My Favorite Books about Babies!

There are all kinds of books out there are pregnancy, child development, brain development, parenting, etc, and almost as many theories to match! I get very frustrated reading books telling you how to best nurture your child with absolutely no scientific background. However, what is even worse is when they take scientific studies and twist them to suit their own purposes. I prefer books that give you the scientific facts and then allow you to make your own decisions about what is best for your family. There are two books I particularly enjoyed when I was pregnant and shortly after Jessica was born and one that I am looking forward to getting my hands on this time around.


1) The book I turned to time and again after Jessica was born was Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality by Jana and Shu. It is an American Association of Pediatrics book (I have found several of their books to be full of good, reliable information.) written by two pediatricians who are also moms. I remembered a lot about newborn care from taking care of my brothers and sisters, but right before Jessica was born I got a little nervous that I might have forgotten something. This book was a great reference for anything from concerns about abnormal poop to high fevers!


2) When I found out I was pregnant with Jessica, I was absolutely fascinated in learning about brain development (probably due to the fact that I worked on an emphasis in Neuropsychology in graduate school)! I found a book I particularly enjoyed that was also very accessible to someone with a solid high school biology background called What's Going On in There: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First 5 Years of Life by Lise Eliot. Not only is Lise Eliot a neuroscientist, but she is also the mother of three children. She does an excellent job of exploring the factors involved in brain development while backing it up with research and plenty of real-world mom experience! It was exciting to learn at what point my unborn baby could hear me reading to her and how different choices I make as a parent can affect her developing brain! However, I must warn you. A lot of brain development is accomplished in utero and birth to two years so more emphasis is placed on those time frames than ages 3 to 5.


3) I am very excited about getting my hands on Lise Eliot's latest book Pink Baby, Blue Baby that was released just this fall about gender differences in brain development due to both nature and nurture! I think it sounds absolutely fascinating!

Front Porch Friday: One of God's Greatest Blessings

Many rabbis have taught that one of God's greatest blessings are children because it teaches us more about the Creator. Today David and I are incredibly blessed to be awaiting the arrival of another precious baby! We are almost a quarter of the way through this pregnancy and so far things look good! Although our last pregnancy did not make it, we are choosing to happily embrace this wee one even though we are still in the early stages of development. One of the greatest risks your heart ever takes in life is choosing to love someone, but I can think of nothing in life more worthwhile. That being said, we are choosing not to broadcast all of the exciting news on facebook out of respect for those who may find our good news a painful reminder at this junction in their lives.

First view of our wee one! See the head and arms and legs?

And now for all the juicy details! Our little one is due to arrive May 30, 2010. Today we went to the doctor for our first visit and got to see our wee one on the ultrasound! We saw its little arms and legs moving and its heart beating! David and I found it very exciting to see the little one moving around; however, I think it was a little lost on Jessica! We also got to hear the heartbeat. That did catch Jessica's attention! In a little over 10 weeks we will be able to see all of its organs to make sure everything is developing as it should (as well as if it is a boy or a girl)! This next week on the blog we will be focusing on pregnancy and baby topics (of course from a frugal and self-sufficient perspective) in celebration of the newest member of our family!!! Then I promise we will get on with topics relating to and celebrating the season!!!

Drumroll please!

Just wanted to let you know that more fun and excitement is on the way in approximately 6 hours!!

Just a bit of a tease...

I have something fun and exciting to post, but you will have to wait until Friday!

A Fun, Free, and Educational Activity for Kids!

Today Jessica and I decided to go to Lowe's for our morning outing! I know most people probably don't see Lowe's as the place for a child's morning outing. However, I have discovered that it makes for a fun, free, and educational activity for kids, and your house won't get dirty!!!

We started out with a ride on a John Deer lawnmower!

Next we tried out all of the patio furniture!

We have discovered that the swings are great fun!

Then we opened all the cabinets in the kitchen section.

....And all of the drawers!

She was quite curious to know what a bidet was!

She also had great fun with the faucets....don't worry....I explained to her that they are cantilever beams!

She also enjoyed being allowed to play in the toilets....FINALLY!!

We also had to check out the showers!

All of the different colors and textures on the tile samples were quite interesting!

No trip to Lowe's is complete without a visit to the drawer pulls!!

Finally, on our way out we stopped to rock in the rocking chairs!

Now do you see what I mean about Lowe's being a fun, free, and educational activity for kids? It is the perfect activity no matter what the weather! How does Lowe's feel about us turning their store into a playground you ask? Actually, they have been wonderfully accommodating! I frequently have sales representatives stopping to talk to us and telling us about the children's projects they do on Saturdays!

Lowe's knows it is in their best interest to be family-friendly. Not only will parents be more likely to make trips to Lowe's with their children, but when those children grow up, they will remember Lowe's as the place Mom and Dad went to get all the things they needed for projects around the house! Lowe's makes a point of investing in the future of DIY projects by teaching people of all ages different skills to help them become more self-sufficient!

Disclaimer: I am not paid in any way to advertise for Lowe's. I just like our local Lowe's that much!!!

Fun with Scott and Ashley!

We had a wonderful time with Scott and Ashley this weekend!! Ashley made her wonderful Shrimp Pasta (among other things), and Scott did the dishes! It was pretty chilly so they did not get to enjoy the beach as much as they would have liked; however, we did go to the Gulfarium! It was a lot of fun, and Jessica really enjoyed herself!!

The sea lion kissed the dolphin at the multi-species show.

Jessica thought that was great fun!

The sea lion and the dolphin waved good-bye.

We all had to wave good-bye too!

There was a lot of different tanks to see! They also had several shows put on throughout the day. There was a sting ray feeding session right after the multi-species show, but we decided to fore go that one! There was also a very shallow tank where you could pick up the animals! However, Jessica's favorite part was a small room with 5 cages for birds. Jessica LOVES birds!!! The Gulfarium was rather expensive; however, since our zoo closed, the Gulfarium may be a good place to a pass to next year!

Ashley bought some sunglasses in the gift shop, and Jessica wore them all the way home!

We had a really good time hanging out with Scott and Ashley! Jessica absolutely LOVES Aunt Ashley! At one point Ashley was in the guest room, and Scott was in the bathroom. Jessica thought Ashley was in the bathroom so she went to the door, squatted down to look under the door, and said, "Ash-wee!!" When that didn't work, she got up and started banging on the door! Ashley also asked Jessica if she needed to go potty. Jessica went to her potty, sat down, and peed all by herself!!!!!! Now I just have to figure out a way to get Scott and Ashley to move down here!!!!

Front Porch Friday: Extra Special Visitors!

Today my wonderful brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Ashley, came to visit us! I am so excited to have them here with us for a long weekend!!!!!! (Seriously, you have NO idea!) We have a lot of excitement happening around here this next week so it is nice to have them around to dote on Jessica and cook Ashley's awesome Shrimp Pasta (among other things)!!!! They used to come down a lot while I was pregnant with Jessica, and they always cooked for us and did all the dishes!! They got a free place to stay near the beach so it worked out well for everyone! They have always been so thoughtful, and we always enjoy hanging out with them!! (Seriously, we really enjoy having them visit, not just because they often cook and do dishes!)

Scott and Ashley hanging out at our house after their long drive!

We are planning to go to a stargazing event put on by a local astronomy group this weekend, but other than that it should be pretty quiet around here! It will be a bit of a relief after this past week. Jessica started refusing to take naps until Thursday and completely wore her poor mother out! I also tried putting her in disposable diapers for part of the week because of some other things we had going on around our house (more about that later), and she got an awful diaper rash! Thankfully, we finally have that almost under control. On the whole we are looking forward to a very pleasant weekend and an enjoyable visit with Scott and Ashley (Jessica will especially enjoy that part!).