than that!
I wash the diapers, too. I don't just "changed one this morning" but rather am often the primary diaper changer. Anny will not dispute this. There was a ten day span in October that Anny did not see a poopy diaper!
To me there is a lot more to being a good dad, some of which I do and some I don't. That's okay, by the way.
I see these things as just as important:
Getting up in the night with your screaming baby.
Getting on the floor and encourage development.
Keeping your child at the center of every decision you make.
This is a very short list, and know that there are things that are more important. For me the standards will change as Abby continues to grow.
It really RE-HEALLY bothers me when the standard seems to be diapers. I hope for the sake of the Baio family he was just giving a standard answer and that behind the scenes he is better than that.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Why I am a Jealous Dad
Okay, it happened again yesterday. Abby was home sick (not homesick, very different issue) and I got to spend the day with her. I adore my time with my daughter, and enjoy spending as much of my day as possible with the both of them.
However, I am a jealous dad sometimes.
Anny is a teacher, so when Abby is out of school, Anny is. They spend the day playing, and sometimes visit me at the office. I am almost always at work. Abby is healthy and not fussy on those days.
I get the day alone with her only when she's sick and fussy. Not Fair.
I am at work and they are at home on a snow day again today.
Okay, no more griping.
However, I am a jealous dad sometimes.
Anny is a teacher, so when Abby is out of school, Anny is. They spend the day playing, and sometimes visit me at the office. I am almost always at work. Abby is healthy and not fussy on those days.
I get the day alone with her only when she's sick and fussy. Not Fair.
I am at work and they are at home on a snow day again today.
Okay, no more griping.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Genius Baby!
Friday's UMD infant study was based on the premise that by 12 months, babies have learned to use tools (such as pulling on a towel to reach the toy on the other end).
As with the previous studies we have been involved with, the researcher explained what they would be doing: She would put a toy on the far end of a piece of cloth and watch whether Abby would pull it to reach the toy. Then, she would model the activity a couple times and give Abby the opportunity to try again. And finally, we would watch another researcher repeatedly choose one toy over another by pulling a cloth to reach it. (This part I didn't understand, but they videotaped Abby's responses and I couldn't see her face since she was sitting on my lap.)
Well, when the researcher put the first toy on the cloth, Abby looked at her, then at the toy and pulled it toward herself to grab the little green frog! She used several different textures of cloth and alternated between the little green frog and a little yellow duck. Each time Abby pulled the cloth and grabbed the toy! But I think she became suspicious after a while because the researcher kept taking the toy away to reset it. "Why should I grab the toy if you're just going to take it away?"
All babies learn to do this by the time they are a year old, but Abby did this last week! Our Genius Baby!
As with the previous studies we have been involved with, the researcher explained what they would be doing: She would put a toy on the far end of a piece of cloth and watch whether Abby would pull it to reach the toy. Then, she would model the activity a couple times and give Abby the opportunity to try again. And finally, we would watch another researcher repeatedly choose one toy over another by pulling a cloth to reach it. (This part I didn't understand, but they videotaped Abby's responses and I couldn't see her face since she was sitting on my lap.)
Well, when the researcher put the first toy on the cloth, Abby looked at her, then at the toy and pulled it toward herself to grab the little green frog! She used several different textures of cloth and alternated between the little green frog and a little yellow duck. Each time Abby pulled the cloth and grabbed the toy! But I think she became suspicious after a while because the researcher kept taking the toy away to reset it. "Why should I grab the toy if you're just going to take it away?"
All babies learn to do this by the time they are a year old, but Abby did this last week! Our Genius Baby!
Our First Parent-Teacher Conference
Oh no! Was Abby a bad girl so we had to talk with the teacher about her behavior?
Nope. The daycare that Abby is in does three Parent-Teacher Conferences a year with each child and their parents. November got away from them, and from us for that matter, so we didn't do them at that time. The others are in February (last Thursday) and May (end of year).
We sat with the head teacher to talk about all of the things on the developmental checklist for her age that she has mastered, which is everything. We also talked about the things on the checklist for the next older group (8-12 months), and she has gotten some of those things down, but certainly not everything. We'll get there.
One weird thing was to hear that we would set goals for Abby for the coming months. I was relieved to hear we are setting goals for Abby's care, not for Abby.
Our goals are:
Abby is also getting closer and closer to crawling. Last night at church she made about 9 inches of forward progress! She has mastered getting on her hands and knees, but has been pushing backwards across the carpet and hardwood floors. We have begun to close the baby gate already, just in case. We're going to see the family in St Louis this weekend. Hopefully Abby's cousin Ada, six months older, who has recently been moving toward walking from crawling, can be convinced to crawl a bit as a teaching tool for Abby! She learned a lot from a couple of hours with Chase, so four full days should get some good learning time!
Abby went Friday and participated in another study at UMD, but I will let Anny post about it.
Nope. The daycare that Abby is in does three Parent-Teacher Conferences a year with each child and their parents. November got away from them, and from us for that matter, so we didn't do them at that time. The others are in February (last Thursday) and May (end of year).
We sat with the head teacher to talk about all of the things on the developmental checklist for her age that she has mastered, which is everything. We also talked about the things on the checklist for the next older group (8-12 months), and she has gotten some of those things down, but certainly not everything. We'll get there.
One weird thing was to hear that we would set goals for Abby for the coming months. I was relieved to hear we are setting goals for Abby's care, not for Abby.
Our goals are:
- Increase opportunities for fine and gross motor development
- Continue to nurture trusting relationships with caregivers
- Stimulate verbal and nonverbal language development (talking, reading, singing, signing)
- Provide ample time and opportunity to explore her environment in a safe manner
- Encourage self-regulation and self-soothing techniques
- Encourage independence and age-appropriate problem solving techniques
- Introduce sippy cup (bought this weekend) and encourage self-feeding; introduce finger foods (which we did this weekend!)
Abby is also getting closer and closer to crawling. Last night at church she made about 9 inches of forward progress! She has mastered getting on her hands and knees, but has been pushing backwards across the carpet and hardwood floors. We have begun to close the baby gate already, just in case. We're going to see the family in St Louis this weekend. Hopefully Abby's cousin Ada, six months older, who has recently been moving toward walking from crawling, can be convinced to crawl a bit as a teaching tool for Abby! She learned a lot from a couple of hours with Chase, so four full days should get some good learning time!
Abby went Friday and participated in another study at UMD, but I will let Anny post about it.
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