As the first of November nears I begin to plan more and more for Kaelyn's first birthday!! It almost seems surreal that she will be one years old in just over a month...I can't hardly believe that it's that time already. I'm having a great time planning for it. I wanted to make the day extra special for her...so I went on ebay, like I normally do to find great deals, and found a SUPER cute little outfit! The amazing thing is that it was brand new with tags and I paid next to nothing for it! Kaelyn will wear the outfit attached on her birthday! Isn't it darling?! :) It says Birthday Girl on the shirt and comes with a little crown hat. I'm excited to get pictures of her in, I'll definitely share when the times comes!

It's pretty scary to think about the dangers of lead in our country. It seems like each day I learn of more products out there which we should be aware of. I am especially cautious now that I have a daughter to look out for. I do extensive research on almost all things I buy for her...whether it be dishes and other eating utensils, clothing, toys, etc. Recently I heard that many of us should even be cautious of the vinyl bibs our babies wear. Although there is debate, it seems that there may be dangerous levels of lead in them. I guess cloth may be the way to go??! Sometimes I think the convenience that new items bring us, also brings some of these dangerous issues. Although cloth bibs are probably more work (as we have to wash them more), it may be safer?! I often think back to the time when I was a baby and the things my mom used with us kids...although it may have been more work for her, I think it also may have been safer for us than the products we are using with our children today. What do you think?

I'm sure many can relate when I say how much fun it is to buy for a baby girl!! Right?! I'm sure I'd feel the same way if I had a little boy!! Little baby clothes are so cute! I can't get over the styles and things they come up with. My husband always says how much the little girl clothes look just like the things I wear as an adult! Since I was a little baby....clothes sure have come a long way. My mom dressed me in stylish clothes too....I guess maybe it's the styles that have changed, not the variety design?! Either way, I find it almost overwhelming when I'm in a store looking for clothes for Kaelyn. There's just so much, and usually it's not cheap! For as quickly as babies grow...I think it's absolutely absurd to spend the money on some of these clothes. For example, for a simple winter jacket, which I've been looking for Kaelyn for this winter....at Saks they are 125 dollars and at Old Navy they are only 32. Many people enjoy paying for a brand, which I admittedly have done in the past as well. However, when it comes to my daughter who grows out of clothes almost more quickly than I can buy them...I have to say that I'm going to stick to the cheaper ones.

Many of us hear how important it is to read to babies, but until you've either been around babies or had one...you don't see the benefits it brings. I always knew it was good to read to children, so when we had Kaelyn we did just that from the time she was very little. Now, she is 10 1/2 months old and LOVES books. She's a very active baby and hardly ever sits still, but when someone is reading to her she will sit for a very long time. In fact, she'll even grab her books when playing by herself and begin flipping through the pages and talking to herself. I like that this is an activity that she enjoys. It's one that I hope she continues to like as the years go on.



So, why read to your baby? Well...other than the fact that it's a great thing to do together, it's also a wonderful form of stimulation. It also teaches them about communication, concepts like numbers, letters, colors, etc., and helps them to learn how to listen and remember things. Most babies especially enjoy those books which repeat themselves and offer colorful pictures.

I don't know about you, but one of the most fun things to watch when we read to Kaelyn is the way she interacts. As a small baby she would just watch the pages as we read to her. Then when she was about 6 months or so she began turning the pages for us. Now she'll point to pictures and even try and say some of the objects in the pictures...."baby" and "kitty" for example. It's such a great thing parents can do with their kids, and so much fun to see them learning new things.

If you haven't started to this yet with your own baby, try and set a special time to do this each and every day....maybe even more than once a day. Also try and have age appropriate books available to them when they are playing. Not only do they learn from you reading to them, but there is so much to learn as they discover and explore on their own as well!