I wrote earlier about Tate’s recent connection to a lovey…and my husband’s dislike of them. It’s nothing personal, but rather a conceptual dislike of the clinginess that this dog evokes.

Well in the midst of our dog days of summer (meaning the hot ones, ha!), Tate was suddenly was getting a rash on his neck. I figured it was probably from the heat, but decided to wash everything, including the puppy, to make sure.

When I was transferring the load into the dryer, I noticed bits of white fuzz. From the blankets, right? No, Puppy was coming apart at the seams, literally. I had to shake fuzz off of each item (did I mention that I was washing EVERYTHING?) before throwing it into the dryer. So I’m trying to entertain Tate while cleaning up the mess and suddenly I sound like a Dr. Seuss book:

Fluffies, fluffies everywhere.

Fluffies, fluffies, in your hair.

No, Tate, don’t dump them out of there (the garbage can)!

[Please tell me I'm not the only one to make up rhymes to keep my son content. Heather from The Extraordinary Ordinary has taken it to the next level, and raps for her boys. I may have to try that soon!]

Anyway, we got some of the mess picked up, but Tate’s not very patient with a normal amount of changing laundry loads, much less an extended period of time for shaking out 30-some items and sweeping the floor afterwards. I did what I could, and went back upstairs.

My husband came home to the snowstorm of fluff, and asked if a Muppet had been killed in our laundry room. Perhaps he was trying to remove suspicion from himself, since he had the clearest motive…Yes, I may have briefly questioned whether he would stoop to harming our son’s lovey.

Thankfully, Grandma was able to stitch Puppy back to health. She added some new padding, but we decided to leave him more on the slim side. The better to fit him into a suitcase at some point, if needed. And you know they say too much weight around the middle is bad for you.

Has your child’s lovey undergone a near-disaster? Have you gotten rid of a security object permanently (either accidentally, or on purpose)? Please share your story!

Maybe it’s because I’ve lived most of my life in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but I think the best way to enjoy a hot summer day is out on a boat. The breeze is cooling and the water below begs for my toes to be dipped in.

My boat of choice is a canoe, but paddleboats, motorboats, pontoons or big fancy yachts are all acceptable. I think the connection to the water is what makes me love this little boy birth announcement. The crisp blue and white lines are anchored by the blue band at the bottom, with a cute little duck to finish off the look.

Or how about this sweet one, with your baby’s name and birth details riding along the waves.

As summer nears its end, I hope you’re able to get out on the water a few more times. Even if it’s just in the inflatable kiddie pool out back!

For the first 17 or so months of Tate’s life, he wasn’t attached to any blankets, loveys, or security objects. Well, unless you count me.

My husband thought this was great; he doesn’t like the “neediness” aspect of a lovey. I rather wished there was something we could give Tate that would comfort him, especially when he was sleeping in a new place.

Now suddenly Tate’s crib contains 3 very important stuffed animals and 2 blankets.

If I look back, it didn’t exactly happen overnight. At some point, I tossed the blankets in there, hand-knit beauties that weren’t getting enough use. Tate started snuggling into them at bedtime.

Then he got really into a big stuffed dog that he’d never previously given the time of day. It became part of the crib decor but never left said crib, which made my husband feel better.

The first time we were spending the night away from home, I decided to pack a smaller puppy, hoping it could act as a stand-in for the big puppy. (Tate was only a few months old when this picture was taken, but you can see that this would fill half of an overnight bag!)

My ruse worked and Tate fell asleep happily in the Pack ‘N Play with the puppy substitute. But, you guessed it- when we returned home, he wanted both puppies in his crib.

Then a couple of weeks ago, he had the stomach flu and threw up in the middle of the night. By the time we got everything cleaned up, he was pretty wide awake and the dogs were certainly not going back into the crib in their condition. Luckily he spotted his harness/backpack monkey hanging in the closet, and I threw in a stuffed lamb for good measure.

And now Lambie must be in the crib for bedtime too. Lamby, Lamb-y, Lammie, how do you spell that so it doesn’t rhyme with Bambi? Regardless, I call it Lambie; Tate calls it Baa. He calls the puppies “huh, huh, huh” (the panting sound that a dog makes), which he learned from his cousin who has a dog.

For some reason Little Puppy is allowed to travel around the house and even to leave the house with Tate, but Big Puppy and Baa have to stay in the crib. I’m rather consistent in my parenting inconsistencies – I’m sure my 18-month old understands this logic!

At this point, I have mixed feelings about the loveys. It’s great that he’s so happy when they’re with him. One day, I even got to go to the bathroom by myself, because I convinced him to sit in the glider and read a book to Little Puppy. Unfortunately, when I returned to the nursery, I was not allowed in the chair with them.

It’s super cute that he’s thoughtful enough to offer his puppy water from his sippy cup. It’s not as cute when he shares milk from a non-sippy cup. Good thing puppy can go in the washing machine…

Does your child have a lovey/blanket/special toy? When did the attachment begin, and when did it end (if ever)? Were there rules about the lovey in your house?

You may remember the post I wrote last fall, wondering how to keep Tate’s head from flopping forward when he fell asleep in his car seat. There have been times when he’s awoken because his head keeps tossing back and forth, or is crying after a long sleep and it seems like his neck is sore. Therefore, I was really excited to hear about a new product designed to solve this problem.

Via TwitterMoms, I learned that Melrose Kids wanted some mom bloggers to review their new Head Snuggler. I jumped at the chance, and they sent me a free one to try out. 

The product is very simple: a soft cotton/spandex sheath that slides over the top of your child’s car seat. The lower edge slips over the child’s forehead, holding it in place when he falls asleep. No more floppy-head sleeping!

Here are a few things we learned in trying out the Head Snuggler, which would probably be different for every child/family. We discovered on our Chicago roadtrip that Tate had to be really asleep before pulling it over his forehead, or he would wake up - ten minutes seemed to be enough.

At Tate’s age (18 months), putting the Head Snuggler into place requires both hands- one to hold the sleeping child’s head up and one to pull the fabric down. On our road trip, I was the passenger and could reach back and pull it down. If I were driving alone with Tate, I would just put the car in park at a stop light or pull the car over.

I imagine that when Tate is older and realizes that this product helps him be more comfortable, neither of the above issues will apply. He’ll probably pull it down into place himself when he’s ready to sleep!

Finally, the fabric selection is pretty limited right now but their website says that additional options will be available soon.

I love this idea- a simple, safe way to keep my son’s head and neck properly aligned while he sleeps. The Head Snuggler is something we will continue to use and I definitely recommend it!

Have you read Where Is The Green Sheep? by Mem Fox? It was published five years ago but we just now stumbled upon it at the library. I guess I missed a large window of children’s literature between the late 70s (when I was the listener) and 2008, when Tate was born and I became the reader-out-louder (?). 

This time around, I find myself rather critical. We started off with classics from Dr. Suess, Eric Carle & P.D. Eastman so there wasn’t much to complain about. In poring through library stacks and  bookstore shelves, however, I realize that there are many poorly-written children’s books out there.

Certainly part of the issue is needing books appropriate to a certain age. For instance, books with no words and simple black and white shapes are too “newborn” for us now. Other books have too many words on a page to hold the attention of my 18-month old. We’re also sticking to board books for now until Tate can be trusted with real paper pages.

But beyond that, there are children’s books out there with neither rhythm nor rhyme, lacking a cohesive storyline, terrible illustrations, etc. I guess the bright side is that the good books shine even brighter in comparison to the duds.

Let me tell you, Green Sheep is a winner.  

The words flow with easy rhythm. They’re simple enough for Tate to understand, and the repetitive chorus keeps the story going until the end (which I won’t ruin for you!).

What really makes me adore this book, though, are the illustrations. Each page has extra little details to point out as we read, but some can only be fully enjoyed by the adult reader. For instance, the page that reads “Here is the moon sheep” has a Neil Armstrong-esque pose, while the “star sheep” seems to be taking a Broadway bow.

On the author’s website, I found a fascinating speech entitled Green Sheep Secrets. She begins by talking about how hideous it is to write for the very young, hardly what I expected from an award-winning children’s author! But I continued reading to discover the hours of agony, adding up to years of work, in order to bring about this single 190-word book. It’s fascinating to learn how each line, each word was carefully chosen, edited and re-edited.

It’s no wonder there are so many bad books out there for children. Rather, the presence of any good ones is amazing!

Want more great books to read to your kids, or for your kids to read? Check out Janelle’s blog, Brimful Curiousities, for reviews of books for all ages and giveaways too.

What were your favorite books when you were a child? Your favorites to read to a child now?

I’m kind of on a roll with Minnesota-loyalty lately, so I thought I’d stick with it…this week my lovely state is hosting the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

If you already knew that, you’re probably a fan of golf. Perhaps you really hope your new son or daughter loves golf too. And maybe you’d even go so far as to plant a seed in his/her mind with a golf-themed birth announcement!

As with all of our birth announcements, you can choose either magnets or linen cardstock, and you can customize the colors and fonts.

You could also be a little more subtle, using just plaid to hint at your affinity for golf and its Scottish roots:

And don’t worry, we have lots of other sports-themed announcements if golf isn’t your favorite. 

Please do share this post with the golf-lovers in your life. And ask them how things are going at Hazeltine- they’ll be impressed!

I’ve already told you about our family adventures in Chicago, but the real reason I was there was to attend BlogHer ’09 – a conference for hundreds (thousands?) of female bloggers. Not just mommy bloggers, although we were probably the largest group.

It was my first night away from Tate since he was born. Okay, it was my first more-than-8-hours away from Tate since he was born! I had a great time with Heidi, my MagnetStreet blogging buddy, who writes about engagement, weddings and marriage at Truly Engaging.

So what does one do at a women’s blogging conference, you ask? Well, I got some good blogging inspiration and instruction, especially more about how to use Twitter in relationship to the blog. (Hey, please follow me on Twitter if you’re not already!)

Then there are the famous people…I saw Tim Gunn and Carson Kressley, and apparently Paula Deen was around somewhere. But who cares about them when you can get live, in-person blogging advice from the fabulous Pioneer Woman?! Not only that, but after her presentation, I saw her husband “Marlboro Man” and two of their little boys, waiting for her in the hallway. Wow!

Really, that was the best part, meeting other bloggers. And not just the famous ones. Check out some of my favorites- you may enjoy following them too!

At breakfast, I met Sandy from the clever blog Momisodes - she’s a SAHM in Boston with a 3-year old (known online as Babisodes – ha!) and another baby on the way. Also at my table was Sue from Chocolate Cake Moments - a blog with lots of great ideas, especially for school-age kids. 

I’m more prepared for future travel adventures after meeting Mariana at Riding with No Hands, who has Sightseeing Sunday posts along with lots of product reviews and giveaways. Lorraine from My Busy Kit is my new source for portable activity kits, once Tate is a little older.

At “speed dating” (meeting lots of bloggers really fast!), I met Erin from $5 Dinners – what a great resource for this economy! And a really unique site where the readers create the content: Three Words Blog. Wander over there to see what I mean…

Look for links to more new blogger-friends in my future posts – there are so many great sites out there. What are your favorite blogs? I’d love to know!

If you’re like me, decorating the nursery has been a work in progress. Probably when it’s just the way I want it, Tate will be starting junior high!

Nevertheless, it’s been fun to gradually add pieces here and there. Today I want to share a couple of ideas, and they both just happen to have Minnesota connections.

The first is a series of websites, each focused on items in a particular color or color scheme. I learned about them when our local newspaper featured blogger Erin Olson. She started with a site devoted to her favorite color, turquoise, and went from there.

The sites feature a full range of items for decorating your home, but you can click on the “baby” or “kids & toys” sections if you want to see things specifically for your child’s room. Whether you’re still deciding what color scheme you want or looking for fun pieces to add to your existing palette, check these out.

• Black & White Delight (This was my original idea for Tate’s room, but couldn’t find cute black & white stuff – now here it is!)
• Pink & Brown Love
• DecorGreen
• The Chocolate Blues
• Everything Turquoise
• Just Blue & Green 
• Purple Punch
• All Animal Prints (Hey Lindsay, for your Jungle nursery!)
• Pink & Green Scene (Mindi, check this one out!)
• Pop of Red

Next is some artwork that I first fell in love with at a gift shop featuring local artists. (I couldn’t decide if the spatulas or the spoons would be more adorable in my kitchen!)

Imagine my surprise when I saw the same artist featured on one of my favorite blogs, Ohdeedoh. It turns out that Dazeychic also has sweet, modern, whimsical prints for children. I think I want one of each! Visit her shop on Etsy or her blog to see more.

How did you decorate your nursery – did you start with a theme or just a color scheme? Was the decorating all done before baby arrived, or is it an ongoing process? What are your favorite places to shop?

When I learned that I was going to the BlogHer convention, I asked my husband if he wanted to come along. It went something like this: would you like to watch Tate for two days at home, or in Chicago? Given his love for Chicago-style hot dogs and pizza, it was pretty much a rhetorical question. We were even able to go down early and have a family day before the convention began.

We’ve been to the Windy City enough that I didn’t feel the need to do any research ahead of time. Instead, as we drove, we tossed around some ideas, trying to figure out what might work with a 17-month old.

Around 11pm, we pulled into our hotel, and thankfully Tate transferred easily into his pack ‘n play to finish the night’s sleep. He was so well-rested, in fact, that he woke up at 5:30am. What a fun travel companion!

Our hotel was the Ambassador East (only affordable via a deal on hotels.com!) – old school elegant, not super kid-friendly, but a great location. After walking to breakfast at The Original Pancake House, we made our way over Michigan Avenue. Unfortunately, none of the stores opened until 10am and it was barely even 8. Suddenly I regretted my lack of travel research, which should have been on “early-morning things to do in Chicago”. We strolled along the Lake Michigan beachfront for awhile before heading back to a big playground just a block from the hotel.

After the too-early wakeup, all three of us took a morning nap. Our plan was to visit Shedd Aquarium later in the day, knowing that Tate would love all the fish. By the time we got our Giordano’s pizza, though, we needed to head west to meet our friends for dinner. (Even leaving the city by 3pm, we sat in rush hour traffic. I really don’t like driving in that city!) The aquarium will have to wait for our next trip.

While I was at the convention, the boys’ adventures included a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo and of course a Chicago hot dog lunch. (Focus on the “thumbs up” in the photo, not the frown.)

Have you been to Chicago with your family? What do you like to do there?

Photo Courtesy:
infreshions