Confirmation

There were a few questions regarding my last post.

If you were thinking that...
...I'm enjoying naptime just as much (if not more) than Caleb is...
or that
...Caleb has no idea how much his world is going to change next April...
or that
...Caleb's brother or sister is the size of a kidney bean and has webbed fingers and toes...
or that
...we're really excited about expecting our second child...

...then you would be correct!

Caleb's Recent Book Selection

Recently Read: The $64 Tomato

The $64 Tomato seconds my inkling that my backyard squirrels benefit more than I do from my efforts at gardening--half-hearted as my efforts are. I optimistically planted a few squash this year to test if my black thumb is turning any greener. They are alive and growing, but something's eating my squash. Every so often I get the urge to be a gardener. I usually get my hopes up, plant a few things, hold out hope for awhile, and then finally realize my failure (due to bad soil, bad lighting, bad squirrels, or who knows what). In my quest to plant a few things this year, I checked out a few gardening books. The $64 Tomato was among them.

It's a humorously-told memoir of a family's gardening adventures and their journey to realizing they actually spent $64 for one tomato. Well-written and easily read, it's good for an evening of relaxing. I wouldn't call it enlightening, but amusing. I don't think I'll ever have the energy to be as fanatical about a garden or food as William Alexander is, but I'm not giving up on my few plants yet. I'm holding out hope for a bit longer.

Sign Language

One thing I'm very glad we are doing with Caleb: using sign language. While loud at times, Caleb is not overly verbal, but he still wants to communicate. Sign language has helped us to do that effectively.

We started with just a few signs when Caleb was about 8 or 9 months old. Since then we've added to our sign language vocabulary, and in June Caleb's ability to communicate really took off.

Sometimes I teach Caleb a sign because I think it will be helpful; other times Caleb learns a sign because he really wants to "say" it. I taught Caleb "more" and "all done" because I thought it'd be helpful at mealtimes. Caleb learned "ceiling fan" and "shoes" very quickly because he really likes those things. (Ceiling fans are simply fun to watch, and shoes mean that he gets to go outside.)

Here are a few of Caleb's signs that I've managed to catch on video.



Currently his sign language vocabulary includes (give or take a few): milk, eat, more, all done/all gone, clean/clean-up, kiss, hello, goodbye, help, please, thank you, ball, shoes, and ceiling fan. He's also made up his own signs for "Daddy" and "swing."

Something to Make You Feel Good about Spit-Up

So they won't make spit-up smell any better, but at least you have something pretty to look at.

Recently made these burp cloths for Matt and Amber and their soon-coming baby girl. Congrats, Matt and Amber! We're looking forward to meeting her!

Junk Mail: good for something

Good for a laugh.

Parenting Book Wrap-Up

I recently went through a few parenting books. I gave some more time than others. Here are a few summarizing thoughts.

Grace Based Parenting
Like I've said previously, this is a big-idea book. It will help firm up a foundation for your parenting philosophy, from which you can then make parenting decisions. Key questions from this book: How is my parenting exemplifying God's relationship with his children? How am I preparing and strengthening my child (instead of simply protecting him)?

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers by Tracy Hogg (previously reviewed)
Detail-oriented book. Good while you're in the toddler phase (or, that is, your child is in the toddler phase). Hogg's philosophy is moderate (enforce limits, but no spanking), and she offers a lot of common sense solutions.

The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp, M.D.
I didn't give this book too much time, so if you love it you'll have to tell me why. The main idea of the book is to empathize with your toddler and speak with him in a way that he will understand. Sounds all well and good until the author gave the illustration of a mother and child using his technique. The mother ended up repeating what her toddler was doing (which included pounding and screaming) so that her toddler knew she understood, and then redirecting her toddler using toddler talk. The author also seemed to spend the majority of the book trying to prove that toddlers really were like prehistoric men in their speech, emotions, mental capacity, and behavior. To give you an idea of Karp's parenting philosophy, the discipline chapter is titled, "Gentle Diplomacy: Ways to Set Up and Enforce Limits." While I didn't get too much out of this book, I loved this illustration that Karp took from Your Two-Year-Old by Louise Bates Ames and Fraces Ilg. It describes Caleb's behavior perfectly.

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
I didn't get too far into this book. I tried. And tried again. But I couldn't get past the numerous references to the "fact" that men have a greater ability to focus and concentrate than women. If you know me, you know I love to submit to my husband, but I do that based on truth and wisdom, not on undocumented psychological "research." I'm sure there is good in this book; maybe I'll swallow my pride and try again sometime.

Still to read:
Shepherding a Child's Heart
Parenting with Love and Logic
What the Bible Says about Parenting

Any other recommendations?

If you haven't guessed by now, the primary way I learn is by reading. So I plan to read plenty of parenting books in the coming years. I have a lot of learning to do.