Jelly Man Kelly
This is the Hatchling’s current favorite YouTube video, and I can see why. I mean, James Taylor is always a good choice, and the crazy enthusiasm of the kids as they join in is pure TV gold.
A Loaf of Bread …
If you were born in the 70s, chances are this one is embedded somewhere deep in your reptilian brain. I have to say, the animation looks much weirder as an adult than it did as a kid – but in a very cool way. Who knew I was so avant-garde in my tastes at such a young age?
* Maybe I just needed the weather to change. It’s been in the 60s the past couple of days, real autumn weather, and I’ve been feeling a little more of my accustomed seasonal appreciation. The Hatchling and I had a good day today, getting out the warmer clothes and putting away some of the lightest summer tank tops and shorts, running errands and then stopping by the park to play for a little bit.
* The Hatchling went down the slide ALL BY HERSELF for the first time today. I put her at the top, sitting down, and then went and crouched at the bottom and held out my hands. She grinned a little nervously, but she knew what to do and used the sides of the slide to s-l-o-w-l-y pull herself down until – whee! – she was sliding into my arms. She was both scared and excited, but the excited part won out enough for three more trips down the slide.
* Tomorrow we start our first ECFE class. We’ll go once a week through December. It will be really good for both of us to have a scheduled activity to get us out of the house, especially once it gets cold and gross outside, and I know the Hatchling will love to meet the other kids. This, of course, doesn’t mean that I’m not kind of nervous about tomorrow. Will the other moms be nice? Will I fit in? Will the other kids be nice to my kid? Will there ever come a time when I can breeze effortlessly into new social situations without anxiety? The answer to that last one, I fear, is no: but I can ACT like it’s effortless, anyway, and sometimes that helps.
* Looky, Daddy, a long-time resident of the blogroll (look under “Parental Units”) just sent his twin daughters off to preschool for the first time today. He posted a video reflecting on the experience which is really not to be missed.
* Did you know that in China, kids who aren’t potty-trained yet mostly just wear crotchless pants and do their business wherever they are? This post gives an overview, including some mighty cute pictures of baby butts.
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It was a lovelygorgeousbeautiful day today, so the Hatchling and I decided to go to our favorite park and look at the flowers and play in the fountains. Er … with the fountains. At the fountains? Anyway, Mr. Squab joined us after work, which totally blew the Hatchling’s mind – Daddy! In the park! Whoa! She showed her pleasure at his company by generously feeding him bits of fresh grass. Enjoy:
1. The Hatchling loves her crib so much it’s not even funny. During the day, when she wakes up from her naps, her favorite thing to do is stay in her crib after I’ve turned on the lights and writhe around with her blanket and a few board books while I watch her and talk to her from the rocking chair. I can’t really argue with her. It’s a soft, cushy, safe space; she can bounce and wriggle and flop to her heart’s content all with a captive (doting) audience. Who WOULDN’T like that?
2. IKEA is teh awesome. I know this isn’t exactly breaking news, but I just thought I’d reiterate. The Hatchling’s hand-me-down highchair gasped its final gasp this week, so we made an IKEA run for a cheapo replacement. We parked in the family-friendly parking space (close to the doors!), ate at the family-friendly cafeteria (cheap kids meals! free bibs! a kids’ play area!), and then went to pick up our $25-yet-still-kind-of-cool-looking high chair. Then we came home and the Hatchling “helped” me put the chair together by carrying the legs to different secret locations all over the first floor of the house. Good times.
3. For much of the summer, the Hatchling has been sleeping until 8:30-9 in the morning, a welcome change from her previous 7:00 am waking time. But this morning she really outdid herself. We put her to bed early last night, around 7:00 pm, and I woke from a bad dream at 10:23 this morning and she was STILL ASLEEP. TEN TWENTY-THREE! And she would’ve slept longer, but I was freaked out that she was dead and so I went in and woke her up. She seemed fine; her usual cheerful, busy self. But Jesus – that’s 15 1/2 hours of solid sleep! Plus, I just put her down for a nap! I can’t decide if I should worry that she’s got some bizarre form of narcolepsy or just shut my yap and thank my lucky stars for having such a good sleeper. Thoughts?
4. Here’s the video recommendation of the week. Blow, baby, blow!
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Ah, Friday. It’s funny how even though I no longer work a M-F/9-5 job, I still look forward to Fridays. Oh, wait, that’s not funny, IT JUST MAKES SENSE. Best part about Saturdays? Mr. Squab gets up with the Hatchling and I get to sleep in. I will NEVER grow out of that.
Anyhoo. Here are our weekly video recommendations. The Hatchling recommends:
Be sure you watch until the end – it’s the cutest.
The Mamala recommends:
Mummenschanz made a HUGE impression on me as a young kid. Their playfulness, expressive use of movement and innovative masks are still captivating to me. In a lot of ways, they epitomize my favorite kind of entertainment: material that’s equally kid- and adult-friendly. Hope you like it!
It’s been a looooong week. The Hatchling got several shots last week at her 15 month checkup, and they warned us that she might have a reaction anywhere from a week to three weeks after the fact (I guess the delayed reaction time is common with the chicken pox vaccine). Sure enough, on Wednesday the Hatchling woke up at around 4 in the morning with a high temp, and was basically miserable all day Wednesday and Thursday. No appetite, no sleep no feel good. Add to that my having insomnia both nights, and we were a cranky, cranky household. But. Last night she slept like a dream, I slept like a kind of normal person, and everyone felt much better this morning. Plus, it’s the weekend! And it’s supposed to be nice weather! Calloo, callay!
So anyway. Here’s the Hatchling’s video recommendation of the week. I was so psyched to find this one again:
And here’s my recommendation. I effing LOVED this when I was watching Sesame Street, and it turns out I’m in good company, as it was apparently a big influence on The Bad Plus. Yeah, I’m cool:
Have a great weekend!
You know what’s a good thing to do when you’re feeling cranky? Go onto YouTube and do a search for “laughing babies,” that’s what. Watch a couple of those videos and your spirits will lift right up. (This one was sent to me by Michelle, though. Thanks, babe!)
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