Baby Love Slings: books

Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Cherishing Wet Cuddles and Other Priceless Memories

>> Wednesday, June 24, 2009

We have this sweet tradition in our house. Hubby is usually in charge of bathtime. He puts the boys in the tub while I put away laundry or clean up toys or just straighten out a bit of the chaos of the day. Caden is usually ready to get out first. So I scoop up my baby in his adorable duck towel and dry him off and get him ready for bed while Lucas plays longer in the bath. (sidenote- there is not much sweeter than fresh-out-of-the-tub baby cheeks, both sets!) Hubby gets Lucas out of the tub and wraps him in his Spiderman towel. This is where the sweetness comes in. Lucas comes out of the bathroom, into his room where I am sitting with Caden, and climbs into my lap. "Here's your clean boy!" he innocently says through the biggest of grins. We call it our post-bath cuddle, and I can't get enough. He is wet, and gets me all wet as he rests his head on my chest and snuggles close. It is the longest stretch he stays still all day. I love having him in my lap and smelling his clean wet hair. I love wrapping my arms around him and renewing that closeness that we have always cherished. He is all at once my baby and my "big boy," but mostly just mine. Tonight he told me for the first time that he wanted to marry me (*melt*). (another sidenote- he told me we had to dance and then buy a couch and that was our wedding! HA!)
As I sit there and hold him, the moment is not lost on me. I close my eyes and drink it in. I know the day will come (probably sooner than I know) when he won't want to sit wet in a towel in my lap. So for now, I cherish those 5min. of our day.

We recently received a book from Tyndale Kids that echos this same sentiment. Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury is the story of a mom who is looking back on the memorable moments of her son's life and looking forward to what is coming soon. While reflecting on the cuddle times and favorite memories, she asks the question "would I have paid more attention or cherished the moment longer if I had known it was the last time?" The last night-time feeding, the last trip to the park, the last story time with him cuddled in my lap...
The book is written to be read to your little ones. The language is beautiful and touching and hits very close to home. I got teary several times as I sat and read the tender words to Lucas with him sitting next to me, his hand sweetly resting on my arm listening intently to the story. I loved the pictures of this mother and son through the years- the moments they shared as they both grew older. Reading this book helps me reflect on how Lucas has grown so far and reminds me to drink in every moment with him and Caden every day.
I am not a fan of thinking about Lucas and Caden growing up too fast. It makes me sad to think about them being too big for post-bath cuddles. But I also appreciate any opportunity to be reminded to live in the moment, to treasure these days that often feel so hard.

The last time when you ran to me, still small enough to hold.
The last time that you said you'd marry me when you grew old.
Precious, simple moments and bright flashes from your past-
Would I have held on longer if I'd known they were your last?

If you would like a copy of this book to read with your fast-growing munchkins, Tyndale has generously offered to let me give away a copy to one of you. Please leave a comment here making sure I have a way to contact you if you win. If you subscribe to my feed or blog or tweet this giveaway, leave an extra comment for an extra entry. I will choose a winner at random on Friday July 3rd (U.S. readers only- sorry!).
We have loved reading this book together and talking about our most cherished moments both past and present and future. I know you will love doing the same.

This giveaway is cross-posted at Dupage Mamas: Guiding Our Kids through Our Community.

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Train Up Your Child

>> Wednesday, February 11, 2009

We are constantly on the look out for tools to help us parent Lucas. He is my highly-verbal, ultra-smart, very inquisitive boy who always has a million questions about everything. When he was just shy of two, we would be driving in the car and he would demand that I "talk about" whatever we saw... "mommy, talk about trees...talk about grass... talk about cranes... talk about gas stations." He just wanted to know the facts, the scientific truth about the things he was experiencing and learning about. While his desire to know everything has not changed, his questions have gotten much more complex. At nearly 3 years old, he now wants to know about how a space shuttle launches and how it gets to the moon. Tonight he asked me "How did God talk to Noah? Did Noah hear God with he ears?"
When I was offered the chance to get advanced copies of two new books for kids by Tyndale House Publishers, I was pumped. We always love new books, and anything that helps me teach my little sponge is gladly accepted. To say we love these new books is a huge understatement. We adore them... and I would love to share them with you.

When I heard the title of the first book, I was immediately sold! Questions from Little Hearts... sounds perfect for us. And it is. The book is divided into four sections: What is God Like? What is Prayer? What about Heaven? and Are Angels Real? I have written before about Lucas and I's conversations about Heaven. He knows there are people there that he loves- Micah, my grandmother - and he has very real questions about what it is like there. I love that this book poses the questions that a toddler would really ask and then gives the answers in a way that keeps their attention and satisfies their curiosity.

"Is heaven a place that is near or that's far? can I get to heaven by boat or by car?
How will I find it? Who'll show me the way? Does heaven have nighttime? And what about day? ...
Though heaven's a place that you can't see from here, It says in the Bible that heaven is near. You don't have to know how to fly or to swim. The way is with Jesus, believing in him."

At the end of each section, the author lists the scripture references for the answers they suggest. Lucas loves it. We read at least one section a day and he often asks for the one he wants. "Mommy, let's read about prayer today." And we always read the scriptures at the end and he has started asking me to show him where to find "those words" in the Bible. So we pull out the Bible and flip to a couple of the verses and read them there too. It is precious, teachable moments like these that make me feel like maybe I am capable of training my child the way God has called me to. I highly recommend this book for anyone whose little one has questions, lots of questions, like mine. It is easy to read and has sparked many really great conversations with me and my curious toddler.

When I was pregnant with Lucas, we received many Bibles geared toward babies and tod

dlers as gifts. We have one that we have read cover to cover many times (not in one sitting) that tells all the great stories and has been a good tool for introducing him to the Bible. But several months ago, Hubby commented that we needed to find a Bible for Lucas that was the "next step up." Still meant for kids, but one where the words read a little more like Scripture and a little less like a board book. Kenneth Taylor's Classic Bible Storybook is just that. This Bible has less pictures, more text. But my favorite thing about it is the 4-5 questions it lists at the end of each story. Tonight we read story 5 (we skip around)- "Noah is Safe in a Boat." The questions at the end of the story really help reinforce what we just read (How long did it rain? Why did God send the Flood?) and sparks even deeper questions (like how did Noah hear God talking to him?). I also love that because it is a little more like a regular Bible, it includes stories that most children's Bibles leave out. We are studying Elijah and Elisha in the Bible study we go to and I love that we can open "his Bible" and read about these prophets (stories 51-54) that he is learning about. It makes it seem more like we are reading the Bible, if that make sense. Lucas asks to bring "his Bible" to church and that warms my heart.

It is a daunting task, at least for me, to feel responsible for my child's spiritual up-bringing. I don't want to miss this stage of his life where he is soaking in his world and starting to form his world-view. I am trying to build things into our days that help me teach him about God and prayer and the Bible, etc... We are working on memory verses, talking about spiritual things, and reading books that help guide our conversations and our lives. And these two books have become a big part of that. I can't recommend either one enough. These are books we will read for many years and will hopefully become cherished parts of our boys' early spiritual development.

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Nap time Woes

>> Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Yesterday morning, while changing Caden's diaper and watching Lucas play on his train table, it occur ed to me... my baby is almost 5months old!! WHAT!! How did that happen?!?! My sweet little newborn is fastly going from "lay-there-stay-put-go-with-the-flow" infant to "opinionated-on-the-go-schedule-balking" older baby. He is rolling over, starting to sit up, finding his "voice" and making the most adorable "talking" noises... So now, the lines I have been feeding myself about it being OK that he is not on a schedule and doesn't take predictable naps, those don't really fly anymore. This kid needs some structure. And mama needs him to nap by himself for longer than 30 min.

Lucas was never a good napper and we have dealt with sleep issues with him from day-one. He has never slept-in, never taken long independent naps and has always seemed to get by on less sleep than other kids his age. I do not want to repeat that with Caden. It is exhausting. He is already shoeing some signs of liking only to nap with me or while someone hold him. No, no little Caden. We will not be walking that road again.

In order to help me change the course and teach me how to teach Caden how to nap, I decided to get some help from the experts. Elizabeth Pantley's new book The No-Cry Nap Solution ( full title: “The No-Cry Nap Solution: Guaranteed Gentle Ways to Solve All Your Naptime Problems” by Elizabeth Pantley) has a lot of good ideas and solutions for whatever your/my nap time woes are... and boy, do I have them.

Admittedly, I have only read about half the book, so far. I WILL read the whole thing at least once. I love how she is not at all condemning of different philosophies. She says that it is OK if your baby only naps in a sling if you want it to be that way. It is only a problem if you think it is a problem or you don't know how to transition out of it eventually. She talks about co-sleeping and how to work that into your nap time solutions. The most helpful thing for me so far is the info on sleep cycles in babies and how much/how often he should be sleeping. Did you know that when a baby wakes up after a 40min nap, it is probably because he/she hasn't learned how to transition from one sleep stage to the next so you just have to help them learn that? I also love the information of what she calls the "sleep gifts," the benefits bestowed on our bodies from each stage of sleep. This has been really helpful as I take a close look at Lucas' overall sleep habits and ways I can help him adjust to get the most out of his nighttime sleep and naps. My only complaint so far (and again, I haven't read the whole thing yet so maybe this comes later) is that there isn't much talk about strategies when you have an older child to entertain too and can't just sit by the baby as he sleeps. That is my challenge at the moment.

Plus, in the midst of trying to teach Caden to be an amazing napper, I have decided that it is time for Lucas to be potty-trained. Call me crazy... I call myself that every day! But the boy is almost 3 and is just being stubborn! I need to get Ms. Pantley's book about No-Cry Potty Training next. Does the "no-cry" apply to Lucas or me? :) I would love to hear from mommies of little boys out there about how best to potty train stubborn little men who can't be pulled away from the glorious train-table long enough to even sit on the potty. Maybe I need to get him some reading material and let his daddy teach him the fine art of potty time being reading time. :)

So this week, I am taking some of the ideas I am getting from Ms. Pantley's book and I am teaching my baby how to nap....hopefully. Wish me luck! :)

A few of our favorite Valentine's things

>> Thursday, February 14, 2008

Lucas got Valentine's Day packages from both sets of grandparents today. His package from Mimi and Pa (my parents) included several things including a Spiderman card, Bob the Builder stickers (among others) and a new dino. He insisted that these three items take a nap with him today. I did take them out of his crib after I took a picture. :)