Library Books - week of September 17, 2007

We went to story time at the library last week and picked up a few books while we were there. Story time was very fun, and somewhat intimidating for Eleanor. Henry, on the other hand, slept right through it. There were a ton of kids there -- this was the under two bunch so everyone was about Eleanor's age give or take a few months. Story time consisted of a few easy songs with actions, two books, and a bit of dancing. The books included one that we have at home, Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, which is a great lift-the-flap book and What Shall we do with the Boo-Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell and illustrated by Ingrid Godon. They had copies of both books for us to check out so we picked up "boo hoo" as Eleanor calls it, and have been reading it daily. Despite Eleanor's initial trepidation, by the end of story time -- when La Bamba was playing -- she was shaking it up with the rest of the group. Who can resist dancing to La Bamba anyway?

Eleanor picked out a couple of other books, all of which have been big hits with her. Here are a couple from her selection:

1. Kite Flying by Grace Lin
This is a really simple, beautifully illustrated book about a family that builds and flies a kite. The last page contains a nice (lengthy) explanation of the origins of kite flying, which was great for us adults, but Eleanor preferred the pages with more pictures and less words. She especially liked the inside cover where the illustration shows all of the supplies used to make a kite. The scissors captured her attention since we have a pair in the pencil holder in the living room. She always notes that our scissors are blue and the pair in the book are green. This book was also a perfect fit since we tried to fly a kite over the weekend.

2. Look at You! A Baby Body Book by Kathy Henderson, illustrated by Paul Howard
This book has been another big success with Eleanor. We read it five times in a row this morning before I was able to distract her with something else -- I like books as much as the next person but a little variety doesn't hurt! This book details all of the little things kids do: wiggle, squirm, toddle, crawl, etc. Eleanor likes the page that follows a baby through the stages of learning to walk -- she always gets up and walks at that point, as if to say, "I can do all of those things and I am very good at walking!" The last page contains some sleeping children, which of course elicit the response: "close eyes".

All of these books we have been reading and the book that Grandma sent make me want to write some books for Eleanor and Henry. Maybe that will be my next project.

Fall Weather = Kite Flying, Apple Picking, and Music!

We had a great weekend. Eleanor and Henry's Aunt Jess came into town and we had bundles of fun. Our first adventure was to try and fly the rocket ship kite that we have never successfully gotten in the air. Well, this time was no different. Although there were gusts of wind and several different opinions on how the kite should be launched, the kite just did not want to be airborne. But, we did have loads of fun enjoying the lovely fall weather and each other's company. Eleanor made a fantastic game out of running around us with her arms outstretched behind her and her chin jutting forward in a very comical way. She was so cute I took an excessive amount of pictures.

Eleanor running around and around:


Jess meets Henry:


The highlight of the weekend was that afternoon when we went to the apple orchard at Homestead Farm and picked a bucket of apples -- it must have been nearly a bushel. When we first got there I was thinking about Inspector Gadget because there were some really fantastic looking apples near the top of the trees. Turns out Eleanor makes an excellent arm extension -- go go gadget arm! After our apple picking we managed to find a caramel apple and some farm animals (including a goat named Elmo) to round out the perfect afternoon. Good news is the farm also has a pumpkin patch, which opens in a couple of weeks. Hooray for hayrides and pumpkins.

Eleanor and Vince reach the high apples:


Vince, Jess and Eleanor at the orchard:


This weekend was also the Takoma Park Folk Festival so we decided to pop over there for a bit this afternoon. Nancy and Grace met us there and we had a fun time at the Groove Stage. Eleanor loved dancing to the music and running down the hill. Henry didn't care for it too much but I think he was just tired and overstimulated from such a busy weekend.

Eleanor dancing at the festival:

Hair Comparison

I am consciously trying not to make comparisons between Eleanor and Henry, though I imagine it is inevitable to some extent. One comparison I just can't resist making though, is the hair. People keep telling me Henry has so much hair, which he does for a baby. However, it does not compare to the "bad toupee" (according to my dad) that Eleanor had. So, I will try to have this be the last comparison post -- I know these two little monkeys are unique individuals and I love them for it.

The Walking Stick

Eleanor found a tube from some wrapping paper and somehow it became her walking stick. I loved seeing her trek around the front yard and sidewalk with the "stick", it reminded me (again!) of many fond memories of hiking with Gran and my family in the Porkies. Plus, the purple knee socks were cracking me up. Unfortunately, the walking stick got a bit wet and started to peel -- "uh oh" according to Eleanor. I guess we'll just have to make a trip somewhere where we can find a real stick for her to walk with.

A Nightlight for Henry

We recently got a nightlight for Henry and it is the most fun! After looking at lots of different night lights, I settled on the Mobi TykeLight (in green) for several reasons.

1. It is portable. I love Eleanor's nightlight, it was mine when I was little. However, it is in her room and isn't movable since it needs to be plugged in. Also, it is the shape of a rather large and unwieldy old woman's shoe -- the one who had so many children she didn't know what to do. The TykeLight is a very clever design, it sits on a recharger during the day and then at night you just pick it up and set it where you want it to be. Lately it has been sitting in the hallway, guiding me to Henry when he is ready to nurse. Eleanor gets a kick out of it too, she usually picks it up in the morning and brings it into our room.

2. It has two light settings. The settings are not all that different but if a little extra light is needed in the middle of the night to clean up some sort of mess or another, the TykeLight does the job. The only complaint I have is that when it is recharging on the base you cannot turn it on. However, if the power happens to go out, the light automatically goes on -- a nice feature in our house where we lose power at least once a week (maybe a bit of an exaggeration).

3. It is cute. I know, very vain on my part, especially since Henry could care less.