Let’s All Wave Hello

by | Listen & Learn Music

Let's All Wave Hello Album Cover

One of the things I love most about offering classes is that when I plan them, I end up writing a bunch of new songs. My current early childhood class was no exception; I wrote no fewer than 10 new songs for it! So over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing them with you.

Since these songs were written for babies and toddlers, they are on the simple side. I feel like now that I have a kiddo of my own, I have a much better grasp on what types of songs and activities will go over best with this age group.

Parker is really into waving lately, as are his little friends. So naturally, our “hello” song is all about waving to everyone. Each child in the group gets a turn to be the recipient of the waves, and all the children get lots of opportunities to practice their waving.

At the risk of sounding corny, I have to say that it is magical to watch a child begin to understand what words mean and associate them with actions. The words “hi” and “hello” are automatically met with a wave from Parker these days, which is the goal when I sing this song in my classes.

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Showering Baby Massimo

by | Family Life

Baby Shower Gender Neutral Clothesline

My best friend Katie is having a baby! She lives in New York City, so I was super excited when she said she’d make the trip home for a baby shower. She threw me an amazing shower last spring, and I wanted to return the favor.

Katie and Justin aren’t finding out the baby’s gender, so everything — from the invites, to the decor, to the gifts — was gender neutral. I got the idea for this cute clothesline from Katie, who did one for my shower (with all nautical clothing, of course).

Baby Shower Watermelon Baby Buggy

My mom made most of the food, and my mother-in-law Libby pitched in with fruit and dessert. How cute is this watermelon baby buggy?! My mom had seen it on Facebook, and Libby (queen of watermelon around here) brought it to life.

Girls at the Baby Shower

It was so much fun having all of my high school friends together again. It doesn’t happen very often! I’m the only Springfield girl, so I was very happy that the rest of them made the trip home to celebrate baby Massimo. And Katie wasn’t the only one with a baby bump; Jennifer and Anna are also expecting.

Rachel and the Pregnant Girls

I’m definitely the odd man out in this photo…no baby in this girl’s belly! Later that night after the shower, I went out to dinner with my 3 pregnant friends. Needless to say, I was the only one who enjoyed a glass of wine with my food ;)

Parker at the Playground

by | Family Life

Parker Takes a Drink

One of our favorite summer discoveries has been the splashpad at Southwind Park. We met our friends from mommy/baby group, Angie and her little cutie pie Janie, there for the first time a couple of weeks ago and both kids had a blast. They are just a few weeks apart in age, and it’s so adorable watching them play together.

Parker wasn’t sure about the water fountains at first, but he eventually got over his hesitations and headed into the action. He even tried drinking the water, which was hilarious. There were only a few other kids there, so they pretty much had the run of the place. We spent at least 45 minutes there until Parker got bored and was ready for the next thing.

Parker at the Playground

Southwind Park also has a fun playground, so we headed there for some swinging, sliding, and climbing. Mostly climbing. Parker is really into stairs now, and would be perfectly content spending his time going up and down them over and over again. He’s pretty fearless when it comes to the playground equipment, which makes playing at the park a good workout for me!

Parker at the Splash Pad

We liked the splashpad and park so much that we ended up going back the very next day. We met a bunch of moms and kiddos from mommy/baby group, but unfortunately the splashpad was sooooo crowded (especially with bigger kids) that they didn’t get to play together like we had hoped. Parker still had fun, but I was nervous about him getting knocked down.

This dude loves being outside, and I love the nap he takes after burning off all that energy running around. We try to get out and do something active every day, even if it’s just going to Rotary Park (which is within walking distance). We did that one afternoon last week, and Parker had the time of his life running around the empty playground.

Parker at Rotary Park