Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

So, apparently this week is Dr. Seuss's birthday. Who knew?!? This morning, Maya and I went a birthday party for him, at our district early childhood center. I must say, they do a great job with the events there. They had about 8 stations (or centers, as we teachers like to call them!), where children from birth-3 could play. There were sensory activities (playing with cornstarch and water, which makes fake "mud"), make your own cookie creation, make flowers out of pipe cleaners and tissue paper, plant a flower in a cup, and many others. Maya is a little young for those activities, so she played with the other teeny babes on the floor, where they had a "Scrambled Eggs" center. There were plastic eggs full of beans (for shaking), as well as giant spoons and bowls. Maya loved it, and spent over a half hour playing with the eggs. I have to admit, we've never read any Dr. Seuss to Maya. Honestly, I was never a huge fan, mostly because the books never made sense to me. I realize that this is the point, and that they are "fantasy" books, but I guess I'm not really into that. I'll have to read some to Maya, and see if she likes it. What do you think is a good Dr. Seuss book for a 1 year old? Let me know if you have any ideas!

"Come on, Mommy! We have to get ready to go to the birthday party! You know I'm a party animal!"

"Look at my egg!"

"I played so nicely with new friends this morning. We met a little girl named Tessa. I think we're going to see her again next time."

"Mom, can we get some of these at home?"

"This thing makes music when I shake it!"

"Now, if only I could get the egg out of the bowl with this spoon..."

"Like my hat?"

"How about from this angle?"

Open Action Room

This morning, Maya and I decided to go to a "Parents as Teachers" event at our local Early Childhood Center. Some of you may remember us going to an event for Valentine's Day a couple of weeks ago. This was the same idea, but a different type of event. It was a school gym, totally set up for kids, ages birth-3. They had all different things to climb on and over, balls, toys, walkers, mats, blocks, things to jump on and in, and lots of space to crawl and run. It happened to be right during Maya's nap time, so we didn't stay for all that long, but she had a great time. She crawled all over the place and played like crazy. She really wore herself out, and is now fast asleep, while I relax with my brand new Snuggie (thanks Grampy)!

"I'm having a blast!"

"I've never gone through a tunnel before, but this one looks awesome!"

"Mommy, can you help me walk over to those colored things? No? Okay. I'll try to do it myself..."

"I really worked off a lot of the massive dinner I ate last night!"

Parents as Teachers

Our parent educator from Parents as Teachers came for Maya's 9 month visit today. Parents as Teachers is a program run by the state, where a parent educator comes to your house 4 times a year (until age 3) to visit your child and talk to you about whether or not your child has reached their milestones, and what to expect in the next few months. They usually bring all sorts of toys and watch Maya play with them. Today, Cathy brought wooden beads on a string necklace, a tiny glass bottle that we filled with Cheerios (to see how she'd try to get them out), lots of board books, and some blocks and bells. It was a really neat visit. Cathy went through the list of 8-month and 10-month milestones, and we checked off all of the things Maya is currently doing. She has fully mastered her 8-month milestones, and most of her 10-month milestones, which is pretty good for a 9-month-old.

"It's cold outside. 5 degrees. Keep me inside, Mommy."

"Look, Ma! No hands!"

"Mom, why do you like taking post-tubby photos of me?"

"Eating is the best."

"I'm done! But not for long!"