About Me
It seems like only yesterday, but really it was last year, that we were celebrating the Ultimate Blog Party. So excited for another year to participate and reflect on a year’s worth of growth. Ah, memories…
First, An Introduction
I’m Amber, livin’ the dream as a stay-at-home mom while my husband, Brent, makes his way through medical school. We have two adorable daughters, Sammi (3 1/2) and Elli (1 1/2) who love to play, dance, craft and ride around Eastern Tennessee.
About Because Babies Grow Up
My initial goal in starting this blog was to write about child development, focusing on helping parent have realistic expectations for their children birth to five. As it has developed I now focus on music, literacy and play as they relate to early childhood development and how parents can enjoy these early years with their children.
Music
We love everything from nursery rhymes and fingerplays to classical and kid’s music for grown ups. We’ve had lots of opportunities to review and giveaway new music and so far every album has been a big hit! Not a bad track record. On occasion we also post videos of the girls being cute while they sing their favorites. Here’s our most watched video:
Literacy
We love books and spend an awful lot of time each day reading. I’ve written about early literacy as well as books we love to read. Current favorites include Fanny’s Dream and book about Clifford the Big Red Dog. Sammi is also starting to show interest in longer non-fction books so we’ve had lots of fun learning about animals and construction vehicles.
Play
Just about everything is play. We are passionate about making time for play each day. I’m talking unstructured, messy, imaginative free play. We love blocks, glue, dress up, painting, water and sand. Play is my favorite part of the day because I get to see what the girls are thinking and learning. The reenact cartoons, breakfast or a trip to the zoo. Play is a window into their hearts and minds. I know them better because I play with them. And it’s so much fun!
Before You Go
Thanks for stopping by and sharing a moment in the Ultimate Blog Party with us! If you like what you’ve seen, please consider subscribing to the feed or becoming a fan on Facebook. I’m always on the look out for inspiration, laughs and new friends so I’d love to hear from you and check out your blog, too. By the way, we recently moved to Tennessee from the West and are interested in meeting other bloggers from East Tennessee, or anywhere in Tennessee or the South. I’d love to get some different perspectives and explanations about the interesting cultural differences we’ve experienced.
Some of my favorite blogs that are partying this year are The Adventure of Motherhood, Silly Eagle Books, A Mommy’s Adventures,and The Thoughtful Parent. If you have a moment, please visit them, too. They are fantastic.
Prizes
What’s a party without prizes? A boring one, I guess. And that’s why there are a kajillion prizes up for grabs at the Ultimate Blog Party. I wouldn’t be opposed to any of them 
But here are some specific ones I’d love to win.
- US7 – Tupperware Prize Pack from Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads
- US10 – Young Living Essential Oils Stress Away Roll-On from Oils For Wellness
- US16 – A custom-made tutu for a baby or little girl from Sweet Patootie’s via Peachy Keen
- US19 – Prize package of preschool toys from Hasbro
These are from the class on how to use my new Bernina 1300MDC serger. I’m happy with my new toy and look forward to many hours of serging in the coming weeks.
I love the bright colors. We used them to see what each thread did and it was a great learning tool.
I threaded it all by myself! I’ve tackled the most intimidating part of the serger so now I can tackle any challenges that come up.
This post is linked up with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Seven Clown Circus.
A few weeks ago I started a campaign in my home to reclaim my love of reading. Aside from a few parenting books, it had been since Harry Potter 7 that I read an entire book that wasn’t geared toward toddlers or preschoolers. I love to read but I’d fallen out of sync with my reading rhythm. I mentioned before that I tend to read in spurts, but that I wanted to become a daily reader. I put a book in the bathroom and stole a few extra minutes to read each time I’m in there. So far I’ve read two books and I’m on my third (and fourth)!
The first book I read was The Elder Gods by David Eddings. I’d read another of his series and really enjoyed it. Again, I was thoroughly captivated by the world he creates in this series. It’s the story of a land ruled by gods who must work together to fight off the evil god. The “good” gods leave their lands and travel outside their boundaries to hire soldiers to help fight. I really enjoyed the interactions between the leaders of the different groups of soldiers. They were witty and clever, two traits I adore, and they were able to set aside differences to work together to reach the ultimate goal. I’m excited to read the other two books.
We were in Colorado when I finished The Elder Gods and didn’t have the next one with me so I ran out and bought Book 1 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief. I became interested in reading this book after I saw the movie. (Yes! It can work that way) I was very surprised to find that they are so very different. Even more different than Harry Potter books and movies are from each other. As I was watching the movie I kept thinking: “The book version will probably be so much cooler with all the added insight and story line that usually doesn’t make it into the movie.” I was partially right. There was a whole story line completely unaddressed in the movie. I’m very surprised that the movie didn’t mention this part of the story at all. It’s like leaving Voldemort out of the Harry Potter books. If you’ve read the book and seen the movie, do you agree with that assessment?
The other side of this is that I didn’t like the book nearly as much as I thought I would. First, it’s written in first person (so “I” is a twelve year old boy) and that was hard for me to get into. Second the writing didn’t capture me as much as I thought it would. It wasn’t quite as cool as I anticipated after seeing the book. In the end, I liked the story line of the book and plan on reading more of the series. I’m hoping as Percy matures in the books the writing will mature with him.
Now I’m reading Motherhood Is Easy…As Long As You Have Nothing Else To Do For The Next 50 Years. I mentioned this book on Saturday. I’ll save comments on it for when I finish it and write my full review including a giveaway
The (fourth) one I’m reading is Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child
How have you been able to carve out time for your passions or hobbies?
We are having a blast at Grandpa’s house this week. We’re sort of settling into a routine of play, hot chocolate, play, lunch, play, Elli’s nap, play, dinner, play and sleep. Wake up and repeat. Sammi is having a blast with her cousin who’s just 6 months older than her, though she is a few inches taller! Here are some pictures of them playing this afternoon.
Sammi and her cousin posing in the backyard
Sammi and her cousin have been negotiating games, TV watching, playground play and such. It’s interesting to see how they take turns talking each other into what they want to do. Sammi has had to accept that she can’t boss her (older) cousin around the way she can Elli. She’s also gotten pretty creative in enticing him to do what she wants. Overall, I would say she’s matured in her social development from the last time they played together. There haven’t been any temper tantrums or breakdowns over not getting what she wants. It’s been fun to see them just relish every moment of play they have together.
Saving the sheets from the wind
Elli napping after all that play. Doesn’t she look so pleased!
Grandpa’s house from Sammi’s perspective
What do you or your kids love most about visiting the grandparents?
Don’t forget to check out the Get Waussified! book review and giveaway for the complete set of 6 Waussie books. Deadline is March 18.
Playful Eyes
Today I love my family. Brent’s Spring Break is this week and I am so excited to spend time together as a family. We all slept a lot last night and the day is new and sunny.
I love the Jorge Cruise book Belly Fat Cure. Brent and I have been following his eating plan (like SouthBeach Diet, but without the strict cleansing stage) for two weeks and we are already seeing results. I’ve lost 5 inches off my middle section!
I love milk and cereal and the chance to have both while on Vacation from our diet. We’re relaxing the diet a bit this week because we’ll be spending time with family and friends and it may be unreasonable to follow it strictly.
Going along those lines, I love pumpkin bread. I found the last can of pumpkin in our cupboard so Sammi and I decided to make a batch. After two weeks on a low sugar/low carb diet, this pumpkin bread was like heaven! It’s yum… I’ve shared the pumpkin bread recipe before; if you have any pumpkin on hand it’s sure to brighten even the worst Monday!
I love great friends, near and far. I also love that we get to visit friends who are usually far.
These are some of the things on my mind this morning.
What things do you love today?
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As we head into this weekend I am grateful for two things:
- Antibiotics
- Ear infections
Yep, I’m grateful that Sammi has a double ear infection because it explains why she hasn’t been hearing well the last few days. I was really starting to worry about the rapid decline in her hearing and was starting to look into where to get a hearing test done. She hasn’t complained about her ears at all so I had no idea. Now, I’ll be even more grateful when she’s back to her normal self.
Also about the ear infections. Elli has a double ear infection as well. Having both children sick explains why they have both been so emotional and clingy this week. I have developed a sinus infection so the extra crying has been more miserable than normal.
Which brings me to the antibiotics. I’m glad we don’t need them often and I’m glad we have them available when we do need them. I know it was purely mental, but Sammi was in a better mood after her first dose. She’s been such a trooper!
On a bright note, I have been steadily reading daily. Currently I am on page 179. That’s 145 pages in two weeks or just about 10 pages a day. I’m lovin’ it! I mentioned before that I was trying to become a daily reader. I think I always have been but I wasn’t taking into consideration the magazines, blogs, and scriptures that together I read daily.
In addition to The Dreamers, I started Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen and am really enjoying his perspective and anecdotes that illustrate the points he makes. Play really is necessary for children to make sense of the world around them. We need to make sure we give them ample space, time and interaction that they get enough play. And finally, I just got Jim Trelease’s The Read-Aloud Handbook
Welcome to the random thoughts swirling in, through, and around the sinus infection. They’ve been getting muddled a bit this week. I am hoping that come Monday I will be clear headed again and have a lot more energy for cleaning. and blogging.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks to Heidi at The Maxwell’s Madness for declaring me a Beautiful blogger! She said “And the award goes to…Amber at Because Babies Grow Up because she posts cool ideas of things to do with your kiddos.” I love Heidi’s chain letter perspective on the whole blog award phenomenon. Bu I agree, it is still cool.
Here are the rules to claim the award:
- Thank, then link to the person that gave you the award.
- Pass this award on to how ever many bloggers you want to that you’ve recently (or not so recently) discovered and who you think are fantastic.
- Contact said bloggers to let them know they’ve won.
- State 7 Things about yourself!
Here are my picks for Beautiful Bloggers…
Janna at The Adventure of Motherhood because she is as passionate about books as I am and I love her Feed Me Books Friday meme.
Beth at In Good Cents because she talks about being frugal in a way that I can relate to.
Jennifer at Refrigerator Artist because she’s helping parents celebrate kids’ artwork.
Maryanne at Mama Smiles because her daughter reminds me so much of my own Sammi and I just love the way Maryanne blogs about her life with her little ones.
Amy at Literacy Launchpad because she has the career I didn’t know existed but now suddenly want (and her educational background!) as an early literacy specialist.
Seven Things About Myself
- I am a terrible housekeeper/home organizer. I need professional help in this area! Seriously.
- I love to spend time with my children, especially reading together and digging into the dress-up box.
- When I first had a crush on my husband, I didn’t like his sister because I thought they were dating (I didn’t know they were related!) I kept thinking, if they break up, I’ll ask him out. Yeah, they never stopped hanging out. But he somehow managed to get his own little crush on me and asked me out first. Won. my. heart.
- We recently moved from Utah to Tennessee, but unfortunately for the locals, brought our snowy winters with us. I just couldn’t imagine winter without oodles and oodles of snow!
- I love to sew, quilt and embroider. I am not very good at any of them and wish I had so much more time to devote to these arts. I’m terrible at following patterns so I usually just make up my own. Here are the dresses I made the girls for Easter last year. By the way, Sammi still fits in her dress. She wore it this morning.
- I have a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics a.k.a. teaching English as a second language and have taught at a few colleges/universities. I miss it, but child care was a headache and that was with just one child.
- My life goals include getting a Ph.D., building a children’s museum in an under-served community, making a keepsake blanket for each child and grandchild in my family, becoming a sought-after speaker and traveling the world with my wonderful husband Brent. My short-term goal is to survive medical school!
Now that I’ve shared my soul with you, I’d love to know something special, unique or obscure about you! Don’t be shy; we’re all friends here!
While at Blissdom earlier this month I had the opportunity to hear, and later speak with, one of the most influential players in promoting the necessity of play, Kevin Carroll. I sat in awe as I listened to his story of overcoming being abandoned by his father and then his mother. He embraced play as a way to explore his feelings, understand his experiences and find a place to belong. I can hardly do his story justice; you’ll just have to imagine the most touching story of trial and triumph told in the most eloquent way and you’ll have some idea of what I experienced.
I have long valued the power of play in a child’s life. I firmly believe every child needs time and space to play. To explore their environment, to learn how to interact with others and to let their imaginations run wild. Kevin Carroll, Katalyst reminded me that it’s not just children who need time and space to play. As adults, we also benefit from play, daily. My favorite quote from his presentation was, “If you don’t make time for play-deleterious things will happen!” We even took an oath resigning our adulthood and embracing the opportunities for play that come with childhood. I needed the reminder that play is important for renewing my creativity as much so as it is for my children.
I wanted to share Kevin Carroll with you because he’s really inspired me to evaluate my dreams and vision for my future and the future of my blog. I find myself filled with a desire to do good, a yearning to make a difference, and yet I am having a difficult time clarifying exactly what good I can do or what difference I can make. His presentation has filled my head with all kinds of ideas for way to find my dream and develop a plan to accomplish it.
Since such a journey seemed rather daunting to me, I thought I’d share it with you as a way to motivate me to continue my pursuit and a way to get feedback and input along the way. As I was talking with my mom on the drive home from Nashville about the ideas that were rolling around in my mind, she added some terrific dreams of her own that I plan on sharing, too. I’m looking forward to this process together!
To get started, what inspires you?
Photo Credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mooshinindy/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
I have always love to read. I love books. I love libraries. I love bookstores. I love the environment in these places and the energy in the air. I love the magic that lies between the covers of a book, a story just waiting to tell itself. I can’t remeber a time that I wasn’t completely enamored with books and reading. But, while I define myself as an avid reader, I’ve had to acknowledge that lately, I’ve not been a daily reader.
When Brent and I first got married, we were anxiously waiting for the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)
It was through that experience and the years since then that I’ve come to redefine my husband. He is an avid reader and he is a daily reader. He may only read a page or two a day, but he reads every day. Since the Harry Potter experience, we’ve probably read the same number of books, but I go in spurts with my reading and he is slow and steady.
Brent always leaves a book on the bathroom window sill that he reads from each morning or night (depending on how sleepy he is). He finally finished the book he was working on when we moved here (last July) and a new book
Brent told me that his bedtime routine included reading on his own after his parents tucked him in. He would read with a flashlight under his blankets so he wouldn’t get in trouble for staying up late. When his parents discovered this habit, they bought him a lamp. Now Sammi always takes a book to bed with her. The other night I watched her fall asleep while reading Robin Hood.
I made the comment to my mom this morning that Sammi will probably stay up all night reading a book for the first time long before I did. I distinctly remember that night. I was in 6th grade and I was reading Little Women. I was hooked. I couldn’t put it down. I was afraid I would get in trouble for staying up late to read it so I went in my closet and read in there. I read and read. I read past tired, past exhaustion and right into the world of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy. And then, it was over. I finished the book. And emerged quietly from my closet and climbed into bed. I don’t remember the time. I don’t remember if I had school the next day. But I do remember the magic of losing myself in the world of the book.
When was the first time you stayed up late to read a book?
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